Loss Of Productivity Standard due to be released in 2020

The American Society of Civil Engineers and its Construction Institute are publishing a Standard for loss of productivity claims, entitled "Identifying, Quantifying and Proving Loss of Productivity" ("LOP Standard"). The Standard has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute. The LOP Standard provides a series of guidelines and recommendations which can be used to expedite the resolution of loss of productivity disputes. The LOP Standard could be very useful for construction industry professionals to identify, quantify and prove losses in more complex claims.

The LOP Standard covers five general categories: (1) Productivity Basics; (2) Identifying Productivity Loss; (3) Establishing Recoverable Loss of Productivity; (4) Quantifying Productivity Loss; and (5) Avoiding Productivity Loss.  

Surprisingly, the section dealing with quantifying productivity loss presents a preferred order of methods for such computation. The preferred order is:

Tier 1: Actual Direct Costs

Tier 2: Measured Mile (comparing productivity in an un-impacted period or area with the productivity in an impacted period or area)

Tier 3: Academic and Industry Productivity Factors Studies (such as the tried and true MCAA Factors Affecting Labour Productivity) and Modified Total Cost

Tier 4: Total Cost

The LOP Standard provides that, before moving from one tier to a lower tier, a reasonable degree of certainty that a higher-tier method could not be used should be shown. The LOP Standard further provides that the tier structure is the preferred order, but it is not a rigid order and is dependent on the quality, supportability and reasonableness of the analysis.

Surprisingly the measured mile approach is listed as being Tier 2 and not Tier 1. The attraction of the measured mile is that the actual contract performance rather than the initial estimate is used for the calculations.  As such it compares actual performance on site with actual     performance, not some theoretical planned performance.  

The SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol 2nd Edition actually states at Paragraph 18.21 that cost based methodologies provide the least robust methodology, we will have to wait for the release to see why Actual Direct Costs have been placed above the measured mile approach.

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