关于赶工，目前为止，我听到过很多英文表达方式：catching-up, recovery plan, mitigation plan, acceleration plan,

以下看到比较好的解释，摘录如下：

Acceleration is a technique employed in projects to speed up the completion of work beyond the originally estimated timeline by adding more resources. It is often used for various purposes to enhance productivity on site. One of the most common reasons for accelerating a project is to recover lost time due to an employer-directed change order that was not accompanied by a time extension.

In situations where an employer declines to grant a time extension that the contractor believes is owed, the contractor may choose to pursue one of two options. The first option is to file an acceleration claim and increase the resources allocated to the project to ensure timely completion, thereby avoiding liquidated damages. The second option is to submit a prolongation cost claim requesting both a time extension and compensation for the additional expenses incurred due to the delay, which could result in penalties for the contractor.

Two questions for any Acceleration claim:

1.   Is it necessary to accelerate in order to achieve a date earlier than the contractual date or the delayed date that would be achieved without acceleration measures?

2.     By whose decision the relevant steps were taken?

Owner decision:

In the case of an owner decision, they may instruct the contractor to accelerate the project in order to achieve an earlier finish date than what is stated in the contract. This is done to mitigate any delays on the part of the contractor and ensure that the contractual finish date is met.

Contractor decision:

The contractor may decide to mitigate their own delay in order to avoid penalties. They may have another opportunity or resources available from another project that can be used to accelerate the current project. In cases where the employer failed to determine a total claim, the contractor may take action to protect themselves from potential delays and associated penalties.

Three reasons for Acceleration:

Agreement or Instruction: Parties may agree or the contract may provide for instruction by the Employer.

Unilateral: Contractor may unilaterally decide to mitigate delay or Employer may use best endeavors.

Constructive: Contractor argues that no alternative exists in the circumstances and accelerates work by agreement or instruction.

Under general law, the Employer lacks the power to instruct the contractor to accelerate work. The contractor must complete work within the specified time or within a reasonable time if not specified. The contractor cannot be forced to complete work earlier than the agreed date unless there is an express contract term allowing the Employer to require acceleration.

Few standard form contracts give the Employer power to order the contractor to accelerate.

If the Employer exercises their powers under a contract to order acceleration of the work, or if the Employer and Contractor come to an agreement on acceleration, then obtaining payment should not pose a challenge, and there would be no need for a claim under the direct loss and/or expense clause. However, this statement is not entirely accurate as there may still be issues with obtaining payment, such as disputes over the extent and cost of the acceleration, or disagreements over the validity of the acceleration order.

In the case of unilateral acceleration by the contractor, where there is no agreement or instruction from the Employer, the contractor may face challenges in obtaining payment for the additional resources and expenses incurred. This is especially true if there are other events beyond the contractor's control that caused delays in the project completion.

Constructive acceleration, where the contractor argues that they had no real alternative but to accelerate due to the Employer's failure to grant an extension of time, may also face challenges in obtaining payment. Unless the contractor can show that the Employer gave them no real expectation that the contract period would be extended, this kind of claim is unlikely to be successful.

Despite these challenges, it may still be advantageous for the contractor to accelerate the project rather than face liquidated damages with no guarantee of an extension of time. This decision must be carefully considered based on the specific circumstances of the project.

Methods for Accelerating:

Overtime work refers to work that is done outside of the standard eight hour day and five day week.

Over manning involves adding more workers to a crew than is typical for the type of work being done.

Trade stacking is the practice of having multiple trades working in the same space.

Shift work involves adding a second crew of workers whose work is performed after the primary crew has finished.

While these methods can increase daily output, it's important to note that simply increasing hours or personnel does not necessarily result in a proportional increase in productivity. This raises several questions, such as:

Why does productivity decline when hours or personnel are increased?

Which method results in the least reduction in productivity?

Which method is most suitable for a particular job?

Every method of acceleration is associated with a loss of productivity. Overtime, over manning, and trade stacking are common methods used to increase daily output. However, it is essential to understand that doubling the number of hours or workers does not necessarily double the productivity.

Overtime, which is the easiest way to increase man-hours on a job, can be expensive due to premium pay and may require additional management and support to maintain steady work. Also, an increase in work hours by 10 hours per week leads to a decrease in efficiency. There are two types of overtime - spot overtime, which lasts for a limited time, and extended overtime, which lasts for periods longer than three weeks.

Over manning involves increasing the number of workers within the same trade on a project, resulting in higher rates of progress without the overtime issue of fatigue. However, congestion and less direct supervision can cause a decrease in productivity. Trade stacking, which involves increasing the number of workers when multiple trades are working in the same workspace, can also lead to congestion and tension within the trades.

Productivity decreases due to a few factors, including congestion, supervisory shortage, additional training, and accidents. Physical fatigue from working long hours is the largest factor for decreasing productivity during overtime. The lower quality of work from extended hours and physical fatigue also leads to rework.

Although overtime is an easy way to increase the man-hours on a job, it does not increase hourly productivity. When deciding which method of acceleration to use, it is crucial to consider the type of job and the amount of space available.

Additionally overtime is very expensive because hourly pay for the workers is generally one and a half the standard wage

Shifts:

Shift work offers several advantages, including:

No immediate fatigue factors as in the case of overtime

No congestion issues as in the case of over manning or trade stacking

Premium pay for shift work is still less than overtime pay

However, shift work has limited use due to several reasons:

Requires additional management who would also have to extend their hours to keep up with production

Often requires night work which is not allowed on many job sites

Problems caused by working at night, such as lighting, heating, sleep schedules, and disruption of personal lives

Issues associated with changing from one shift to the next and transferring management information between shifts

Not flexible in terms of adding short amounts of increased labor

Added safety problems.

Points to Remember:

Payment for acceleration should be based on the terms of the contract, if provided for in the contract.

If the contract does not provide for acceleration, but both parties agree to undertake accelerative measures, the basis of payment should be agreed upon before the acceleration is commenced.

If a contractor accelerates on their own accord, they are not entitled to compensation. If the contractor accelerates due to not receiving an extension of time that they believe is due to them, a claim for constructive acceleration is not recommended. Instead, steps should be taken to resolve the dispute or difference about entitlement to an extension of time in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures applicable to the contract.

Some forms of contract provide for acceleration by instruction or collateral agreement, while in others, acceleration may be instructed by reference to hours of working in sequence.

The contractor cannot be instructed to accelerate to reduce employer delay unless the contract allows for it.

If acceleration is instructed or agreed upon, the contractor is not entitled to claim prolongation compensation for the period of employer delay avoided by the acceleration measures.

Authors: Vijayarengan Chockalingam & Ilam Parithi

#delayanalysis#constructionclaims#delayclaims#projectplanning#projectmanagement#contractsmanagement#contractclaims#EPC#EOTclaims#Arbitration#expertwitness#preventionprinciple

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