What is a hindrance register?
A hindrance register is the site record of everything that held up the work and was not the contractor's doing: what the hindrance was, the activities it affected, the dates it began and was removed, and when it was reported. It is the evidence an extension of time is decided on, so it is kept as the delays happen.
What is in the hindrance register workbook?
- Project Details — agreement particulars, stipulated dates, the as-on date for continuing hindrances, and the days allowed to report one.
- Hindrance Register — one row per hindrance in date order, with its period, overlap and net days calculated.
- Summary — gross, overlapping and net hindrance days, net days by cause, checks, and the stipulated date moved by the net days.
- Filled Sample — five hindrances on an office building, one still continuing.
How does the hindrance register sheet calculate?
- Period = date of removal − date of occurrence + 1, so both the first and the last day count. A continuing hindrance runs to the as-on date.
- A hindrance is counted when it affects completion and is not the contractor's own.
- Net hindrance for each counted row = the days it adds beyond the latest end of the counted hindrances above it; overlap = period − net. With entries in date order, the total net is exactly the number of days on which at least one counted hindrance was in force.
- Days to report = reported date − date of occurrence, checked against the days allowed.
- The Summary moves the stipulated date of completion by the net days, for working purposes.
Worked example from the sample sheet: four hindrances are counted — late drawings for 15 days, a site not handed over for 26, heavy rain for 7 and an electricity connection still awaited for 31 — 79 days in all. The site handover overlapped the late drawings for 5 days, so the net hindrance is 74 days. The rain was reported 17 days after it began, later than the 14 allowed.
How do you use the hindrance register template?
- Fill in Project Details: the stipulated dates, the as-on date, and the days your contract allows for reporting a hindrance.
- Enter each hindrance on the day it occurs, in date order, with its cause, the activities it affects and whether it affects completion.
- Report it to the Engineer in writing and enter the date and letter reference.
- Enter the date of removal when it ends; until then it counts to the as-on date.
- Read the Check column and the Summary before an extension is applied for.
What should you check before relying on the hindrance register?
- Enter hindrances in order of occurrence. A row out of order is flagged, because overlaps are worked out against the rows above it.
- If your contract or Engineer does not count both the first and the last day, each period is one day less.
- Whether a hindrance affects completion is for the parties to the contract to agree; the sheet counts only what is marked Yes.
- The moved completion date is a working figure. The extension of time is decided by the authority named in the contract.
What does each column mean?
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Nature of Hindrance / Items Affected | What held the work up, and which activities it held up. |
| Cause | Department (Clause 5.3), beyond control (Clause 5.2), or the contractor's own. |
| Affects Completion? | Whether the hindrance delayed completion of the work. Only hindrances marked Yes, and not the contractor's own, are counted. |
| Date of Occurrence / Date of Removal | When it began and when it was removed. A hindrance with no removal date is counted up to the as-on date and marked continuing. |
| Reported to Engineer On / Letter Ref. | When and how it was reported, checked against the days your contract allows. |
| Period (days) | Auto-calculated. Removal − occurrence + 1, counting both the first and the last day. |
| Overlap (days) / Net Hindrance (days) | Auto-calculated. The days already covered by counted hindrances above, and the new days this one adds. |
| Check | Auto-calculated. Out of date order, removal before occurrence, not reported, reported late, continuing, or not counted. |
| Summary | Gross, overlapping and net hindrance days, net days by cause, and the stipulated date moved by the net days. |
A hindrance shows up first as a slipped activity on the construction schedule and as lost time in the daily progress report. Both are the evidence behind the dates in this register.
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