Delays Due to Obstructions !!!

Gayantha



I am not familiar with your trade and would expect that the PM will not be either. I would post a notice explaining why you cannot install your PLC system (whatever one of those is) and ensure him that you are open to discussions on mitigating tactics. Especially good is to be able to explain that installing xyz component without airconditioning could cause damage to the installation and so it is sensible to hold off (thus you are protecting the PMs project)



Do check your contract for a time bar against posting claims (often 28 days from discovery) and make sure you don’t miss the cutoff if it’s there. If you are unable to quantify the claim at the moment (the delay is ongoing) then be sure to say so. The contract probably requires you to update the PM on a monthly basis all outstanding claims info. Make sure you do this, it will serve your claim well even though it can be a lot of effort.



As far as ongoing delays are concerned, it sounds like they are digging their own hole. If they continue to delay you even now, then the letters previously sent by your errant PM may be less dangerous to you later.

I suggest you have a read of teh Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol, you can download it at www.eotprotocol.com.



This lays out a proposed approach so is not dierctly enforcible but it does cover the basic concepts clearly, especially with regard to what you should be reasonably entitled to in the event of a complex delay (original delay, mitigated somewhat by contractor accelleration etc).



It doesn’t take too long to read and is well worth it.



If you prepare an "advanced programme" (by which I suppose you mean "accellerated") then be sure to know yourself what the financial implications are fro your company and, if you feel that you are due compensation, communicate that to the client or they may consider that you are mitigating their delays for no cost. Still, tread carefully as the probable existance of a time bar plus the letters already on file from your previous PM are likely to form an effective barrier to any claim if you decide to go the aggressive route with your client.



On the subject of these letters ... I’ve never worked in the mid-East but in the Far East (specifically in Singapore) I have heard of judgements where a contracting party was held blameless for signing a contract because they said they had signed it "by mistake" (ie; admitted incompetance, I suppose) I recall that these were generally turned over on appeal (imagine your entire country’s contract framework falling down around your ears if anyone could get out of contract obligations simply by saying "oops, didn’t mean to sign that, how silly of me").



I’d call a lawyer, if I were you, you may be able to get those letters discredited someway, but local laws and practices would prevail and only a lawyer or local specialist would be able to advise you correctly.

Gayantha,



The logical sequence is to start at the beginning and work your way through what happened:



This event happened, it’s effect was this and it cost us this much. Then this happened, etc, etc.....



The previous letters from your PM would probably have a very negative impact on your claim if the Employer wants to hold you to them. In the Middle East, a signature on a document is usually taken to signify unequivocal acceptance of what it contains and can’t be revisitied later unless the right to has been expressly reserved. The deal has been done and you will stick to your word unless otherwise indicated would be the normal interpretation in Sheria law although it may not be Sheria law that governs your contract if you are in the UAE.

erm. Probably.



If I were the client I’d certainly wave around letters from you stating that you accept variations with no time implication. Whether they are enforcible or not (especially if you can demonstrate that the letters were self evidently incorrect, although this would imply that you had an incompetant PM on the job).



Sounds like you need a lawyer.

most likely time bars on claims issuance. You may be too late to make a claim, although you may be able to argue that notice was given in your progress reports. At the end of the day, if areas have been handed to you late you should at least be insulated from liability fro ther delays to your own work that result, but you may have lost the ability to claim prolongation costs if there is a timebar in your contract.