Two New Venues

Brief

Awarded a lump-sum contract, the building services subcontractor was incurring significant unbudgeted costs. Despite delays in completing the design and civil works, the main contractor, who had full design responsibility, had rejected the subcontractor’s claims.

HKA was commissioned to undertake an initial review and prepare a strategy to maximise the commercial position of the MEP subcontractor. We were subsequently appointed to prepare a series of claims for extension of time, delay and disruption related costs and variations.

What we did

HKA assembled a multidisciplinary team, drawing on our QED+ (quantum, engineering, delay) capability.

Our initial review clearly established that failures by the main contractor in its design obligations and allowing access for the MEP works had caused the client critical delays. Significant design changes had also resulted in additional costs.

We advised on the need for more detailed progress updates and daily site records, and devised a strategy that, nevertheless, would provide a strong basis for recovering costs. This included a potential claim for constructive acceleration as well as for design variations, extension of time, and delay and disruption related costs.

In stage two, our team – which comprised five quantum specialists, two engineers and two delay analysts – prepared these claims.

• Variations: A structured workshop with the site team identified time-critical design variations. We reviewed the subcontractor’s previous submissions, carried out our own technical analysis to define the scope of works based on the original design documents, and mapped the extent of the design changes.

Detailed and persuasive claims for each major variation were then prepared. These were extensive, amounting to around a hundred claims.

• Extension of time: Our ‘as-planned versus as-built’ methodology provided the basis for a solid delay analysis backed up with a detailed narrative of logic and findings. When updating the claim, the subsequent period was subjected to a ‘time slice’ retrospective analysis.

We also reviewed the contract to assemble the strongest possible case for the recovery of time and costs arising from each delay event.

• Additional claims: Our team carried out all the necessary assessments to establish entitlement to other costs arising from prolongation, disruption/lost productivity, constructive acceleration (to meet an imposed completion date), and related losses.

The impact of disruption was calculated on an earned value basis. As when updating the EOT claim, with more detailed records available, we could deploy a ‘measured mile’ methodology for the later period. This was then applied retrospectively to supersede the initial claim.

Outcomes

Our integrated QED+ capability was critical both in securing the commission and the subcontractor’s commercial position.

The HKA team safeguarded the rights of our client ahead of arbitration. Our advice on record keeping and subsequent analysis strengthened its claims, which have been prepared to the most rigorous standards possible. Their total value exceeded that of the subcontract.