Prevent poor weather from disrupting your construction project

Image by Markus Distelrath from Pixabay

Often construction projects are completed late and many contractors blame poor weather. Sure, inclement weather does delay projects, but can contractors mitigate the impact of the poor weather, or even avoid the worst impacts? Are contractors completely blameless when it comes to weather events? Now, I’m not talking about severe weather events like hurricanes, floods and tornedoes, which no amount of preparation can protect construction projects from, rather I’m talking about the normal seasonal weather. Should contractors have allowed for the normal rains, heat and cold that could impact their project before it’s completed?

Contractors are an eternally optimistic bunch and never seem to allow for any weather-related impacts on their construction projects. But, is it reasonable to expect to work on a twelve-month long project and think you won’t encounter rain, winds, summer, and winter, at some stage in the course of your project?

Contractors often put the blame on clients for their unreasonable project schedules and say it’s impossible to allow additional time for delays caused by rain – rain which is average and will almost certainly occur! Well that’s professional suicide if you knowingly accept a project construction schedule which doesn’t allow for the normal expected weather conditions which can be expected at that time and in that location.

But some contractors make their life even harder by not taking even basic precautions to avoid weather delays. Is it possible to avoid, or mitigate, the impacts of some of the poor weather?

Image by Bruno Germany from Pixabay

Minimising weather disruptions on your construction project

There are several measures contractors can take to mitigate delays caused by poor weather. Some of these should be implemented when pricing the project, others when preparing the construction schedule, and of course many measures need to be implemented and maintained during construction. These include some, or all, of the following:

• When pricing the project understand the expected weather conditions at the project location. More importantly understand the project contract documents – know what they say about the risks of inclement weather, and particularly unseasonal and severe weather conditions. Allow for the costs and delays of the normal weather patterns in your price. Discuss some of the issues relating to the weather with your client. For instance, it’s often folly to start a project at the height of the wet season in the tropics. Hopefully informed clients will understand this.
• When preparing the construction schedule where possible.
  • Plan to close-up buildings ahead of the rain season or cold weather.
  • Schedule activities that can be impacted by rain, such as earthworks, to occur outside of the rainy season.
  • Schedule activities such as roofing and lifting large loads to happen outside the windy season.
  • Understand the expected weather conditions and allow additional time in the schedule for possible delays caused by inclement weather.

• Consider alternative construction methodologies. This might even mean redesigning structures. You may be able to manufacture parts of the structure in modules, or precast some sections, reducing the work to be done in poor weather. Consider different foundation solutions to minimise excavations in the rainy season.
• Modify construction working times. To avoid the summer heat, you could start working earlier in the day to make the best use of cooler temperatures, then stop earlier in the hot afternoons. Often strong winds occur in the afternoons, or windy days calm down in the late afternoon, so it may be possible to schedule lifting operations to times of the day when there’s less chance of winds impacting operations – even if that means lifting materials takes place after normal working hours. Maximise good weather opportunities, which might mean working additional shifts on weekends ahead of when poor weather is expected (these usually cost more but progress on the project may justify these extra costs).
• Put protection measures in place. A simple earth berm around excavations can protect excavations from flooding. Modest open-cut storm drains will channel rainwater away from work areas. Avoid low lying areas on the work site which can become flooded – especially ensure that material storage places are adequately drained and can be accessed even in wet weather. Have plastic sheeting, or tarpaulins, available to cover recently completed work that can be damaged by rain. Put measures in place to protect new concrete from extreme temperatures and wind. These actions often don’t cost much but they will save valuable time after a rainstorm or other weather event.
• Reschedule tasks in anticipation of bad weather. This could include delaying major concrete pours or postponing heavy lifts. In some areas regular afternoon thunderstorms occur so you want to ensure that major tasks are completed ahead of these storms, perhaps starting earlier or working in smaller sections may help.
• Prepare your project before severe weather strikes. Ensure your project team has sufficient warning that a storm or rain is on the way. Loose materials must be secured, protective covers rigged to protect unfinished work from possible damage, checks done to ensure storm-water drains are clear, and partly completed structures must be properly braced to withstand the wind.
• Ensure teams can work safely in inclement weather. No-one wants to work in the rain, freezing temperatures or searing heat. However, we often have to, so it’s important that your team has the required protective gear, which could include adequate rain suits, waterproof footwear, warm clothing, warm rest shelters, adequate water, safe working conditions, etc. Saving on some of these items may mean the project loses time because employees aren’t adequately equipped to work in the prevailing conditions.
• Temporary roads and working platforms must be constructed so that rainwater drains away and equipment and vehicles can operate without becoming bogged or dangerously skidding. We all try to save money on our project roads, then, invariably lose production when we cannot access our work areas after rain.
• Have adequate water pumps on the project site and have a system in place to dispose of the stormwater. Work areas must be cleared of water quickly so that construction can continue. Inadequate preparation and saving a few thousand dollars could cost the project a day or more of lost production. If you know it’s going to rain at some time during the project be prepared for when it does.

Image by toodlingstudio from Pixabay

Construction projects will experience poor weather so learn to deal with it

We can almost guarantee that most construction projects will be impacted by inclement weather. In many cases this shouldn’t be an excuse for delays.
​
We can prevent, or at least mitigate, many of the delays by understanding the weather patterns in the area and allowing for these expected weather disruptions in our construction schedule. Proper planning can also mean that weather dependent activities are scheduled for times when better weather is expected. We should also implement mitigating measures to reduce the damage and return the project to full production as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, these days more projects are being interrupted by extreme weather events which couldn’t have been foreseen, and no amount of preparation could have avoided. Contractors shouldn’t be expected to shoulder the responsibility and risks of these extreme weather events, or weather that couldn’t have been reasonably expected on the project. Therefore, contractors should be cautious in accepting project contracts where they could be liable for delays caused by weather events beyond the norm. If the weather risks are too high learn to walk away from the project and don’t price the project.

Although it may appear that weather impacts on construction projects are in the hands of the Gods, contractors still have some control over the damages they suffer and they are sometimes not entirely blameless for delays caused by poor weather.

How has poor weather impacted your project?

This article was first published on the ClockShark website.
For construction and field service companies who want to get rid of paper time sheets, ClockShark is the GPS time tracking app that's both powerful and easy to use.

Do you want to learn how to manage construction projects successfully?

Click on picture to view books on Amazon

Paul Netscher has written several easy to read books for owners, contractors, construction managers, construction supervisors and foremen. They cover all aspects of construction management and are filled with tips and insights.
Visit to read more.
The books are available in paper and ebook from most online stores including Amazon.
​© 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.