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Delay, claims and disputes

Notify, substantiate and resolve claims for time and money under the contract.

Start the course How it runs
Output
Notice, substantiated claim and evidence pack
Module
Change, variations and claims
Documents
  • Notice of delay
  • Extension of time claim
  • Delay analysis
Standards and references
  • SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol
  • AACE RP 29R-03
  • FIDIC 2017 clause 20
  • NEC4 section 6

What it is

Delay and claims management is how a party recovers time and money when events outside its risk change the work. It starts with notice within the contract's time limit, continues with records that show cause and effect, and ends with an agreed or determined entitlement. Many claims fail on missing notices and weak records rather than on the merits.

A claim normally has two parts: an extension of time, supported by a delay analysis against the programme, and additional payment, supported by cost records. If the parties cannot agree, the contract sets the route: adjudication, a dispute board, arbitration or the courts. The quality of the contemporaneous record decides how each stage goes.

Who does it

Contractor's commercial manager
Issues notices, prepares the claim and manages negotiations.
Planner / delay analyst
Tests the effect of events on the programme and prepares the extension of time submission.
Project manager / Engineer
Assesses notices and claims under the contract and makes an assessment or determination.
Site team
Keeps diaries, photos and records that prove what happened and when.
Claims or legal adviser
Advises on entitlement, time bars and dispute procedures.

How it runs

  1. Identify the event

    Recognise an instruction, late information, access problem or other event that may give entitlement, and record it on the day.

  2. Give notice

    Send the contractual notice in the required form and within the time limit, referencing the clause.

  3. Keep contemporaneous records

    Record resources, progress, standing time and costs specific to the event in diaries and timesheets.

  4. Analyse delay

    Assess the effect on the critical path using an accepted method, such as time impact analysis against the updated programme.

  5. Quantify cost

    Price the additional cost from records, separating prolongation, disruption and direct cost.

  6. Submit the claim

    Issue a fully detailed claim with narrative, programme analysis, quantum and an ordered evidence pack.

  7. Agree or escalate

    Negotiate the assessment and, if it is not agreed, follow the contract's dispute route.

How it differs by country

United Kingdom
NEC4 uses compensation events with an eight-week notification period, after which the Contractor generally loses entitlement. The SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol (2nd edition, 2017) is widely used guidance on records and delay analysis, and statutory adjudication is available under the Construction Act.
Germany
Under VOB/B §6 the contractor must notify an obstruction in writing (Behinderungsanzeige) to rely on an extension of time. Payment for changed or additional work is dealt with under §2, and §6(6) covers damages for obstruction.
France
Under CCAG-Travaux the contractor raises a disagreement through a mémoire en réclamation within set periods. Public contract disputes may be referred to a comité consultatif de règlement amiable before the administrative courts.
United States
AIA A201 requires claims to be initiated by written notice within 21 days after the claimant first recognises the condition. Mediation is normally required before binding dispute resolution.
International
FIDIC 2017 Sub-Clause 20.2 requires a Notice of Claim within 28 days of becoming aware of the event, followed by a fully detailed claim within 84 days. Disputes go to the DAAB before amicable settlement and arbitration.

Common mistakes

  • Missing the notice period, or sending an informal email when the contract requires a specific form of notice.
  • Relying on witness statements prepared later instead of contemporaneous records.
  • Claiming global delay without linking each event to the critical path.
  • Mixing prolongation and disruption costs so that items are counted twice.
  • Not updating the programme, so there is no baseline to measure delay against.
  • Ignoring concurrent delay caused by the contractor's own problems.

In OpenConstructionERP

Module: Change, variations and claims

The Change, variations and claims modules support the full route. Variations & Site Measurements follows a matter from notice to variation order, site measurement, daywork and claim. Change Orders records cost impact and approval, and Management of Change keeps the audit trail. Claims Evidence assembles an ordered, content-addressable evidence pack, while Event Reconciliation stitches one event together across modules and channels. Change Intelligence shows what is waiting on whom, and Cost Recovery records back-charges per responsible party.

Variations & Site Measurements · Change Orders · Management of Change · Claims Evidence · Event Reconciliation · Change Intelligence · Cost Recovery

The app runs at openconstructionacademy.com/app for course learners.

Free videos

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Courses

Practise it in OpenConstructionERP

The free videos explain the process. The full course lets you run it yourself in the ERP, task by task.

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