Legally Speaking: Presentation of Damages Caused by Disruption
Almost every contractor has experienced that problem project, the one in which just about everything goes badly. Causes for these problem projects range from excessive numbers of changes, unforeseen conditions, late delivery of essential materials or equipment, etc., and the escalation of labor costs. If the contractor cannot resolve this situation equitably with the owner, the contractor must prepare and file a claim for delay and disruption.
However, in many situations there is not a single factor causing delay and disruption, but many. For instance, consider a project in which there are many changes to the work and a long delay. Experience shows that the real impact on labor is far more than the simple sum of the individual changes. For a single change order, the contractor can usually measure the lost time due to the change order process, reassign his manpower accordingly, and take meaningful steps in the field to mitigate losses. When numerous changes are involved impacting several parts of the project, the ability of the contractor to take meaningful steps is jeopardized. Large disruptions in the flow of work result in inefficiencies and lost productivity from factors such as reassignment of labor, overtime, dilution of supervision, etc.