CEMP-CP
Regulation No.
415-1-15
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Washington, DC 20314-1000
ER 415-1-15
31 Oct 89
Construction
CONSTRUCTION TIME EXTENSIONS
FOR WEATHER
Distribution Restriction Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
ER 415-1-15
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Washington, D. C. 20314-1000
CEMP-CP
Regulation
No. 415-1-15
31 October 1989
Construction
CONSTRUCTION TIME EXTENSIONS FOR WEATHER
1. Purpose
. To provide guidance for establishing contract time
adjustments for delays resulting from unusually severe weather.
2. Applicability
. This guidance applies to all USACE elements and will
be used for all military and civil construction contracts with the
exception of dredging contracts or contracts which are highly dependent
upon river stages.
3. Reference
. FAR 52.249-10.
4. Objectives
.
a. Establish a consistent approach and methodology for analyzing and
adjusting the contract performance time when delays due to unusually
severe weather are incurred.
b. Administer construction contracts in a fair and reasonable manner
consistent with the provisions of FAR 52.249-10.
c. Maintain schedule control with respect to weather delays by
periodic application of this methodology throughout the contract period
and by the timely issuance of modifications.
5. Definitions
.
a. "Adverse weather" - atmospheric conditions at a definite time and
place that are unfavorable to construction activities.
b. "Unusually severe weather" - weather that is more severe than the
adverse weather anticipated for the season or location involved.
6. Implementation
.
a. Appendix A contains the latest version of the special clause which
shall be included in all applicable contracts (see paragraph 2, above).
To avoid conflict, no other special clauses in reference to weather
conditions shall be included.
This regulation supercedes ER 415-1-15, 31 July 1987.
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31 Oct 89
By using this clause, it is possible to determine the delays due to the
occurrence of unusually severe weather through comparison of the
anticipated adverse weather delay with the actual delays due to adverse
weather experienced at the project site during construction. If it is
found that the weather experienced is unusually severe, further analysis
will be performed to determine if critical construction activities have
been affected and, as a result, completion is delayed.
b. Appendix B provides instructions on development of monthly
anticipated adverse weather delay data, application of the data to
estimating performance time, and analysis of actual adverse weather
delays during construction. Independent evaluation of a contractor's
entitlement to time for unusually severe weather delays must be made on
a monthly basis, and should occur even though the contractor may not
have placed the government on notice for a specific adjustment or only
generally indicated that weather delays are being experienced. If
monthly evaluations result in contractor entitlement to additional time,
then the contractor will be given prompt notice of the entitlement
determination and a contract modification will be issued not less than
quarterly, and on a unilateral basis if necessary.
FOR THE COMMANDER:
ALBERT J. GENETTI JR.
Colonel, Corps of Engineers
Chief of Staff
2 Appendices
APP A - Time Extensions for
Unusually Severe Weather
APP B - Development and Analysis
of Adverse Weather Data
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31 Oct 89
APPENDIX A
SC______ TIME EXTENSIONS FOR UNUSUALLY SEVERE WEATHER
1. This provision specifies the procedure for determination of time
extensions for unusually severe weather in accordance with the contract
clause entitled "Default: (Fixed Price Construction)". In order for the
Contracting Officer to award a time extension under this clause, the
following conditions must be satisfied:
a. The weather experienced at the project site during the contract
period must be found to be unusually severe, that is, more severe than
the adverse weather anticipated for the project location during any
given month.
b. The unusually severe weather must actually cause a delay to the
completion of the project. The delay must be beyond the control and
without the fault or negligence of the contractor.
2. The following schedule of monthly anticipated adverse weather delays
is based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or
similar data for the project location and will constitute the base line
for monthly weather time evaluations. The contractor's progress
schedule must reflect these anticipated adverse weather delays in all
weather dependent activities.
MONTHLY ANTICIPATED ADVERSE WEATHER DELAY
WORK DAYS BASED ON (5) DAY WORK WEEK *
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
(10) (9) (9) (8) (7) (7) (7) (5) (6) (5) (7) (8)*
3. Upon acknowledgment of the Notice to Proceed (NTP) and continuing
throughout the contract, the contractor will record on the daily CQC
report, the occurrence of adverse weather and resultant impact to
normally scheduled work. Actual adverse weather delay days must prevent
work on critical activities for 50 percent or more of the contractor's
scheduled work day.
* INSTRUCTION: INSERT NUMERICAL VALUES IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPENDIX B.
VALUES SHOWN ARE FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY
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The number of actual adverse weather delay days shall include days
impacted by actual adverse weather (even if adverse weather occurred in
previous month), be calculated chronologically from the first to the
last day of each month, and be recorded as full days. If the number of
actual adverse weather delay days exceeds the number of days anticipated
in paragraph 2, above, the contracting officer will convert any
qualifying delays to calendar days, giving full consideration for
equivalent fair weather work days, and issue a modification in
accordance with the contract clause entitled "Default (Fixed Price
Construction)".
