Delay and Disruption in Construction Contracts
Page 1073
Appendix 1
Glossary of terms and definitions
Glossary of terms and definitions
- A201. Standard form of building contract published by the American Institute of Architects, 1997.
- ACA. See Association of Consultant Architects.
- ACA82. ACA Building Contract 1982. Includes 1984 and 1992 revisions.
- ACA98. ACA Building Contract 1998. Includes 1999 revision.
- acceleration. The execution of work in a shorter time than previously intended. This may be achieved by re-sequencing, by the adoption of increased working hours, overtime and double/triple day shifts or by parallel working and trade stacking1.
- activity. An operation or process consuming time and resources2. The work content that can be managed by an individual or work team. It contains effort, which can be formally defined and programmed, and consumes resources. It is a measurable element of the total project programme.
- activity float. Unallocated time within a planned duration of a single activity. The float is established simply by dictating an activity duration that is greater than the actual time needed to complete that activity with the planned resources and productivity. Alternatively, it may be created automatically by some project-programming software products. An activity with float so created can be referred to as a “discontinuous”, an “interruptible”, or “stretched” activity. Where C intends to use this unallocated time as a contingency (qv) it should be separately identified as such. In Figure A1, below, the activity float relates only to activity 6 and is equal to A(6)1 + A(6)2 + A(6)3.
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activity-on-arrow network. The activity-on-arrow method of planning was developed by EI du Pont de Nemours Company in the late 1950s and was the first planning method to be called a CPM (qv). It is a network in which the activity durations are indicated by arrows linked in sequence and relationships by identifiable nodes. The arrows are connected together to indicate precedence. The first activity is situated on the left-hand side of the diagram with the last activity on the right. Activities are usually placed at different levels (not in a single row) to accommodate activities that are performed simultaneously. The arrows represent events and the event has not occurred until all the activities that terminate it have been completed. The tail of the arrow represents the beginning of an activity and the arrowhead the end of it. The number of the node that starts and ends the arrow activity usually identifies activities.Page 1074
- activity-on-node network. A network in which the nodes symbolise the activities3. A precedence diagram. This is the form in which almost all modern computerised project-planning programmes illustrate their output. (See also activity-on-arrow network for converse.) In this form of network the nodes are the activity and the arrows represent the logic between them.
- adjudication. A dispute resolution process involving a determination by a third party. In the context of construction contracts, a binding but non-final process to which parties have statutory recourse pursuant to, in the United Kingdom, the HGCRA (qv).
- adjusted as-planned programme. An as-planned programme which, for analytical purposes, has been amended to include all those activities on the as-built programme that were not anticipated at the time of tender but that, in order to maintain the construction logic of the original plan, are incorporated in the programme with “zero” durations.
- adjusted master programme. A master programme that has been corrected by removing programming errors so as to render it suitable for analytical purposes.
- AIA. See American Institute of Architects.
- American Institute of Architects (AIA). The main professional association for architects in the United States, which also produces a set of standard form contracts for building works.
- arbitration. A traditional form of dispute resolution whereby disputants agree that a third party “arbitrator” hear their submissions in private but provide a resolution that is enforceable by the courts. A very common means of dispute resolution in the construction industry.
- AS2124. Australian Standard Conditions of Contract 1992.
- AS4000. Australian Standard Conditions of Contract 1997 (supersedes AS2124).
- as-built but-for analysis. Sometimes referred to as the “collapsed as-built” method. A method of analysis that uses the as-built programme as a baseline from which the effect of delaying events are removed in order to calculate what would have been the completion date but for those events4.
- as-built critical path. The sequence of immediately critical activities, as traced through the history of a project.
- as-built programme. The record of the history of the construction project in the form of a programme. The as-built programme does not necessarily have any logical links. It can be merely a bar chart record of the start and end dates of every activity which actually took place.
- as-planned impacted programme. A method of analysis based on the as-planned programme as baseline. In this method of analysis an objective assessment of the effects of delaying events is added to the as-planned programme to demonstrate the impact of those events on the planned programme5.
- as-planned programme. The updated and amended programme illustrating C’s intent for the future conduct of the works at the time of its publication (qv). Depending upon the circumstances of its publication, it may also be referred to as the master programme (qv).
- Association of Consultant Architects (ACA). An organisation whose membership consists of architectural practices and that produces the ACA and PPC contract forms.
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Association of Forensic and Advanced Valuation Executives (AFAVE). International body for claims and disputes professionals.Page 1075
- average progress. The rate of progress at any time that C expected to make with the degree of productivity allowed for and upon which C’s tender was based.
- bar chart. A graphic display of activity durations in which the size of the bar is proportionate to the duration of the activity it represents. Activities are listed with other tabular information on the left-hand side with time intervals over the bars. Activity durations are shown in the form of horizontal bars. Sometimes called a Gantt chart (qv).
