Abortive work in building design and construction
Abortive work (or abortive costs or abortive fees) refers to work that has been started or carried out, but is not needed, or is no longer needed, and will not form part of the final development. The work will be wasted.
Abortive work can occur at any stage of a project, relating to the tender process, the work of consultants or construction.
Abortive work can arise because of:
- Cancellation of a project or an element of a project.
- Failed or abortive tendering.
- A change of circumstances (for example a change in legislative requirements).
- Clarification of circumstances (for example the opening up of existing works, or below ground works).
- Refusal of planning permission or other approvals.
- Changes in requirements, such as budget, location, size and technical requirements.
- The work carried out was unauthorised.
- The work was not properly authorised.
- Mistakes or misunderstandings.
- Clashes resulting from poor co-ordination.
- Design changes during manufacture or construction.
- Changes required once the completed works have been seen.
- Procurement of redundant goods, materials, plant or personnel.
The occurrence of abortive work can be reduced by:
- Undertaking thorough site investigations and condition surveys.
- Ensuring that the project brief is comprehensive and is supported by all stakeholders (including end users).
- Ensuring that legislative requirements are properly integrated into the project.
- Ensuring that risks are properly identified.
- Introducing change-control procedures at key stages, with progressive gateways at which the project is defined, agreed, a decision taken to proceed to the next stage and some aspects frozen.
- Applying for permissions as early as is practicable.
- Ensuring designs are properly co-ordinated before tender.
- Limiting the number of tenderers and the extent of the tender process (particularly for procurement routes such as the private finance initiative, or prime contracting for which tender costs can be very high) .
- Only tendering for work where the chance of success is high.
- Adopting quality assurance systems.
- Adopting assistive technologies such as building information modelling (BIM) to improve co-ordination.
- Frequent site inspections.
- Suspending the works while potential changes are assessed in order to minimise potential abortive works.
Where abortive work is carried out, the cost of those works will be allocated depending on the wording of the contract.
Very broadly, the costs may be borne by the client if the conditions set out in the contract have been met (sometimes referred to as abortive terms), if the client has accepted the risk for unknown items (such as ground conditions) or if there has been a breach of contract by the client.
Where a change has been instructed by the client in accordance with the contract that might result in abortive work, this may give rise to additions or deductions from the contract sum and may also (but not necessarily) require adjustment of the completion date.
Where the consultant or contractor has carried out unauthorised or non-compliant work, or they have accepted the risk for unknown items, they may bear the cost of abortive work.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Change control procedure
- Cost control.
- Remedial work.
- Scope creep.
- Variation.
- Value engineering.
- Value management.
[edit] External references
Featured articles and news
Cladding remediation programmes, transparency and target date.
National Audit Office issue report on cladding remediation.
HBPT and BEAMS Jubilees. Book review.
Does the first Labour budget deliver for the built environment?
What does the UK Budget mean for electrical contractors?
Mixed response as business pays, are there silver linings?
A brownfield housing boost for Liverpool
A 56 million investment from Homes England now approved.
Fostering a future-ready workforce through collaboration
Collaborative Futures: Competence, Capability and Capacity, published and available for download.
Considerate Constructors Scheme acquires Building A Safer Future
Acquisition defines a new era for safety in construction.
AT Awards evening 2024; the winners and finalists
Recognising professionals with outstanding achievements.
Reactions to the Autumn Budget announcement
And key elements of the quoted budget to rebuild Britain.
Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers Budget
Repairing, fixing, rebuilding, protecting and strengthening.
Expectation management in building design
Interest, management, occupant satisfaction and the performance gap.
Connecting conservation research and practice with IHBC
State of the art heritage research & practice and guidance.
Innovative Silica Safety Toolkit
Receives funding boost in memory of construction visionary.
Gentle density and the current context of planning changes
How should designers deliver it now as it appears in NPPF.
Sustainable Futures. Redefining Retrofit for Net Zero Living
More speakers confirmed for BSRIA Briefing 2024.
Making the most of urban land: Brownfield Passports
Policy paper in brief with industry responses welcomed.
The boundaries and networks of the Magonsæte.
Comments