Matthew Schofield, Executive Director, and Sean Vernon, Senior Contractual/
Commercial Consultant at Quantum Global Solutions, continue their series of articles on the construction industry. This month, Sean questions your memory and asks how many of you consider having an umbrella in Qatar a burden or a blessing?
Indulge me for a moment and let us have a short quiz. How many of you can say with any certainty what you ate for lunch on 24 March 2015? What about remembering if it rained on 12 January 2017?
I am fairly sure that, with the exception of something having made an event memorable, the majority of us would have extreme difficulty in remembering such details of our lives. Of course, some people are blessed (or is that cursed?) with an ability to recall everything that has happened to them. Some things are better forgotten, such as returning from abroad and thinking that my car had been stolen only to discover I was in the wrong airport car park. But other things, such as your wife or husband’s birthday, are things that are essential to remember if life is not to turn unpleasant.
In life there are many ways to remember dates and events. Traditionally one can use memory aids such as mnemonics. Silly rhymes to jog the memory, such as, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” to remember the date of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. Alternatively, one may jot things down on scraps of paper, write diaries, or, in the age of the mobile phone, set a reminder alarm. All of these may assist your memory.
So what does this have to do with the world of contract and claims, and umbrellas?
To answer that I ask you another question. What are the most common words that a claims consultant hears, after, of course, “HOW MUCH?”  They have to be, “that was before my time” or other variants such as “the manager before me was here when that happened”. Endless permutations saying the same thing… “I do not know what happened.” What is more, often there will not be any written records.
Now that causes a problem, for two reasons. Firstly, for a claim to be valid it must be based on facts. Contemporary evidence is essential to back up your case. It should be to the balance of probability, but still backed up by evidence.
Secondly, the opposing party may actually have been on site at the time of the events and your credibility will be ruined if what you have stated as fact subsequently turns out to be incorrect.
Records are not just important but essential.
In construction, the FIDIC Red Book recognises the need for records, in fact it demands them! Sub-clause 6.10 requires the Contractor to submit “details showing the number of each class of Contractor’s Personnel and of each type of Contractor’s Equipment on the Site” on a monthly basis. Sub-clause 20.1 requires the Contractor to “keep such contemporary records as may be necessary to substantiate any claim” and furthermore, the Engineer may “monitor the record-keeping and/or instruct the Contractor to keep further contemporary records.” 
The Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol 2nd Edition also stresses the need for records. Core Principle 1 “Programme and records” recommends that “Contracting parties should reach a clear agreement all the type of records to be kept and allocate the necessary resources to meet that agreement.” Core Principle 16 “Acceleration” recommends that “Contracting parties should seek to agree on the records to be kept when acceleration measures are employed.”
The Notes for Guidance devote 10 pages to the subject of “Programme and records” thus indicating the importance of such things in the context of claims and change management.
Most contracts in Qatar reference the Qatar Construction Specification (QCS), currently QCS 2014. This calls for a Site Diary to be kept and daily “entered neatly and legibly in English” and to include “Work progress during the day” as well as “Details of any occurrence which may affect the progress of the Works.” On a weekly basis the Contractor should submit “returns as to the number of men and Construction Plant employed and the nature of the Works on which they were employed.”
So really there is no excuse for not having records. Many times I hear that people do not have the time or the resources, or maybe even the skills, to keep meaningful records but look at it this way: carrying an umbrella in Qatar may seem like an unnecessary burden but believe me, it does rain in Qatar and history shows that when it does it can be heavy. At this time you will be very glad you carried that umbrella with you.