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Revised Baseline Programme

9 replies [Last post]
Mon, 2009-11-16 01:38
Aryan Yap
User offline. Last seen 14 years 26 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 25 Jun 2009
Posts: 32
Groups: Civil Engineering
Hi There,

Our Client advised us to revise the approved baseline schedule. However, we are thinking of the contractual milestone. In accordance with the contract document, “Should the revised Execution Programme exceed the scheduled completion date due to no fault of Client, then Client retains its right to apply liquidated damages”.

Since, we cannot recover the delayed up to the last milestone (project finish):

1. In what grounds will be able to justify in order to prevent the liquidated damages?
2. Is it possible to revise the approved baseline schedule (ABS) according to our new finish dates?

Thank you & Best Regards,

Aryan
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Replies

Tue, 2010-05-11 10:17
#1
Rashid Iqbal
User offline. Last seen 1 year 51 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 7 Apr 2010
Posts: 70
Groups: Petro-Chem / Oil & Gas
The way I see it there are two parts of this issue..

1. Proving that the delay to the project completion was beyond the contractor’s control

2. A proposal for project recovery, showing the requirement of additional crews or work hours. An explanation as how this will impact the project costs...with an understanding that the detailed guesstimate for the additional costs will be submitted once the acceleration plan is provisionally approved.


Thanks.

R
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Wed, 2010-03-31 10:04
#2
R. Catalan
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Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 314
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Aryan,

Your recovery plan is rejected probably because of the presence of a concurrent delay.

The Client is pushing to revise it to a later date (his statement for REALISTIC and ATTAINABLE schedule) for you to fall into a trap.

1) To have a valid document that you didn’t finish within the Time for Completion (not his delays).
2) To come up with a solution or reduce his own delays (if it’s evident) from the revised plan.

Stick to your guns and keep the order of your documentations as required in your Contract.

Best regards,
R. Catalan
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Fri, 2010-03-26 08:14
#3
Samer Zawaydeh
User offline. Last seen 5 years 20 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 3 Aug 2008
Posts: 1664
Groups: Civil Engineering, Regional Representatives
Dear Aryan,

The language that your client is using might not be Contractually correct. It seems that it has a lot of emotions in it, it is understandable. They are using a "No nonsense approach" which is a standard in KSA. The important issue here is for your company to complete the project.

You have gottend good advice until now, and I am not sure at what level you are working. I do advise you to preapare well and have list of milestones with the delay events with all the supporting documents.

On the other hand, it also seems that you Construction Crews will be very busy working and will not have time to site down and explain to you thoroughly how they intend to complete the job.

If you do not have a Program of Works that enables you to correctly monitor the site activities, then your Construction Teams are working without a plan. In order for your Schedule to be realistic, you have to engage the client and provide them with frequent detailed information and ensure that you are in control of the project. All indicators must show that the Trend is positive in order to improve the trust of your Client in the performance.

The issue of how the Contractor is going to perform the job is left to the Contractor. In FIDIC, the Client can’t reject or approve the Program of Works or its revisions. The client representative can only provide their comments.

I do suggest that you work on two fronts:
1. Try to ensure that the project is going to be delivered by meeting the revised dates that you have submitted.
2. Submit timely notices to the Client with their delays and its impact.

The balance of the two should inject the feeling of support to your client, and at the same time, this is something that you can do.

With kind regards,

Samer
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Fri, 2010-03-26 07:25
#4
Joros Burgondy
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Joined: 14 Nov 2005
Posts: 31
Groups: GPC Qatar
Hi Aryan,

In order to get an EOT you should present a documented and actual cause of delay i.e. material delay, approvals, letters , programs in a presentable format to convince them to approved your claims in any matter they will consider some maybe not all at least you tried. (gather information, documents what causes your delays)

Realistic programs - again you have to sit down with the team and discussed one by one all the delay activities in order to resume and cope up with the delay, during the weekly or bi-weekly meeting with the Clients they always ask your delays and try to comply committed promises done, they will think your pushing to finish the project.
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Wed, 2009-11-25 05:04
#5
Gary Whitehead
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Joined: 24 Mar 2009
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Groups: Building Information Modelling, Content Moderators, Petro-Chem / Oil & Gas, The GrapeVine
Aryan,

The client is asking you to provide a schedule forecasting what you think will actually happen, as opposed to what the contract stipulates should happen.

Presumably, the client believed the recovery plan you previously submitted was unachievable? If you believe it was realistic and attainable, I would resubmit the same. If you don’t believe it was realistic, then submit one that is, even if it doesn’t recover all the delay.

When you submit, be sure to note that this programme in no way prejudices the ongoing disagreement regarding concurrent delay.
If they accept the revised baseline as a contract doc, they will be granting you the protection from LDs up to the revised milestone dates.

NB: Please be aware that I am not a contract expert, and do not know your conditions of contract, so the above comments are generalisations only.

Cheers,

G
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Wed, 2009-11-18 06:56
#6
Aryan Yap
User offline. Last seen 14 years 26 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 25 Jun 2009
Posts: 32
Groups: Civil Engineering
Hi All,

Gary, the delays is not only on our side but also in the Client’s part. It is a concurrent delay, however, Client did not agree and insisted the delay is due to our fault.


KS, you are right. But we need to achieve each milestone dates. We had 15 milestone, nine (9) with LDs and the rest of it is only an intermediate milestone.

We had already developed our recovery plan but unfortunately, it was rejected and unacceptable to the Client.

Finally, Client requested us to prepare and develop a revised baseline schedule, which contains "REALISTIC and ATTAINABLE dates regardless of the CONTRACTUAL IMPLICATIONS". Can anybody shed lights on this statement? We fully understood this statement but we are hesitant due to contract document.

Thank you & Best Regards,

Aryan


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Wed, 2009-11-18 06:19
#7
KS Wong
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Dear Aryon,
you should able to recover the delay on PAPER. (i.e. Shorten the critical activities durations in the revised programme). For better protection of your contractual right, you may quote this revised programme as an acceleration programme.

LDs will only be applied when contractor did not achieve the contract completion date / milestone. You still have time to prepare your EOT claim. If you can achieve the completion date in future, you may get the cost for the acceleration.

regards,
KS
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Wed, 2009-11-18 00:00
#8
Shah. HB
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Joined: 25 Nov 2008
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Groups: GPC Malaysia, GPC Qatar, Planning, Claims & Contracting, TILOS
hi

is there any option you could introduce delay event and explain them as project completion date is due to delays

It is just a info
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Wed, 2009-11-18 03:47
#9
Gary Whitehead
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Aryan,

If you can’t recover the delay, and the delay was not your client’s responsibility, you should pay the LDs.
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