ECL Software Blog

Worried About Delay Claims? 6 Things You Can Do to Be Ready for Them

In the construction industry, contractors would give anything to be able to finish every project on time. Unfortunately, that’s not always a reality. When you get particularly behind on a job site, you could be facing dreaded delay claims. It’s common for contractors to wait until one has been filed to consult with their legal team but we recommend that anytime you’re behind, you take these six steps to get ready in case a delay claim has been filed.

Read on to learn more about the six ideas but remember that the best way to avoid delay claims is to avoid delays. At ECL Software, we offer numerous software programs that make it easy for everyone involved in your project to seamlessly communicate with one another as well as fund control software that reduces the changes you’ll end up dealing with an unexpected financial hiccup along the way.

1. Update plans as soon as you have a delay

You have a construction plan. If you have a significant delay, once you get back at it, don’t just pick up where you left off. Instead, create a new plan that’s realistic with the delays. This will ensure that you don’t lose more time by not anticipating the ways in which the adjusted schedule affects other aspects of the projects.

2. Identify what’s really critical

Only a critical delay is subject to delay claims. If you have a delay but you feel that it’s not critical, then immediately gather the evidence you’d need to defend the delay in the event a claim was filed against it.

3. Think of delays chronologically

Don’t just think of delays as having nothing to do with one another. Think of them in the order they happened and pay attention to what common denominators are. The products available from ECL Software make it easy to keep everyone working on the project up to date on each aspect of it.

4. Adjust completion dates as they change

Don’t wait until the last minute to let relevant parties know that there’s been a delay. In many cases, the main issue others have with the delays are being surprised by them. If you’re behind schedule, you’re going to have to let involved parties know at some point – and in most cases the sooner you do, the better the results will be.

5. Make sure you have accurate as-built data

You need to track your delays but you should also be tracking what you’ve built. Once again, the software from ECL Software makes it simple to collect as-built data.

6. Causation is important

If a delay claim moves forward, you’re going to have to show if each delay was non-excusable, excusable and compensable, or excusable and non-compensable. Judges can be skeptical if you change this information after the construction has been completed so be sure to keep accurate records as things are happening.

At ECL Software, we want to make your job easier. Contact us at 800-625-5972 or reach out to us online to get started with our innovative construction software.