Its Wise Up Wednesday! Don’t Fall For Foul Weather!
The first month of 2014 has almost been and gone, and whilst things might be looking up, we need to stay focused on doing the right things in our business, because the future isn’t certain, with no-one truly knowing what is round the corner.
These past few years have been anything but plain sailing for Specialist Contractors in the construction industry, and that’s why we have put together our Streetwise Wise Up Wednesday Guides to give you a quick burst of stuff that will help you in your business life.
Sometimes quirky, sometimes hard hitting, but always guaranteed to make you think and take no more than 2 minutes to read.
Don’t Fall For Foul Weather!
It’s getting to that time of year again!
Bad weather can cause real problems on site, and you need to be prepared!
As a Specialist Contractor in construction you are often the ones who get the hit the most. Not just from the problems bad weather causes, but you are likely to be in the firing line from the Contractor if the project is delayed.
And, getting the blame for delays can leave a gaping hole in your business cash flow!
If you don’t protect yourselves properly, you could end up getting the blame and on the receiving end of unjustified contra charges!
Make sure you avoid bad weather related issues with these StreetwiseSubbie tips:
- Understand your programme obligations under the contract, in particular the start date, duration and completion date
- If you cannot proceed with your work due to the bad weather, record the fact with an email, letter or fax,
- Take dated photographs of anything that is delaying your progress. It isn’t enough that the weather is all over the news, you need solid proof of how it affects YOUR job
- If it becomes evident that you will not complete by the completion date due to the delays, you must be able to demonstrate it’s not your fault and you should apply immediately for an extension of time.
- Understand the requirements for submitting applications for extensions of time, as in some circumstances you may lose your entitlement with a late application.
- Remember doing nothing can be a fatal commercial mistake!
Secure Extensions of Time To Avoid Incurring Costs!
At its simplest, events such as bad weather which are beyond your control and cause you to take longer to complete than originally planned entitle you to an extension to the contract period.
The amount of time to be added to the contract period for delaying events should be calculated logically and methodically by the Contractor, and in turn if those events have delayed the Contractor, they should be dealt with upstream by the Contract Administrator, or Architect.
All of this should be done impartially and objectively.
But, we all know that when things go wrong, logic goes out the window and its all too easy for the Contractor to blame his Sub-Contractors!
There is a lot of nonsense talked about extensions of time and delay analysis. So, our best advice is to give us a call and talk it over with us.
I hope you enjoyed my Wise Up Wednesday blog and that it gave you some food for thought,.
If you need any help, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and give us a call.
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