How do you deal with delays and disruptions on site and their impact on costs?

1 Identify and assess risks

Before you start any construction project, you need to identify and assess the potential risks that could cause delays and disruptions on site. These could include weather, labor, materials, design, permits, utilities, site conditions, and more. You should also estimate the likelihood and severity of each risk, and how it could affect your project's scope, schedule, and budget. This will help you prioritize and plan for the most critical and probable risks, and prepare contingency plans and mitigation strategies.

2 Communicate and coordinate

Communication and coordination are key to managing delays and disruptions on site. You need to keep all the stakeholders informed and updated on the project's status, progress, issues, and changes. This includes your client, subcontractors, suppliers, engineers, architects, and other relevant parties. You should also establish clear roles and responsibilities, expectations, and protocols for communication and coordination. This will help you avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, and disputes, and ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.

3 Track and document

Tracking and documenting delays and disruptions on site is essential for monitoring and controlling your project's performance and costs. You should use reliable tools and methods to track and record the actual time, resources, and activities on site, and compare them to the planned baseline. You should also document the causes, effects, and solutions of any delays and disruptions, and keep evidence of any claims, changes, or variations. This will help you measure and report your project's progress and performance, identify and address any deviations or problems, and justify and negotiate any adjustments or compensations.

4 Adapt and optimize

Adapting and optimizing your project's plan and processes is crucial for dealing with delays and disruptions on site and their impact on costs. You should be flexible and responsive to any changes or challenges that arise on site, and adjust your project's scope, schedule, or budget accordingly. You should also look for ways to optimize your project's efficiency and quality, such as using lean construction principles, prefabrication, modularization, or automation. This will help you reduce waste, errors, rework, and costs, and improve productivity, safety, and customer satisfaction.

5 Learn and improve

Learning and improving from your project's experience and feedback is important for preventing or minimizing delays and disruptions on site and their impact on costs in the future. You should conduct a post-project review and evaluation, and collect and analyze data and information from your project's performance, issues, and outcomes. You should also solicit and incorporate feedback from your client, team, and other stakeholders, and identify and celebrate your project's successes and lessons learned. This will help you enhance your skills, knowledge, and processes, and apply them to your next project.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?