Managing Delays From the Construction Side

Not all construction delays are the fault of the construction contractor. By keeping the lines of communications open, the client and contractor together can work to avoid any serious slowdowns in the project.

Project managers should be aware of early warning of delays caused by the client, main contractor or your own people. Client delays arise because they may change their minds, give instructions too late or are slow in approving drawings and plans. They tend to overlook the fact that these delays push back the start for contractors or sub-contractors, and that the contractor is powerless to avoid these delays.

Main contractor delays usually involve construction work being completed late, causing subsequent stages to fall behind schedule. In some cases, delays are the result of mismanagement and a lack of coordination.

Last but not least, the subcontractors themselves may cause delays; for example, by under-resourcing the project in the early stages or by not completing design drawings and getting them approved on time.

Make sure delays outside your control are recognized and documented. Such delays can impact you financially and need to be recorded and the financial impact dealt with by the responsible party. You should not have to bear the cost of other peoples’ delays, nor should you be blamed for them.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Tennant Company Launches Autonomous Floor Scrubber

    Cleaning equipment and solutions provider Tennant Company recently launched the new X6 ROVR, a mid-sized robotic scrubber designed for large commercial and light-industrial environments, according to a news release. The autonomous machine can clean up to 75,000 square feet peer cycle with minimal needs for manual assistance.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Introduces Claude for Education

    Anthropic has launched a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2025 New Product Awards

    Spaces4Learning is now accepting entries for the 2025 New Product Awards! The program’s goal is to honor the outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products and services are particularly noteworthy in helping to improve K–12 and Higher Education learning environments.

  • KnowBe4 Releases Report on Education Sector’s Preparedness for Cyberattacks

    Cybersecurity platform KnowBe4 recently released a new research report titled “From Primary Schools to Universities, The Global Education Sector is Unprepared for Escalating Cyber Attacks,” according to a news release.

Digital Edition