In brief
- A rework allowance covers tear-out and rebuild, so it only pays out when an inspection record proves the work was checked before it was covered.
- Weak supervision moves rework into unplanned correction costs, because nobody can say when the defect happened or which stage should pay for it.
- Name an inspection point and a signer in the contract before work starts, and keep the signed sheet on site.
Contents
Rework on a Qardho project often begins with a missing signature. A rework allowance is money set aside to tear out and rebuild work that fails inspection, and it only works when a supervisor records each inspection as it happens. Where supervision is thin, that record is missing, so correction costs land outside the allowance and nobody agrees who carries them.
How do rework allowances and supervision gaps connect?
An allowance is a line in the bill of quantities, and it needs a trigger. The trigger is a failed inspection: concrete that does not reach the specified strength, a membrane laid over a damp screed, a pipe joint that leaks under test.
Supervision does three things that make the trigger fire. It names the inspection points in advance, it witnesses the test or the cover-up, and it signs a sheet the same day. Strip any one of those and the allowance stops working as a number and becomes a dispute.
Confirm with the relevant office and the project engineer which inspection stages apply to a building of this type, and which records are required for the completed work. Write those stages into the contract as hold points. General practice is that no trade covers work until the previous stage is signed, but confirm the exact list and any applicable requirement with the engineer before the tender goes out.
What does missed inspection turn rework into?
When nobody signs the stage, the defect surfaces later, and late defects are expensive. A slab poured without a recorded cover check may need cores drilled and tested. A screed covered before it dried may need the membrane lifted and the floor redone.
The cost then appears as unplanned correction, not as an allowance draw. Three things follow. The client pays twice for the same element. The contractor argues the defect was caused by someone else's trade. The programme slips, because tear-out sits on the critical path while the next trade waits.
A client can spot this pattern without technical training. Walk a recent site and ask to see the inspection sheets for the last month. If the sheets exist but carry one signature for a whole week of work, the supervision is not witnessing anything. If they do not exist, the allowance in the next tender is decoration.
How do you close the gap before work starts?
Fix the inspection regime in the contract documents, not on site after a problem. Name the hold points, name who signs, and say what happens if a stage is covered without a signature.
The supervisor needs the time to be present. Check the supervision time allowed in the contract against the number of hold points in the project's programme. Where the two do not line up, the allowance will not be used, so confirm the arrangement with the engineer before work starts.
Ask two contractors to explain in writing how they will record inspections and who on their staff signs. Check what the contract allows before you change payment terms, and take advice on your own contract rather than withholding money on site. Ask a laboratory for its rate if testing is part of the regime, and ask the engineer to confirm the acceptance criteria in writing.
What to do next
List the inspection hold points for the building type and the person who signs each one. Send that list to the engineer or the relevant office and ask for comments on which local requirements apply. Then attach the agreed list to the tender documents as a separate supervision item, so the cost of witnessing each hold point stays visible.
Frequently asked questions
Can a rework allowance be claimed without an inspection record?
Usually not, because the claim needs evidence of which stage failed and when it was covered. Agree the hold points and the signing supervisor in the contract so the record exists.
Who should sign inspection sheets on site?
The contract should name the role, whether that is the site supervisor, the engineer's representative or a clerk of works. Confirm that role in the contract documents, then follow what they say.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Qardho and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.