Keith
Pickavance
LLP,
It is now
nearly 10 years since the publication of the first edition of this book. It was then by far the most thorough treatment
in the common law world of how to analyse delay and disruption, and it still
is.
It is not
an easy area, and does not fit very happily in any one discipline. The skills of a planner are necessary, but by
no means sufficient, for the techniques used in prospective planning do not
work well in retrospectively analysing a project that has already gone
wrong. Similarly, the area is riddled
with legal considerations, but few lawyers (even, dare one say it, construction
lawyers) have a really thorough grasp of the vagaries of the computerised tools
that are indispensable for the creation of a sustainable analysis. Pickavance
makes no attempt to paper over the cracks of these complexities; for example,
on page 8 he lists no less than 23 different meanings of the word “delay”, and
even then points out that the word has no intrinsic quality; its fundamental
meaning as a difference between intention and reality begs the questions,
“Who’s intention?” and “Was the intention realistic?”. But Pickavance is very
familiar with the way these tricky cookies tend to crumble, and painstakingly
guides the reader through the techniques that work, as well as pointing out the
characteristics of those that do not.
The problem
of project delay is a huge one: Pickavance quotes statistics suggesting that
over half of construction projects are completed late. Neither is the problem a
parochial one; this delay fuels vast amounts of litigation and arbitration around
the world. This third edition covers the
Society of Construction Law’s Delay and Disruption Protocol, which is the first
serious attempt at a universal roadmap to manage the problem of major project
delay, and in particular to sever the vicious circle whereby a bit of delay can
lead to the making of claims, which leads in turn to parties looking to protect
their positions instead of collaborate, and hence to yet more delay.
Another
change in this edition flows from the introduction to the editorial team of
Anders Axelson, an Australian engineer/lawyer; the book now includes discussion
of the relevant clauses in AS 2124, AS 4000 and C21.
This book
is a potent tool for those charged with making, evaluating or determining delay
claims. If you can see at a glance if something is an as-planned impacted
analysis or a time impact analysis, and if you are already well versed in
earned value monitoring, trade stacking and judicial reaction to measured mile
comparisons, then this book will be old hat, but you will be a member of a very
small club. For the rest of us, this book is a well-worthwhile piece of
weaponry on the bookshelf.