A new vulnerability
Covid-19 has exposed a vulnerability to project schedules we have not seen before.
The situation is this: a new machine or a rebuild of a machine is moving along just fine. Suddenly, Covid-19 strikes and the machine manufacturer's technicians are recalled until further notice. This is, of course, dictated by announced travel bans coupled with employers watching out for the health of their employees.
In the two cases of which I am aware at the moment, the machine manufacturer will no doubt claim "Force Majeure." This leaves you, as the owner's representative, with few choices.
After a fifty year career, I had thought I had seen everything. But this is a new one. If you are caught up in one of these messes right now, give me a call and I will see if I can think of a way to help you.
If you are in the planning stages of a new project, henceforth and forever more, you'll need to be thinking of this potential problem.