A Non Excusable Delay Construction Essay

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, I will discuss types, causes and effects of delay of project in the construction industry. Besides that, I will also discuss the method to minimize the delays happening in construction industry

2.2 Type of Delay

In construction industry, there are the categories of delays used in determining delay damage as shown in table 2.1

Delay

Concurrent Delay

Excusable Delay

Non-Excusable Delay

Entitlement for time

Compensable

Non-compensable

Figure 2.1 Types of Delay

2.2.1 Excusable delays

Excusable delay as define a delay that is due to an unforeseeable event beyond the contractor’s or the subcontractor’s control. Usually, based on common general provisions in public agency specifications, delay resulting from the following events would be considered excusable such as fires, floods, owner-directed changes, errors and omissions in the contract drawing, unusually severe weather and etc. Excusable delays can be further classified into excusable with compensation and excusable without compensation. (Ibnu Abbas Majid,2006)

2.2.1.1 Excusable with compensation

Compensation delays are caused by the owner or the owner’s agents. An example of this would be the drawings late release from the owner’s architect. An excusable, compensable delay normally leads to a schedule extension and exposes the owner to financial damages claimed by the contractor. In this scenario, the contractor incurs additional indirect costs for both extended field office and home office overhead and unabsorbed home office overhead. (Abdul Hamid Kadir Pakir 2009)

2.2.1.2 Excusable delays without compensation

Non-compensable delays are caused by third parties or incidents beyond the control of both the owner and the contractor. Examples typically include acts of God, unusual weather, strikes, fires, acts of government in its sovereign capacity, etc. In this case, the contractor is normally entitled to claim extension of time but no compensation for delay damages. (Abdul Hamid Kadir Pakir 2009)

2.2.2 Non-excusable delays

Non-excusable delays are cause by lack of performance of the contractor on the construction project. This delay can be cause by underestimates of productivity, improper project planning and scheduling, poor site management and supervision, wrong construction methods, equipment breakdowns, unreliable subcontractors or suppliers. Therefore, it is contractor responsibilities to continue their work with no entitlement to claim for extension of time or delay damages until they completed the project. For instance, a contractor failure to provide an adequate material to completed their job.

2.2.3 Concurrent Delay

Concurrent delay is a problem that happening on most of the construction industry project. This issue arises when two or more delaying event at the same time in a project cannot complete on time. In this situation, both owner and contractor are responsible for the delay. Commonly concurrent delays which involve any two or more excusable delays result in extension of time. When excusable with compensation and non-excusable delays are concurrent, an extension of time can be issued or the delay can be distribution between the owner and the contractor. Concurrent delay can be categories in three types of delays:

If excusable and non-excusable delays occur concurrently, the contractor only to allow claim for extension of time:

If excusable with compensation and excusable without compensation delays occur concurrently, the contractor is entitle to claim extension of time but no delay damages:

If two excusable with compensation delays occur concurrently, the contractor is entitled to claim extension of time and delay damages.

For instance, a concurrent delay would be if the owner failure to give more detail regarding either using ceramic tile or homogeneous tile for toilet floor finishes. But at the same time contractor made with own decision and using ceramic tile for toilet floor finishes but actually owner plan using homogeneous tile. In this situation, the contractor cannot claim for damages. It is because contractor is not follow owner instruction but he can claim for extension of time with owner failure to give more detail of drawing

2.3 Cause of delay

Bramble and Callahan (1987) have defined that ; ” a delay is the time during which some part of the construction project has been extended or not performed due to an unanticipated circumstance. An incident of delay can originate from within the contractor’s organization or from any of the other factors interfacing upon construction Project. Some projects are only a few days behind the schedule; some are delayed over a year. So it is essential to define the actual causes of delay in order to minimize and avoid the delays in any construction project. Many and various studies were carried to assess the causes of delays in construction projects.”

Assaf et al., (1995) surveyed “the causes of delay in large building construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The most important causes of delay project in construction industry included approval of delays in payments to contractors and the resulting cash-flow problems during construction, shop drawings, design changes, conflicts in work schedules of subcontractors, design errors, labor shortage and inadequate labor skills, slow decision making and executive bureaucracy in the owners’ organizations.”

Mezher et al., (1998) conducted a survey of “the causes of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon from the viewpoint of owners, contractors and architectural/engineering firms. It was found that owners had more concerns with regard to financial issues; contractors regarded contractual relationships the most important, while consultants considered project management issues to be the most important causes of delays.”

Ogunlana et al., (1996) studied “the delays in building projects in Thailand, as an example of developing economies. They concluded that the problems of the construction industry in developing economies could be nested in three layers: problem of shortages or inadequacies in industry infrastructure, mainly supply of resources, problems caused by clients and consultants, and problems caused by incompetence of contractors.”

Kumaraswamy et al., (1998) surveyed “the causes of construction delays in Hong Kong as seen by clients, contractors and consultants, and examined the factors affecting productivity. The survey revealed differences in perceptions of the relative significance of factors between the three groups, indicative of their experiences, possible prejudices and lack of effective communication.”

Chan and Kumaraswamy (1996) conducted a survey “to evaluate the relative importance of 83 potential delay factors in Hong Kong construction projects and found five principal factors: poor risk management and supervision, unforeseen site conditions, slow decision making, client-initiated variations, and work variations.these causes were categorized into the following into eight groups:”

Project-related factors include project characteristics, necessary variations, communication among the various parties, speed of decision making involving all project teams, and ground conditions;

Client-related factors include those concerned with client characteristics, project financing, their variations and requirements, and interim payments to contractors;

Design team-related factors include design team experience, project design complexity, and mistakes and delays in (producing) design documents;

Contractor-related factors include contractor experience in planning and controlling the projects, site management and supervisions, degree of subcontracting, and their cash-flow;

Materials related factors include shortages, materials changes, procurement programming, and proportion of off-site prefabrication;

Labor factors related include labor shortages, low skill levels, weak motivation, and low productivity;

Plant/Equipment related factors include shortages, low efficiency, breakdowns, and wrong selection; and

External factors include waiting time for approval of drawings and test samples of materials and environmental concerns and restrictions.

Abd. Majid and McCaffer (1998) studied “the factors of non-excusable delays that influence contractors’ performance. They classified the main causes of non excusable delays according to the source of occurrence, and then identified the factor contributing to those causes. It is assumed that the client has more control over the compensable delays and can take action to prevent them. The contractor is expected to have control over the non-excusable delays and, presumably, do more to prevent them. They classified the factor of causes of non-excusable delays into twelve

groups: material-related delays; labor-related delays; equipment-related delays; financial-related delays; improper planning; lack of control; subcontractor-related delays; poor coordination; inadequate supervision; improper construction methods; technical personnel shortages; and poor communication.”

Mansfield et al., (1994) studied “the causes of delay and cost overrun in construction projects in Nigeria. The results showed that the most important factors are financing and payment for completed works, poor contract management, changes in site conditions, shortage of material, and improper planning.”

Al-Momani (2000) conducted a quantitative analysis of “construction delays by examining the records of 130 public building projects constructed in Jordan during the period of 1990¯1997. The researcher presented regression models of the relationship between actual and planned project duration for different types of building facilities. The analysis also included the reported frequencies of time extensions for the different causes of delays. The researcher concluded that the main causes of delay in construction projects relate to designers, user changes, weather, site conditions, late deliveries, economic conditions, and increase in quantities.”