- baseline. A fixed criterion by reference to which a variable can be measured. In the context of construction programmes, the baseline is frequently an earlier version of the programme, thus enabling changes between the two programmes to be identified.
- BCA. See Board of Contract Appeals.
- BCIS. See Building Cost Information Service.
- Board of Contract Appeals (BCA). One of a set of specialist tribunals in the United States founded to decide contractual claims against Federal Government departments. The tribunals include Boards of Contract Appeals for the Department of Agriculture (AGBCA), the Armed Services (ASBCA), the Department of Energy (DOEBCA), the Department of Interior (DOIBCA), the Department of Labor (DOLBCA), the Department of Transportation (DOTBCA), the General Services (GSBCA), the US Postal Service (USPBCA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VABCA).
- British Standards (BS). The main organisation in the United Kingdom for administering standards.
- BS. See British Standards.
- Building Cost Information Service (BCIS). An organisation established by RICS (qv) in 1962 to collate and analyse data submitted by members of the BCIS and other relevant sources. Information is made available to the construction industry through several publications and an on-line service.
- building forms of contract. Those standard forms of contract specifically intended for, but not necessarily used for the construction of building works. They include those published by the JCT (qv), ACA (qv) and include FIDIC/Build98 (qv) and FIDIC/SF98 (qv).
- Building Information Modelling (BIM). Please refer to paras. 13-067 and following.
- burden of proof. The rule that it is for the party who makes the assertion to satisfy the deciding tribunal as to the truth of its allegation. When that party has put forward sufficient evidence to raise a presumption that what it asserts is true, the burden of proof shifts in that the allegation is then assumed to be true unless the other side can produce evidence to rebut the presumption.
- C. See contractor.
- C21. New South Wales Government (Department of Commerce) Standard Form. The standard form government construction contract in the Australian state of New South Wales. Remarkable primarily for its unconventional extension of time clause.
- CA. See contract administrator.
- calendar. Calendars are diaries that are a vital component of all project management systems and without them it is impossible to programme activities or resources. They are used to specify the number of hours to a day, days in a week, and weeks in a year for working or not working. This arrangement defines the amount of time available for programming activities to be carried out and people-related resources to be organised. Each calendar can be customised with its own holidays and extra work days or suspensions and they can be used to identify the effect on activity of a suspension of work. Some software packages support multiple calendars for individual projects, the whole organisation, and individual resources if necessary and in some software packages calendars can also be applied to the relationship between activities to enable periods of lag to be more closely defined.
- cascade diagram. A graphic display, sometimes referred to as a “linked bar-chart” (qv), in which the critical path network is illustrated by arrows linking nodes representing the activities.
On this type of diagram the nodes are proportionate in size to the duration of the activities and are positioned on the diagram according to their calendar dates. The logical links between activities indicate the order in which the activities are intended to be commenced and completed, and which activities must logically follow from preceding activities.Page 1076
- CDM Regulations. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994. A set of regulations relating to construction site safety introduced as a result of a European Union Directive intended to harmonise certain practices across Europe. The Regulations are aimed at improving the overall management and co-ordination of health, safety and welfare throughout all stages of a construction project, and accordingly impose statutory duties of care on the various parties to a project and their personnel.
- CESMM. See Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement.
- change. The term is used to describe any difference between the circumstances, method and/or content of the contract works as carried out, compared with the method, content and/or circumstances under which the works are described in the contract documents and intended to be carried out. This is a wide definition of change to be distinguished from the US synonym for variation, where, in some contract forms, changes for which D bears the risk are called “variations” (qv).
- Change Management Supplement (CMS). One of a series of supplements amending various standard forms of contract with the intention of improving D’s ability to manage its risks of change6.
- Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The CIOB is the professional institute charged with establishing, promoting and maintaining standards of excellence in the construction industry; it represents the construction industry in nearly 100 countries. The right to use the initials MCIOB or FCIOB is recognised internationally as achievement of the premier professional qualification in construction management.
- CIOB. See Chartered Institute of Building.
- CIOB Complex Projects Contract (CPC). Please refer to para. 4-325 and following.
- Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement (CESMM). A set of measurement rules, similar to the SMM (qv), produced and intended for use in relation to civil engineering projects. Now in its third (1991) edition.
- Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The Rules of Procedure of the Supreme Court initiated by the Woolf Report7 to streamline and make more cost effective the process of civil litigation in England and Wales. On 29 July 1998 the Lord Chancellor told the House of Lords that this was “the most fundamental reform of the civil justice system since the Judicature Acts of the 1870s”.
Figure A1 - Activity float, free float and external float