Guiding principles to determine the impact of delays on construction projects
Prepared by the Schedule Delay Analysis Standard Committee of the Construction Institute of ASCE, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Schedule Delay Analysis, Standard ANSI/ASCE/CI 67-17 (ISBN (print): 9780784414361; ISBN (PDF): 9780784480861) “…presents guiding principles that can be used on construction projects to determine the impact of delays.”
Contents of the ASCE Schedule Delay Analysis, Standard ANSI/ASCE/CI 67-17 include the following twelve topic areas: 1. introduction; 2. scope; 3. definitions; 4. critical path; 5. float; 6. early completion; 7. chronology of delay; 8. concurrent delay; 9. responsibility for delay; 10. changing schedules after the fact; 11. acceleration; and, 12. references.
Schedule Delay Analysis, Standard ANSI/ASCE/CI 67-17 was developed by a consensus standards development process accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), to reflect a fair and reasoned consensus among all interested participants. ANSI is a voluntary accreditation body representing public and private sector standards development organizations worldwide.
Weather is one of the top three reasons for missed milestones and schedule delays in the construction industry and built environment, with negative impacts costing billions of dollars each year in the US to contractors, owners and operators. However, Schedule Delay Analysis uses ambiguous language about weather events and the subsequent impact of weather delays.
In Chapter 4, Critical Path, 4.5 EXCUSABLE DELAYS ARE TYPICALLY EVENTS OUTSIDE THE CONTRACTOR’S CONTROL AND ENTITLE THE CONTRACTOR TO A TIME EXTENSION states:
Excusable delays typically include third-party events, force majeure events, unusually severe weather, and owner-caused delays. Excusable delays mean that the contractor is entitled to a time extension for critical delay to a contractual completion date. Excusable delays may be non-compensable or compensable depending on the provisions of the contract. Typically, delays outside the control of both the owner and the contractor are excusable but non-compensable.
Given that adverse weather and weather events are “…outside the control of both the owner and the contractor…”, Schedule Delay Analysis, Standard ANSI/ASCE/CI 67-17 states that the delays are excusable but non-compensable, meaning that the owner may grant the contractor a time extension but not additional compensation, depending on the agreement between the owner and contractor.
Differentiating between ordinary severe weather and unusually severe weather
However, Schedule Delay Analysis, Critical Path, 4.5 offers no definition of the term “unusually severe weather.” Unusual is not usual, common, or ordinary, uncommon in an amount or to a degree. Accordingly, how do the owner and contractor differentiate between usual, common, or ordinary severe weather and unusually severe weather, for schedule delay analysis?
More in the next blog post about schedule delay analysis, weather delays, weather planning, Weather Controls®, and weather risk management…
(Source: “Schedule Delay Analysis.” Schedule Delay Analysis | Standards, American Society of Civil Engineers, ascelibrary.org/doi/book/10.1061/9780784414361.)
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