Construction projects are complex and involve numerous actions and processes by all project stakeholders to progress projects successfully. As a result, good project record keeping becomes paramount.
The main aim of record keeping should always be to provide detailed information which can clearly and as completely as possible articulate progress and any project issue.
This is increasingly important when the topic turns to project delays and subsequent extension of time claims. (Arditi & Pattanakitchamroon, 2006)
The first point of call is to understand the contract and any clauses that may point to specific requirements – programme statusing/updates, notification regimes, reporting regimes. (Hughes, Champion, & Murdoch, 2015)
Secondly, and especially when there is disagreement on delay, contemporaneous records become vital in the demonstration and assessment of delay. (Love, Davis, Edwards, & Baccarini, 2008)
Hence when it comes to delays, detailed record keeping is crucial.
Examples of a Good Record Keeping Toolkit:
Project Programmes
Contractors should track delays, especially critical path delays, within the project programme under a separate WBS or as a programme fragnet of activities that articulate the delay event details and can be linked into existing programme activities to show impact on critical paths and/or contractual completion dates. (Zack, 1993)
Formal Reports - Monthly Reports / PCG Reports
Formal reports on the project issued to the Superintendent and Principal should include a section on Delays. This section should provide as much detail on delays as possible – start and completion dates, chronology of events, actions to mitigate, forecast impacts and affected project activities/scope. (Chan, Scott, & Chan, 2004)
Project Meeting Minutes
Formal project meeting minutes should be managed and utilised to record delay related discussions and actions. The meeting minutes should always record clearly what the action is, who is responsible for the action and by what date the action is to be achieved/completed. Updates should also be detailed and record new/revised forecast dates, recording any positive or negative impacts on the project and programme. Key being to record dates not just the action or responsible entity. (Odeh & Battaineh, 2002)
Project Correspondence (letters, emails, Aconex, etc)
When addressing delays, these should again contain detail – actual dates, expected activities to be impacted, revised dates and actions. These should be collated under Delay Folders in chronological sequence for easy access and referencing.
Formal Delay correspondence – Delay Notifications and Extension of Time claims should provide all available information detailing and substantiating the delay including but not limited to specifying the details of the delay event, the start and completion dates, impacted scope of work/activities, forecasted completion date if not completed, point to specific and impacted programme activities and advise impacts to critical paths leading out forecast completion dates.
Photographic Records
Photographic records have become a mainstay of projects, but the ‘site camera’ has become excessively relied upon to substantiate delay on-site. Actual close-up photographic evidence is a step forward, but annotated descriptive photographic records are even better to support and substantiate delay. (Hwang, Zhao, & Goh, 2014)
Delay Register
Finally, a well-kept and descriptive Delay / NOD / EOT Register which not only records the events but also directs to all the record documentation as noted above is the wrapping around the whole record keeping toolkit for a project. (Ndekugri, Braimah, & Gameson, 2008)
Written by Claudio Orellana.
If you need assistance in setting up your project’s Record Keeping Toolkit, don't hesitate to reach out to Zancon – your Construction Planning Experts.
References
Arditi, D., & Pattanakitchamroon, T. (2006). Selecting a delay analysis method in resolving construction claims. International Journal of Project Management, 24(2), 145-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2005.08.005
Chan, A. P., Scott, D., & Chan, A. P. (2004). Factors affecting the success of a construction project. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 130(1), 153-155.
Hughes, W., Champion, R., & Murdoch, J. (2015). Construction Contracts: Law and Management (5th ed.). Routledge.
Hwang, B. G., Zhao, X., & Goh, K. J. (2014). Limitations and lessons of using site photographs as delay evidence. Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, 6(3), 05014002.
Love, P. E., Davis, P. R., Edwards, D. J., & Baccarini, D. (2008). Uncertainty avoidance: Public sector clients and procurement selection. International Journal of Project Management, 26(3), 271-277.
Ndekugri, I., Braimah, N., & Gameson, R. (2008). Delay analysis within construction contract dispute resolution. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 15(5), 446-469.
Odeh, A. M., & Battaineh, H. T. (2002). Causes of construction delay: Traditional contracts. International Journal of Project Management, 20(1), 67-73.
Zack, J. G. (1993). Schedule delay analysis. Cost Engineering, 35(1), 13-17.