Delay and Disruption Claims in Construction
ISBN 978-0-7277-6197-2
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/dadcic.61972.001
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1. General
Construction is a unique industry due to it being a fast-moving, complex and dynamic
process which depends on the successful coordination of many separate and distinct parties
to ensure the delivery of a project on time, within budget and to the required standard.
This coordination is dependent upon the application of proper planning, programming and
project controls, used in conjunction with the applicable management techniques.
As it is generally accepted that risk is inherent in construction, it must also be accepted that
delay and disruption are inherent in the construction process and, as such, delay and
disruption need to be anticipated and managed in much the same way as risk is dealt with.
The occurrence of delay and disruption does not mean that the programming or
management functions have failed, but that occurrence should be recognised as being an
event that needs to be properly managed so that the effect of delay and disruption can be
minimised where possible. This normally can only be achieved by a clear identification of
the event that has caused, or will cause, the delay and/or disruption, and a proper analysis
of the effect that the event will have upon the progress of the works on site and/or the
completion date for the project.
The advance of Building Information Modelling (BIM) has had a great impact upon this
entire subject area, and its influence will only increase. Currently, BIM is still in its
relatively early stages, but over the next few years it will become more and more important
in the analysis of delay and disruption. Future editions of this book will no doubt deal with
this subject area in much more depth.
1.2. Purpose of this book
In the modern and developing world, it is recognised more and more that the construction
process is simply part of a much larger process of procuring and obtaining a required
facility (be that an airport, a hospital, a school, an office block or housing stock). The
construction process is therefore often driven by commercial needs and the preparation and
resolution of claims is consequently often dealt with on a more pragmatic basis than was
sometimes the case in the past. Therefore, while the reference to previous case law is
essential to form an understanding of the legal principles behind most claims, it must be
recognised that many of those court cases were decided at times when, perhaps, different
economic and/or commercial pressures applied.
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Delay and Disruption Claims in Construction
As noted above, BIM is becoming more and more important. It may change our entire
understanding of contracts, and the way that delay and disruption claims are considered and
analysed. However, that is for the future.
At the moment, in the fast-growing international markets, claims are not always dealt with
using the traditional methods developed in the more established construction markets over
many years. To deal with a claim of very large value by meticulously providing cost
records, and cause and effect of each and every event, would in very many cases be simply
too time-consuming and costly for both parties to contemplate. That is why, particularly in
the expanding international markets, it is not uncommon for ‘loss and expense’ to be dealt
with as a contractual compensation, and for a version of ‘global claims’ to be applied much
more freely. In the UK, however, such approaches would only be considered in the most
extreme of circumstances.
The early chapters of this book deal in a more traditional way with the basic issues of
construction and contract law, breaches of contract and remedies available, delay and
disruption issues, and loss and expense. The case studies in the later chapters, however,
deal with real-life situations and how claims are actually presented in practice. The
approaches adopted in real-world examples often allow the parties to continue with their
normal business activities, and sometimes commence or re-commence mutual trading
relationships, much more quickly than would have been the case had a more forensic
exercise have been undertaken.
This book therefore covers the topic of delay and disruption claims both in principle and in
practice.
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