Schedule acceleration involves expediting project tasks to achieve an earlier completion date than originally planned. This strategic decision can arise from various circumstances, each with distinct implications for project parties, particularly regarding cost and risk allocation. Understanding these different types is crucial for effective project management and dispute resolution.
The different types of schedule acceleration are directed acceleration, constructive acceleration, and voluntary acceleration.
Understanding Schedule Acceleration
Project schedules are dynamic documents, and circumstances often necessitate adjustments to the planned timeline. Schedule acceleration refers to the process of compressing the project schedule to finish earlier. While it can offer significant benefits, such as capturing market opportunities or avoiding penalties, it typically comes with increased costs due to additional resources, overtime, or more intensive management.
The Three Types of Schedule Acceleration
Each type of acceleration differs based on who initiates it, the reasons behind it, and who typically bears the additional costs.
1. Directed Acceleration
Directed acceleration occurs when the project owner explicitly instructs the contractor to complete the project or specific milestones ahead of the original contractual schedule. This is a formal directive, usually issued via a change order.
-
Key Characteristics:
- Initiator: The project owner (client).
- Reason: The owner desires an earlier completion for their own benefit, such as capitalizing on market conditions, meeting a critical business deadline, or mitigating delays on interdependent projects.
- Cost Responsibility: The owner is typically responsible for the increased costs associated with accelerating the schedule. These costs include, but are not limited to, additional labor (overtime, extra shifts), more equipment, expediting material deliveries, and increased supervision.
- Documentation: This type of acceleration is typically well-documented through formal change orders, which detail the new completion date and the agreed-upon compensation for the contractor.
-
Practical Example:
A retail store owner wants their new flagship store completed two months earlier than the original contract date to open before the crucial holiday shopping season. They issue a change order, agreeing to pay the contractor for the additional resources needed to achieve this accelerated timeline.
2. Constructive Acceleration
Constructive acceleration is a more complex and often contentious type of acceleration. It happens when a contractor is compelled to accelerate their work to meet the original contract completion date, despite having a legitimate claim for an extension of time (EOT) due to owner-caused delays, but the owner denies the EOT request or fails to act upon it promptly.
-
Key Characteristics:
- Initiator: While no direct order is given, the owner's actions (or inactions) force the contractor to accelerate.
- Reason: Owner-caused delays (e.g., late approvals, design changes without corresponding EOT, site access issues) lead the contractor to fall behind schedule. When the contractor requests an EOT, the owner denies it or fails to respond, implying that the original completion date must still be met to avoid liquidated damages.
- Cost Responsibility: This is often a point of dispute. The contractor, having incurred extra costs to accelerate without a formal directive, will seek to recover these costs from the owner. Proving constructive acceleration requires robust documentation of owner-caused delays, a valid EOT request, the owner's denial or inaction, and the actual acceleration efforts.
- Documentation: Crucial documentation includes daily reports, correspondence regarding delays and EOTs, evidence of acceleration efforts (e.g., increased crew sizes, overtime records), and cost accounting specific to acceleration.
-
Practical Example:
During a commercial building project, the owner repeatedly delays approving critical design changes, impacting the contractor's progress. The contractor submits a formal EOT request due to these owner-caused delays. However, the owner denies the request and insists the project must still finish on the original date, threatening liquidated damages. To avoid these penalties, the contractor implements overtime and adds more crews, effectively accelerating the work at their own initial expense, planning to claim these costs later.
3. Voluntary Acceleration
Voluntary acceleration occurs when the contractor independently decides to expedite the project schedule without any directive or implicit pressure from the owner.
-
Key Characteristics:
- Initiator: The contractor.
- Reason: The contractor identifies an opportunity or necessity to finish early for their own benefit. This might include:
- Improving cash flow by completing earlier.
- Releasing resources for other projects.
- Earning an early completion bonus (if stipulated in the contract).
- Mitigating the impact of contractor-caused delays to avoid liquidated damages.
- Taking advantage of favorable weather conditions or other unforeseen efficiencies.
- Cost Responsibility: The contractor is solely responsible for all additional costs incurred during voluntary acceleration. There is no entitlement to claim these costs from the owner.
- Documentation: Internal planning and resource allocation records will show the acceleration efforts, but these are for the contractor's internal use and cost tracking.
-
Practical Example:
A construction company is building a residential complex. They complete the foundation work two weeks ahead of schedule due to excellent weather and efficient crew management. To maintain momentum and potentially move their crews to another pending project sooner, they decide to accelerate the framing phase using a larger crew and extended hours, fully bearing the additional costs. Alternatively, if they had fallen behind due to their own inefficiencies, they might accelerate to catch up and avoid liquidated damages.
Comparative Overview of Schedule Acceleration Types
| Feature | Directed Acceleration | Constructive Acceleration | Voluntary Acceleration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initiator | Owner | Owner's actions/inactions (denial of EOT for owner-caused delay) | Contractor |
| Reason | Owner's benefit (e.g., market advantage) | Owner-caused delays combined with owner's refusal to grant rightful EOT, to avoid LDs | Contractor's benefit (e.g., early completion bonus, resource redeployment, avoid LDs) |
| Owner's Order | Explicit, formal change order | No explicit order, but implicit pressure due to EOT denial | No order |
| Cost Bearing | Owner (via change order) | Contractor initially, but seeks recovery from owner (often litigated) | Contractor |
| Documentation | Formal change orders, agreed compensation | Detailed records of owner delays, EOT requests, denial/inaction, acceleration efforts | Internal planning and cost tracking |
| Risk | Clearly defined in change order | High risk for contractor, requires robust proof for cost recovery | Borne by contractor |
Understanding these distinct types of schedule acceleration empowers project managers, owners, and contractors to navigate potential challenges, mitigate risks, and ensure fair allocation of costs and responsibilities when a project timeline needs to be compressed.
