Disruption Claim and Record Keeping - A Practical Perspective

19-10-2006

By Mr. CY Fung

Reported by
Joanna Kwok, JO Committee Member


Claims seem to be commonplace in construction projects. There are various types of claims, including prolongation claim, disruption claim, and common law claim. On 19 October 2006, Mr. CY Fung, Commercial Manager of Gammon Construction Limited, gave our members a presentation on one kind of claims - disruption claims, at the Surveyors Learning Centre.

CY first gave a brief introduction on the different nature of claims, namely common law claims and contractual claims, and the various types of claims. He then moved on to focus on the topic for the day - Disruption Claims. 'Disruption' is loss of productivity of resources, primarily labour and plant. Disruption can be caused by a delay, which may or may not occur on the critical path. It is emphasized that a disruption claim is different from prolongation claim.

He then showed us two case studies to illustrate examples of disruption in construction projects. For example, late possession, piece-meal possession, and late instructions by the Architect. One of the methods for evaluating disruption is by 'Measured Mile Approach', which is to compare the productivity achieved on the un-impacted part of the contract with that achieved on the impacted part. Such a comparison factors out issues concerning unrealistic programmes and inefficient working.

The last session of the presentation was about record keeping strategy. The three 'C's - Communication, Coordination and Consistency, are important criteria for good record keeping. The commercial team and the operation team must work together in order to achieve it.

We would like to convey our sincere thanks to the speaker for giving us such an inspiring and informative presentation. All participants were satisfied after the detailed talk.