"Most of the time loss in a project usually occurs at the beginning," said Martin during a presentation at the recent Interphex trade show in New York.

"Companies must always be ready to fully engage the contractor as start up delays will impact the project timeline and cost," he said.

According to Martin, the four biggest reasons for project delay or unmet deadlines are: the unavailability of client resources; unavailable or incomplete client documentation; unavailability of necessary systems or equipment; and a timely or mismanaged client review process.

Some suggestions he made in order to avoid such scenarios include having all the necessary resources, equipment and documentation ready and working prior to project commencement; making sure the contractor has one client point of contact they can liaise with to address queries/problems promptly should they arise; and implementing a "project execution plan," with clear documentation as to who can sign off what, as well as a backup plan if a particular "sign off" person is absent.

"Have everything as prepared as possible so that the contractor can hit the ground running once the project starts. There is no point having people sitting around who can't do their job due to poor planning," said Martin.

"Taking proper care of the first few steps can save you ten at the end."