Types of Claim - Construction Claims and Responses: Effective Writing and Presentation - page 22

This is logical because both claims usually arise out of the same event.
Whilst this may be appropriate in straightforward circumstances, consid-
eration should be given to dealing with the two subjects separately on the
basis that the award of the extension of time is invariably easier to agree
and determine because it does not (at this stage at least) cost the Employer
any money. Thus, a claim for an extension of time alone can often be dealt
with relatively quickly, whereas additional payment claims often, by their
very nature, become protracted whilst details of monetary calculations for
prolongation are considered, discussed and negotiated. Additionally, whilst
the Contractor may claim a certain number of days for an extension of
time, it could well be that the Engineer will determine that a lesser time is
warranted and make an appropriate award. If this is the case, the
Contractor's prolongation claim, which will at this point be based on the
claimed extended period, will have to be revised and resubmitted in
accordance with the Engineer's determination. If it is decided to submit
two separate claims, care must be taken to comply with the time frames
prescribed in the Contract for the submission of the prolongation costs. A
sensible way of dealing with this is to submit both the extension of time
claim and the claim for additional payment at the same time, but as sepa-
rate and discrete submissions.
Acceleration and Disruption Claims
Whole topics and many articles have been written on the subject of accel-
eration and disruption claims - concepts which are notoriously extremely
diffi cult to prove and to calculate. It is not the purpose of this publication
to expound on such matters, except to discuss briefl y the circumstances
whereby such a claim may be brought.
It could be that the Employer has prevailed upon the Contractor to
accelerate the work to either mitigate delays caused by the Employer or
simply to complete the project earlier than the time for completion provided
for in the Contract. In such circumstances, the Contractor will no doubt
incur additional costs in doing so and consequently be entitled to additional
payment for the following:
1. Extended working hours, resulting in additional costs of labour due to
overtime payments.
2. Increased plant and labour, resulting in additional mobilisation and
demobilisation costs.
3. Increased plant and labour, causing loss of effi ciency as a result of too
many work-faces operating at once.
4. Loss of production caused by working out of sequence, or working on
more than the optimum number of work-faces.
Similarly, whilst acts of the Employer may not always cause delay, they
may cause disruption to the Contractor's planned method of working,
leading to loss of effi ciency or additional costs incurred in order to mitigate
the effects of the disruption.