Claims Management and (EOT)

If the new work does not affect your completion date, there is no EOT – request a variation order for the additional scope only.

If the new work conflicts with other work and affects the completion date, you can claim an EOT for it.

Insert the delay event in the updated schedule (XER) for the period in which the delay occurred. The baseline is only used as a reference.

If the event does not affect the critical path, it may show no time impact – this is normal and depends on the available float and the logic.

For the current situation:

1. If possible, fix the recovery schedule by splitting each in-progress activity into two: one completed and one not started. Then assigning it as a baseline will not cause significant issues.
2. If that is not possible, do not assign the recovery schedule as a baseline in P6. Instead, check the planned dates of the impacted activities manually from the approved version.

To avoid it in future projects:

1. Avoid using an updated schedule as a baseline, recovery or revision – a baseline should always be without updates.
2. If the client insists on including the updates, split the in-progress activities into a completed part and a not-started part. The issue always comes from ongoing activities.

Try right-clicking the link and choosing "Save link as". You can also download them here:

• Successful EOT Steps (Word)
• Lesson presentation (PDF)
• Final revised documents (ZIP)

First check the total float to show the impact on the whole project – the variance alone is less accurate. Depending on your case, you can explain that:

• the event disrupted critical path activities;
• resource constraints during and after the event slowed progress while teams recovered and remobilised;
• the delay cascaded to successor activities, pushing each one further than the event duration;
• cumulative and indirect impacts extended the overall delay.

1. Check the contract: the notice period and the documents required to submit a claim.
2. Check that the claim uses the delay analysis method required by the contract (e.g. As-Planned vs As-Built, Impacted As-Planned, Windows Analysis).
3. Analyse each event and find the records that prove when it happened (e.g. shop drawing submission and approval dates from the log vs the agreed review period).
4. Verify that no reasonable alternative could have avoided the delay.
5. Identify gaps or inconsistencies that need clarification.
6. Evaluate the impact on the project timeline and respond to each point.
7. Determine entitlement to time and/or cost under the contract.
8. State whether the claim is accepted, rejected or needs negotiation, with reasons and any conditions.

Adapt the steps to each case.

1. Out-of-sequence progress – do not remove it manually in a delay analysis. Keep it visible so the analysis reflects what happened on site, and use Retained Logic in the schedule options.
2. Logic changed later to improve the completion date – use the relationships that were valid in that window, not later corrections. Explain in the narrative that the logic was changed afterwards.
3. Delay starting mid-window – update the schedule to the data date just before the event, insert the delay event, then run the impacted schedule. For several delays in one window, use sub-windows and keep the chronology; for overlapping delays, assess concurrency and state whether each is excusable, compensable or both.

Unless the contract specifies the delay analysis method, you can agree with the client on the method that best fits the project.

In a retrospective analysis (per AACE, with the full benefit of hindsight), choose the window date after the delay event and add the events that occurred before the data date. A fragnet should group events that are close in time and connected; events at different dates belong in separate fragnets. Events expected after the data date can be covered in a later EOT using a prospective method.

It depends on the contract, the governing law and the circumstances. Many contracts (FIDIC, NEC, JCT) make timely notice a condition precedent – for example FIDIC 2017 Clause 20.2.1 – so a late notice can cost you the entitlement.

You may still have a case if:

• the employer or engineer knew of the delay and dealt with it without insisting on the notice (waiver);
• the delay was caused by the employer's own act or omission;
• it was a force majeure or exceptional event;
• the governing law applies good-faith principles, or the employer suffered no prejudice from the late notice.

Practical steps: submit the claim now with full details and the reasons for the late notice, show that the employer was not prejudiced, negotiate, and take legal advice if it escalates.