WHAT MAKES A GOOD NOTICE ?
A typical example:
“We confirm our site discussions of yesterday, when we notified you that we are unable to commence our installations on level 2, due to lack of readiness by other trades. This may well affect our programme, and will certainly cause disruption for which we reserve the right to seek costs if necessary”.
Looks pretty good, eh? Certainly. But imagine having to rely on this notice a year later, as one of the reasons why you finished late. The questions which then arise would be:
Discussions with whom? What other trades exactly? What is ‘not ready’? Which programme activity is affected? What is the actual effect? What is the disruption? “Reserve rights” is a useless term — is the Subbie registering a claim or not?
It is quite amazing just how “bad” an apparently “good” letter or notice can actually be. What seems like a clear and meaningful communication at the time when the daily events are in the forefront of everyone’s minds can in fact prove almost useless when trying to prove your case for delay at the end of an over-run job.
In fact, it is not necessary to be a “man of letters” or even a “contractual smart arse” in order to write a good letter. Some of the things to bear in mind are:
· Each letter should be “self contained” and therefore “make sense” to some stranger in two years time, without a lot of expensive detective work”.
· Each letter should confine itself to the simple facts, without any expressions of emotion, or references to irrelevant side issues.
· It is a good idea to put the “subject heading” at the top of every letter, thereby saving hours of “ransacking files” both during the job and thereafter.
· Each letter should be given a unique reference number — a simple device which can save time and frustration for all parties involved.
· The letter should be written at the time when the problem in question is “hot”.
As regards contractual “notices” of delay and/or disturbance, it is optimistic to expect that the Site Engineer and/or Supervisor will always have at his elbow the full set of sub-contract and main contract conditions detailing clause numbers and notice requirements, time limitations etc.( ** See my musings on Construction Law Week No: 3A to see how it is done).
Therefore, it is more important to “Bang it in, Bill” than it is to create some superb legalistic document.
In fact, the requirements of most Conditions are very similar. It boils down to this — the guy with the purse strings is entitled to know immediately there is a “problem”, because nobody likes “nasty surprises” after the budget is spent. Furthermore, he is entitled to be told the exact nature of the problem, how it came about, the immediate effect on programme and progress, the likely effect on overall completion and any cost implications. Several text books express it on these lines:
§ § Notice in writing forthwith for each individual delaying or disrupting event as soon as it becomes apparent.
§ § Emphasise that the memo or letter is a “notice”.
§ § Give material circumstances including causes of delay or disturbance.
§ § Identify “Relevant event” in conditions.
§ § Give expected effect on programme/progress (ie specify the affected activity and how so).
§ § Give estimate of length of delay to completion of overall sub-contract works.
§ § Give details of any cost effects.
· Update as necessary.
If you can do this, without being “bolshy” or emotive, the Client and/or Builder will have a chance of doing something about it at the time. That is in everybody’s interests.
Keynote:
Make sure each letter and notice will stand on its own merits to protect you now and in the future.
For those of you who found my weekly musings informative and helpful, I have posted 45+ posts at www.medium.com. You can access them there. You can use this link to find me at :-
Hope to see you guys signing up as my followers.
Want to know more about rules of Construction Law that most of you are unaware of (by virtue of what you are taught in college are too shallow to be of any use in your career path ) ?
Then check out my “Construction Dispute and Claims (CDC) Conversations,” a revolutionary program designed to empower construction leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to excel in the face of industry challenges.
This unique initiative provides an open, free, and easy platform for your team leaders to discuss anything that comes to mind during a weekly 1.5-hour session. Whether addressing site and operational issues or delving into the intricacies of construction law, our curated answers go beyond normal conversations, presenting legal basis and possible solutions, all while enhancing knowledge retention through a lessons-learned approach.
The CDC Conversations are essentially a weekly 1.5 hour meet where I will (over 30 sessions) mentor/coach you to attain a solid foundation on the nuances, intricacies and modalities of Construction Law under the Common, Civil and Sharia Law legal system at :-
** USD 150 (group of 5 pax) per session ) to as low as
** USD 15 to USD 30 per person per session*** (You don’t have to worry about finding a group yourself, we will do it for you ).
*** Please choose either the 5 or 10 person group.
Interested ? Please fill out the registration form at www.hqcontrol.com, or
send a message to me :-
What’s App at +6012–2673918,
My LinkedIn messenger,
or lhchin@hqcontrol.com
OR book an exploratory chat with Steven Chin (the Contract Claims Guru) before you decide to enroll at https://lnkd.in/gQRYKqSg
……………………………………………….
I have also created one What’s App Discussion Group and 3 LinkedIn Forum Groups and if you wish to join, please click on the one which interest you the most.
1# The International Construction Law Group on What’s App at https://chat.whatsapp.com/GCpIFSS63hR51XDoAYxynU
2# “FIDIC 1999 & 2017 Suite of Contracts | Group” | LinkedIn.
3# “Contract Claims Management Group — Construction Industry” | Groups | LinkedIn.
4# “ PAM 2018 and Construction Law in Malaysia” | Groups | LinkedIn — For those residing or working in Malaysia —
Cheers, Happy Reading and Wishing you Good Health Always.