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APPENDIX B
DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF ADVERSE WEATHER DATA
1. Development of Adverse Weather Data
-- This is the process of
collecting, compiling and analyzing the raw weather data (NOAA and other
sources) that forms the baseline for estimating anticipated delays and
project durations and determining the occurrence of unusually severe
weather. The following actions make up the development process:
a. Analyze the project scope and site geography to determine which
weather parameters (temperature, precipitation, wind, etc.) are
applicable. The parameters selected should present adverse conditions
that could potentially delay construction activities.
b. Review the technical specifications to determine the numerical
values that will be assigned to each parameter in order to establish the
anticipated adverse weather. Usually when two or more construction
phases are affected by the same parameter, the less severe numerical
value should be used (i.e., if roofing work is delayed by temperatures
below 40 degrees and concrete work is delayed by temperatures below 32
degrees, then the numerical value used to define adverse weather should
be 40 degrees unless some other factor renders the roofing phase
insignificant in terms of schedule criticality).
c. Compile the number of days per month that the anticipated weather
is expected to be adverse by analysis of NOAA or other weather data.
When at all possible, the last 10 years of consecutive data should be
used to establish the baseline. However, in the absence of 10 years of
data, a shorter period may be used. It may be necessary to extrapolate
the number of calendar days that the temperature is expected to fall
below the selected numerical value (say, 40 degrees) from raw data.
d. Adverse weather data must be periodically updated in order to
reflect changes in the 10 year averages and incorporate any necessary
corrections derived from actual field experience. It is recommended
that data used for establishing adverse weather baselines be reviewed
annually.
2. Application of Adverse Weather Data to Performance Time Estimates
--
The following paragraphs outline steps to develop the baseline schedule
in Appendix A and incorporate normal adverse weather data in estimates
of construction contract performance time.
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a. Prepare a preliminary project schedule and determine the project
construction duration in calendar days (excluding weather delays).
b. Estimate the date of NTP from bid opening and award schedules.
c. Compare the preliminary project schedule to the adverse weather
data compiled in paragraph 1c and determine the anticipated delay due to
adverse weather for each month of Appendix A.
(1) This will require analysis of concurrent effects of different
parameters, project specific conditions and estimated impact (continued
delay on days following the adverse weather).
(2) Incorporation of anticipated delays due to weather will change
individual activity durations and progressively shift the preliminary
schedule and move weather dependent activities into or out of
unfavorable conditions.
(3) After the process is completed for the entire preliminary
schedule, the revised performance time can be determined by adding the
applicable parameter values to the original performance time. The data
that is created should be filed for record.
(4) The schedule of MONTHLY ANTICIPATED ADVERSE WEATHER DELAY, which
will be inserted in Appendix A, is derived by taking the monthly delays
added to the preliminary schedule and converting them to work days based
on the estimated work schedule. On multi-year contracts it may be
necessary to average or otherwise consolidate different delays for the
same month of year.
3. Analysis of Actual Adverse Weather During Construction
--
a. Although the contractor is required to document the occurrence and
effect of adverse weather on the work, it does not relieve the
Government of its responsibility to investigate and determine if an
excusable delay has occurred.
b. The schedule of anticipated adverse weather delays included in the
contract is established in work days. Similarly, actual weather data
should be collected and recorded on a work day basis. Monthly summaries
should be maintained indicating actual adverse weather conditions and
the impact on work activities.
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c. To determine if any particular month experienced unusually severe
weather, the number of actual adverse delay days is compared to that
given in the table in the special clause. If the number of actual delay
days is greater than that in the contract the contractor has experienced
unusually severe weather.
d. THE DETERMINATION THAT UNUSUALLY SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED DOES NOT
AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THAT THE CONTRACTOR RECEIVES A TIME EXTENSION FOR THE
DIFFERENCE OF DAYS BETWEEN THE ANTICIPATED AND ACTUAL ADVERSE WEATHER
DELAY DAYS. Further analysis is necessary to determine if the unusually
severe weather delayed work activities critical to contract completion.
The contractor's progress schedule must be evaluated to make this
determination. If it is found that unusually severe weather delayed the
contract, a contract modification shall be issued pursuant to
FAR 52.249-10.
e. As stated in the basic ER, any necessary modifications will be
issued not less than quarterly. However, the contractor will be
notified on a monthly basis of the government's determination and be
instructed to incorporate the expected time extension, if any, in his
monthly progress schedule update. It is equally important to notify the
contractor of negative determinations on a monthly basis so that the
Government's intentions are clearly understood.
f. The supporting documentation for the modification shall cite the
appropriate contract clause (FAR 52.249-10) and state that the
contractor was delayed by "unusually severe weather" during a defined
period.