Access to the site compound was not possible for one day due to a cordon put in place by works by Others. Access to the work site was available, but work could not be carried out as the plant and equipment was stored in the site compound.
The Employer for both this contract and Others contract is the same.
The Contractor has submitted a CE under 60.1 (2) stating that work could not be carried out for one day, as the site compound could not be accessed. The quotation includes (1) one day of Contractor and Supervisor site offices, (2) one day of time for all the plant and equipment that was in the yard (even if some of the plant was finished with as part of the project), (3) the workforce and (4) vehicles.
What can the Contractor reasonably claim for in these circumstances?
They can claim what ever cost will result from the one day delay. If they are now going to be on site for one day longer i.e. planned Completion has moved by one day, then yes they would be entitled to claim one day of “prelim” type costs but only costs that they WILL incur and they can’t avoid/mitigate. If the welfare cabins are going to be on site an extra day and management needs to be on site an extra day then yes that would be part of the quotation. Equipment that is not being used or that has (or should have been) off-hired is not recoverable and would be assessed out of any quote by the PM (and should not have been applied for in the first place).
Equally this one day delay may NOT have impacted the overall planned Completion, in which case there is NO entitlement to claim for offices/management team as they are still going to be on site the same length of time that they allowed for in the tender. For option B this will be any elements that are valid in the shorter schedule of cost components (SSCC). What ever the Contractor assesses, if the PM believes that contractually this is incorrect then they can make their own assessment (in accordance with the rules of the contract)
The point of a CE is to be able to claim the genuine cost that will result for something that is not the Contractor’s risk (plus fee). They are not meant to be disadvantaged by such an event, but equally nor are they meant to make their fortunes and take advantage.