The Assessment of Applications for Extension of Time Claims ... - IJET

IACSIT International Journal of Engineering and Technology, Vol. 4, No. 4, August 2012TABLE III: REASONS FOR DELAYS IN SUBMITTING THE DETAILS OF CLAIMSFOR EXTENSION OF TIMEReasons of delaysSite staff inexperienced in contractprocedures and task undertaken by headoffice expert who needs time to understandclaim situationIf the claim is related to inclement weatherusually prompt action is takenMeanMean ScoreM’sia’sRank3.31 1 93.25 2 9Engineer requests excessive details 3.19 3 9Poor paperwork control by the contractor 3.17 4 6Contractor wants to know exactly theamount of extension of time required suchthat their risk to liquidated damages can be3.17 4 6removedPolicy to submit global claims can causedelayed submissions3.14 6 9Lack of contractor's management resources 3.06 7 3Overall delay cannot be ascertained/actualdelay could not be determined until end of 3.03 8 1delay or constructionGeneral lack of details 3.00 9 3Benefit of hindsight (choose events thatattracts money)2.89 10 9The effects are not known/could not foreseethat an event would cause a delay until the 2.67 11 5delay occurredFocus on progress of work and not onclaim/contractor's staff too busy on othertasks/lack of staff (in contractor's2.58 12 2organisation) to deal with EOT claimsContractor does not want to cause frictionor offend the employer2.50 13 6HK’sRankChange order by consultants was rated as the main reasonused to claim for EOT. Late issuance of constructiondrawing and material shortage at project site were rated assecond and third reasons used. In Malaysian’s constructionindustry, change order is very common. Wheneverinstruction for change order is issued, contractors will need tomake necessary adjustment to the original scheduled workoperation. This will certainly affect the planned finish date ofthe project.Most of the time, construction drawings are based onpreliminary design and this design is usually based onprevious design experience and seldom include the crucialanalysis or referred to the actual environment of the proposedsite. During construction period, actual environmentconstraints will arise and raise ought to modify the design.This will create variation order and also additional works.Thus, late issuance of construction drawing was identified asone of the famous reason for EOT.The respondents were also asked to identify the commontechniques used in assessment of claims for EOT. It wasfound that contractors prefer Time Impact technique, whilethe consulting engineers often apply Net Impact Technique.The difference in technique applied may cause argumentbetween the contractors and consulting engineers in the issueof duration of EOT.The respondents have also been requested to suggest somealternatives solution besides granted the EOT. Developerssuggested that contractors shall be provided incentive fortheir timely completion. Whilst from the viewpoint ofconsultants, they also agreed to compensate time with moneyvalue through acceleration claim. Meanwhile contractors alsosuggested that EOT should be priced into the contract beforesubmission of a tender; therefore the loss can be taken care ofif delay occurs.TABLE IV: REASONS USED TO CLAIM FOR EXTENSION OF TIReasons UsedMean ScoreChange order by consultants causing project delay 4.44Late issuance of construction drawing 4.19Material shortage at project site 3.97Incapability of contractor’s site management toorganise site activitiesLate issuance of progress payment by client tocontractor Material shortage at project siteNon-payment (financial problem) to supplierscausing the stoppage of material delivery to site3.863.813.72Late supply of materials in the market 3.58Lack of foreign and local workers in the market 3.50Coordination problem with subcontractor 3.14Equipment shortage 3.03TABLE V: PREFERRED TECHNIQUE USED IN ASSESSING CLAIMS FOREXTENSION OF TIMERepresentingGlobal ImpactNet ImpactMean ScoreAdjustedas-built CPMDeveloper 3.67 3.33 3.67 3.00 3.67 3.33Consultant 3.83 4.17 3.50 3.17 3.83 3.22Contractor 3.75 3.50 3.75 3.27 3.92 3.58Total 3.79 3.85 3.61 3.15 3.85 3.36VI. CONCLUSIONA study that investigated on the assessment of contractualclaims for EOT in construction industry in Malaysia has beenconducted. The findings of this study providerecommendations that may help in minimizing the delays insubmissions and assessment of EOT. It is recommended thateach construction organization should develop its ownpolicies, strategies and procedures to expedite an efficientand reliable EOT substantiation and evaluation. Thefollowing are the conclusions that may answer the objectivesof this study:1. EOT is one of the provision clauses in the standardcontract form. The purpose is to preserve an employer’s rightin liquidated damages. In the circumstances that the delaysare caused by inevitable reason, EOT allows contractor to setan agreed completion date.2. The most common reason used to claim for EOT ischange order by consultants causing project delay. Thereasons for delay in substantial and assessment the extensionof time is the inexperienced in contract procedures of the sitestaff and the head office expert will need time to understandthe claim situation when the task is undertaken by head officeand delays in submissions of details by the claimant; lack ofinformation and clarity in substantiation respectively.3. Time Impact technique is the most preferable techniqueBut forTime ImpactSnapshot449