Tracking Delay Events

The procedure of submitting notices for construction delay events are normally well defined in a Contract. The FIDIC Contract for example prescribes that a delay event must be notified formally within 28days of the Contractor becoming aware of that event or its impact. In addition the Contractor is required to submit further particulars or updates every 28days until the final impact is determined and or a claim is submitted. The reality is that this process and its procedures generally becomes an administrative nightmare for many Contractors. Let's firstly look at the requirements of a valid notice and then secondly identify what tools can be used to track these events and maintain the 28day requirement.

A valid notice should be in writing and on a company letterhead addressed to the Engineer with a copy to the Employer. The letter must clearly state that it is a Notice of Delay / Potential delay and it should also identify under which clauses of the Contract the notice is being made. The notice must also describe the event and identify which milestone or contract date will be likely affected. Close the letter by identifying what required actions by the Engineer could minimize or negate the delay. A good template complying with all these requirements is available in the Contractual Management package (view template).

Once submitted the tracking of and keeping notices valid, that is submitted every 28days, become the next challenge.

When creating a tracking schedule, first enter all your events, letter references and dates into a spreadsheet. This will now give you a simple basis to track your notices and references.Secondly add a formula to the date column that will add say 26 days (2 days to write and send letter) to the last event date. This will then automatically calculate when the next notice should be prepared and submitted. Thirdly, maintain the schedule by adding each new letter reference, date in the follow-up cell and a formula to track your next notice due date. This spreadsheet should be submitted to the Engineer and Client on a monthly basis to identify which events are still "Open" and which are "Closed".

If you are having difficulties in creating such a tracking schedule why not try our professional preformatted Delay Event Schedule (view template).Our template allows you to enter your prescription period that 21, 28 days, etc. as this will determine the next due date. The template also provide a logical and clear space for letter referencing and lastly flags (colour) the current status of the notice via conditional formatting. That is it will red flag when the next notice submission has passed or amber if it is due in a few days. The schedule is easily understood and logically summarizes all events, notices made, re-submissions and the next notice due date. This compact report can also be submitted as part of the monthly progress report or your actual claim submission.

Face it, the last thing you want to happen is for your notified delay to be time barred or rejected. Get peace of mind by making sure your notices are valid and monitored using a custom designed claim tracking schedule. - Refer to the Construction Management Package.