— 5 min read
Reporting Deficiencies in Construction Projects
Last Updated Mar 26, 2025
In construction, deficiencies - whether evident in preliminary planning or only after a project's completion - can lead to significant delays, cost overruns, and even safety concerns. This article explores what deficiencies are, why even small oversights can have far-reaching consequences, and how a systematic approach to identification and resolution can save time, money and reputation.
Table of contents
What is a deficiency?
Deficiencies in construction are issues that can be present at both the pre-construction phase or once a build is finished. In the preconstruction phase, a deficiency could be a lack of information or incorrect information. Examples could be quantities or dimensions of materials, like cubic metres of concrete required or the size of steel beams. These kinds of deficiencies would lead to problems down the line if they are not discovered and corrected at an early stage.
Once the build is complete, deficiencies that were not noticed and corrected during the project will have resulted in defects in the build’s finish or quality. These defects will need to be addressed before the project is ready to hand over.
I sat there one day going through bending schedules and the governor said to me ‘You’re wasting your time doing that, we’re paying engineers.’ The thing is, I’d already noticed a problem, and it takes three weeks to get the bars made — so if we didn’t address it then, we’d suffer a bad delay.
Kevin Davenport
Technical Construction Consultant
Risks of Deficiencies
As with the bending schedule example, a deficiency in information can cause major problems for a construction project. Deficiencies in information about materials, like size or quantities, can lead to huge delays because of the long lead times for some materials that can take weeks to get delivered. Or they can require rework if tasks are done incorrectly.
Delays in deliveries are likely to affect the project schedule, which may mean handing over the project past the deadline. This can incur late fees or other penalties as set out in the contract. Contracts will often contain a ‘liquidated damages’ clause for late delivery, which means paying the client a set sum for every day it is late. In addition to penalties, there’s also the cost of reordering the materials.
That’s why it’s so important to go over your schedule, your Bill of Quantities and your contract with a fine-tooth comb before you even start doing the work. Spending two hours looking at documents might feel like a long time that could be better spent getting on with the work, but that time can save you days, weeks or even months of delays. It’s always worth it.
Deficiencies can cause problems besides delays and extra costs too. If deficiencies are not noticed in the information and documentation, they can lead to serious issues with build quality and safety. This can cause structural failures that lead to worker injuries or hazards such as fire risks.
There is also the risk to your reputation — if deficiencies lead to delays or poor quality, it is unlikely that a client will recommend a business or commission more work. Worse still, the client may take legal action.
To summarise, some of the main risks of deficiencies are:
+ Schedule delays
+ Cost overruns
+ Rework
+ Quality and safety issues
+ Reputational damage
+ Client dissatisfaction
+ Legal action
Learn about the future of the built environment - Read 鶹Ƶ's Future State of Construction report
Learn how contractors, subcontractors, and project teams can take advantage of new opportunities to boost efficiency and profitability over the next decade. Download the report to get your roadmap to the future state of construction.
Reporting Deficiencies
Every company has their own way of reporting deficiencies, and there’s not a simple one-size-fits-all process. Everyone has their own IT system which will have different ways of documenting a deficiency, and there will also be conversations and meetings to have where you discuss these issues. It’s really important to understand the system at the company you’re working for, especially if you’re a consultant or sub-contractor. You might have your own way, but you need to know what the accepted process is.
When you’re a consultant, you get parachuted into an office and everyone runs their own system. So the first thing to do is to talk to people and look at the technology to understand how each company handles their deficiency reporting.