Construction delays – for someone looking from the outside, the term may mean a construction project that wasn’t completed within the said timeframe. However, for the project owner and its stakeholders, it means a loss worth millions of dollars. The cost of construction delays isn’t in thousands but in millions! When that happens, you may need to contact a construction delay expert witness to pull you out of the crisis.
Let’s say a construction project is worth $50 million, and the timeline for completion is three years. This means the cost of the project per day is $45,662. If there’s a delay in the project by 30%, the project cost will rise to $65 million, an additional $15 million, which wasn’t a part of the initial budget!
This blog post walks you through the many causes of construction delays and how you can fight back and save money.
Different Site Conditions
One of the most common causes of construction delays is differing site conditions. Before any construction project is initiated, a team of architects and consultants work on the technical aspects of a project and plan the project flow accordingly. But many times, when the groundwork begins, it comes to light that the actual site conditions are different from what was expected (soil conditions, environmental contaminants, hidden underground structures, etc.). This delays the entire project. The team has to rework the project technicalities based on new findings. One way to overcome this challenge is to conduct a thorough on-site investigation using advanced technological tools to get a clear picture of what to expect.
Inaccurate Costing
Without a thorough on-site investigation before the project starts, the chances that the cost estimate would be inaccurate are high. When the cost exceeds the budget when the project is already underway, it’s bound to cause project delays. The only way to prevent this from happening is to hire Los Angeles Construction Scheduling Expert Witness to conduct a thorough analysis and risk assessment and establish a contingency plan so that you may fight back when the time comes.
Changes in Project Design
Another possible cause of delay in a construction project is when a stakeholder requests additional features or an upgrade of a specific feature after the project is already underway. This can increase the cost of the project and cause delays as the contractors have to source additional resources and labor and rework the original blueprint or project plan.
As we already said, each day of delay costs the builder a lot of money. It’s critically important to discuss project features early on and have it documented what is and what isn’t included in the project to prevent this from happening. Also, include the details of the consequences of potential changes or modifications once the project starts.
Let HPM Consultants Take Care of Your Project Scheduling
As much as construction project delays are inevitable, you can at least do your part to overcome them to ensure that as little time as possible is wasted.
If you’ve got a construction project planned, we suggest you get in touch with HPM Consultants and let our construction scheduling expert witness take care of project planning and scheduling. Our experts oversee every aspect of project planning, from risk assessment and mitigation to progress monitoring. Don’t put your construction project at risk of unnecessary delays when you’ve got a way to prevent it!