What is acceleration ??

Acceleration Construction Schedule Acceleration is the process of completing or

attempting to complete the original scope of work earlier than the contract completion
date, or completing or attempting to complete the original scope of work plus additional
work by the original contract completion date, or . . . attempting to complete the original
scope of work on the original completion in spite of excusable delays, or . . . attempting
to complete the original scope of work on the original completion in spite of nonexcusable delays.

Why its happen ??

1) Employer wishes to complete the project ealier than the contractual completion date.
2) Contractor wish to complete the work ealier than the contractual completion date.
3) Work programme contractor program behind work program , these is likely to be delay.
employer want the contractor to accelerate to meet the completion date.
4) Work programme programme are behind schedule , these is likely to be delay. But this
delay is caused by contractor. Contractor fears that he may be liable for LAD ( Liquidity and
damages ) . so, contractor accelerate to complete it on time.
5) Delays that caused by contractor, employers or natural event.
Method and consequences of acceleration

There are many ways a contractor may accelerate its work. Common methods for
accelerating project work include increasing crew sizes and adding additional crews,
working crews overtime, working out of sequence by starting tasks earlier than
originally scheduled or working multiple tasks concurrently instead of consecutively.

Requipment for acceleration claims

There are two fundamental IegaI requirements that must be met before
acceleration can support a claim to recover excess performance costs.

First, there must be a firm period within which the work must be completed. But
more than

that, time must be a part or the essence of the contract or made so by subsequent
agreement of the parties, as when an owner agrees to a contractors proposed
schedule. Logically. if neither party to the contract cares when it is completed.
then there is no justification for increased costs of acceleration.

Second, the contract must allow time extensions. If no time extensions are
permitted, the contractor may be deemed to have included any acceleration costs
in its bid. If either of these contract obligations is absent, no action for acceleration
can be maintained. It is only after these two requirements have been satisfied that
the failure to grant a time extension for acts or omissions not the fault or
responsibility of the performer and the insistence on meeting the contract
completion date can result in acceleration claims.

When to make claim

Contractor accelerate
First, just because the contractor has accelerated the works and has completed earlier than the
scheduled completion date does not entitle him to additional payment.He may be entitled to bonus
payment for early completion if there are such provisions in the contract, but such bonuses are not
acceleration costs. To be entitled to additional payment for acceleration costs, the contractor must
show that the employer instructed him to accelerate the completion of the works. Usually, this needs
to be a clear and express instruction.
Employer accelerate
Secondly, just because the employer has instructed the contractor to accelerate completion does not
mean the employer will be liable for the costs of acceleration. One needs to look at the
circumstances under which the employer has given that instruction. If the employers instruction is
given because the contractor is himself in delay, then the acceleration effort is merely mitigation by
the contractor of his own liability for delay related damages. The contractor cannot charge the
employer for such acceleration related costs.

When contractor believe employer liable

Thirdly, there could be circumstances where the contractor believes that the delays to completion
are matters for which the employer is liable but the employer has not responded to the contractors
claim for extension of time. The contractor is not sure whether or not his extension of time claim will
be allowed or refused. In such circumstances, the contractor has to make a choice: if it proceeds as
normal, the work will be completed late and he could be liable for delay damages. If he accelerates,
the work will be completed on time but he will have incurred additional costwhich, if the extension
of time claim is refused, he will have to bear himself.

Acceleration cost
If a contractor is behind schedule and the owner acts reasonably under the
terms of a contract provision allowing it to demand that the contractor accelerate.
the contractor will not be entitled to recover its resulting costs necessary to get
the project back on schedule. This only results when the contractor acknowledges
that it was responsible for the delay. Generally, a contractor will dispute its
obligation to accelerate to overcome its delays. claiming that owner caused delays
rather than contractor caused delays were responsible for any extended project
completion.

Elements to acceleration claims

1
2
1
2
1

There must be an excusable delay.

There must have been timely notice of the delay and a proper request
for a time extension.
The time extension request must either be postponed or refused.
The owner or other party must by coercion, direction, or in some other
manner that reasonably can he construed as a command order completion
within the unextended performance period.
The Contractor must actually accelerate its performance and thereby incur
added costs.

Acceleration aggrement

Although some international standard forms of contract make provision for the
parties to accelerate the progress of the works Malaysian domestic standard forms
dont with the exception of the Model Terms of Sub-contract 2007 (CICC-CIDB). This
does not mean that it is impossible for the parties to agree to vary the contract to
their mutual benefit. Consideration however, should be given to the possibility that
if the acceleration is necessary solely due to the contractors default, that any
agreement to accelerate may have no legal effect for lack of consideration, since
the Employer is simply obtaining that which he is already required to receive under
the contract.
This argument was used unsuccessfully by the defendant in the case of Lester
Williams v Roffey Brothers & Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd (1989). In which delays
resulted from Lester Williams who had initially under priced the job and then failed
to supervise the works which resulted in poor productivity.

Constructive acceleration
Constructive acceleration occurs in the absence of owner directed acceleration. The
Employers refusal to grant an Extension of Time for a delay for which the contractor
is not responsible or liable under the conditions of contract may result in an
acceleration effort by the contractor in order to complete the project on the
contractual completion date to avoid the imposition of liquidated damages. The
Society of Construction Law Protocol defines constructive acceleration as
Acceleration following failure by the Employer to recognize that the Contractor has
encountered Employer Delay for which it is entitled to an extension of time and
which failure required the Contractor to accelerate its progress in order to complete
the works by the prevailing contract completion date.