FIDIC 2017: Clause 8 – Programming; Delay Analysis and Concurrency of Delay - The Construction Industry in the UAE

Further to my series of technical notes on the FIDIC 2017 editions, I am please to present an analysis of aspects of Clause 8 (Time; Programme and Concurrency) looking specifically at the topics:

• the requirements for programmes provided by the contractor;
• the common versions of delay analysis; and
• (new in 2017), the approach of the drafting committee to expressly addressing concurrent delay.

The analysis suggests that the 2017 edition has gone too far in mandating in the general conditions of contract a number of specific requirements for programmes provided by the contractor under the contract.

The note reviews extensively the current landscape regarding which, if any, form of delay analysis might be mandated in a contract.

There is a detailed review of

1. 2017’s approach to concurrent delay;
2. the possible reliance on the SCL’s protocol for delay; and
3. disruption in the context of delay analysis generally, and if that protocol could be a useful reference point in particularizing 2017’s variables re concurrency.

Finally, there is reference to a recent survey of construction industry practitioners in the UAE regarding their preferences for stipulating in a contract a form of delay analysis and an approach to concurrency.

The note includes examples of what might be stated in the Employer’s Requirements regarding Project Controls and especially the format and content of contractor programmes.

May I acknowledge the valuable reviews and comments from Messrs. Paul Whatley (Dubai) and Farshad Doust (Qatar).

• Technical Note: FIDIC 2017: Clause 8 – Programming; Delay Analysis and Concurrency of Delay – with particular reference to the construction industry in the UAE.
• Society of Construction Law: Delay and Disruption Protocol.