Which records actually decide delay and disruption claims?
The records that count are the ones that reliably show the point being tested.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
No type of record wins a claim on its own. A record made at the time can be easier to test than one pieced together later. So ask four questions of every record. Does it deal with the event or cost in question? Who made it, and where did it come from? Is it complete? Does other evidence back it up or contradict it? Ask them across everything you hold: the subcontract, instructions and notices, site diaries, allocation and day sheets, programmes and photographs. Delivery records, payroll, and weather and access logs count too. While the work runs, keep the records your subcontract requires and a practical daily record. Keep every version and every correction, so the history of each record can be followed.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
Two subcontractors record the same delayed access in different ways. One supplies a story written with hindsight and a marked-up programme. The other supplies dated diaries, allocation records, chasers for drawings, notices and photos tied to locations.
What happens
- The reviewer tests the second file against its dates and against other records.
- The first file raises more questions about where it came from and how it was pieced together.
- Neither file produces an automatic finding on delay, on what is owed or on the amount.
The outcome
The dated file can be tested against its sources. The hindsight file cannot be tested in the same way. That is the reliability test, not a finding on delay, on what is owed or on the amount.
To have the records your subcontract makes valuable kept while the job runs, see our Delay & Disruption Loss Prevention service.