Automated Management of Time Extension Claims

Abstract

Disputes within the construction industry have caused parties to incur additional costs not accounted for. Ranking as one of the highest sources of disputes, there is a need to diminish reliance on the human factor in the extension of time (EOT) process and to bolster it with automation commodities. Six disadvantages were identified through the literature: poor record keeping, delayed event notification, an arduous process of EOT-related clauses within contracts, the lack of a superior delay analysis technique (DAT), no automation of a DAT, and finally a lack of standardized EOT submission reports. Research efforts have endeavored in tackling the drawbacks of the EOT process individually, no solution is provided to overcome all drawbacks at once to create one seamless process. This research aims to overcome the disadvantages present within the EOT submission process to provide a solution for the manual effort conducted in an EOT claim submission. Such was achieved though automated solutions that involve (1) live delay event notification and its proactive approvals; (2) natural language programming to extract EOT-related clauses; (3) a superior DAT; (4) the automation of the DAT; and (5) standardized claim document reporting system. The foregoing were then encompassed in a web-based system hereafter referred to as the automated management of time extension claims (AMTEC). AMTEC was then applied to a case study involving an EOT claim submission; it was initially applied manually and then using AMTEC. The level of effort, duration, and disputes within the entire process were compared in both scenarios. Results show that the duration for the processes decreased by 79% and the level of effort was decreased by 52%. Disputes within both scenarios were further analyzed and AMTEC was capable of overcoming the disputes faced within the manual process between parties.