Construction Delay and Disruption Course: Analysis Methods and Cost Recovery

Programme Summary

Construction delay and disruption, from analysis methods to extension of time entitlement and cost recovery, is the subject of this five-day training course for project and commercial leaders at advanced level, culminating in a delay and claims management plan for a live project. On major projects, late notices, weak records and unsupported analysis turn manageable delays into lengthy disputes. The approach moves from causation and the critical path to analysis methods, entitlement, quantum and resolution. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in construction delay and disruption.

The Business Case

Delay is a frequent source of dispute on capital projects, and the side with the better programme and records usually prevails. Leaders who manage delay prospectively and price it accurately protect margin and avoid costly proceedings.

• Time to Agree Extensions: Shortens as notices and impact assessments are prepared as events occur.
• Recovery of Delay Costs: Improves as costs are linked to proven critical delay.
• Claims Escalated to Formal Disputes: Fall as assessments rest on a recognised method and contemporaneous evidence.

Principles and Evidence Base

• SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol: Its guidance on records, concurrency, float and prospective assessment frames Sessions 1 and 3.
• Critical Path Method: Logic-linked schedules and float are the basis for proving delay in Session 1.
• Recognised Delay Analysis Methods: Impacted as-planned, time impact analysis, windows analysis and collapsed as-built are compared in Session 2.
• Cost-Causation Principle: Linking each cost head to a proven delay event underpins the quantum work in Session 4.

Intended Participants

• Leaders accountable for delivering major projects on time and defending time-related decisions.
• Managers who prepare, review or negotiate extension of time and cost claims.
• Planning leads who maintain baseline and updated programmes used as evidence.
• Owner-side representatives who assess contractor claims and recommend awards.

The programme serves building, infrastructure, energy and industrial project organisations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to diagnose the causes of delay and classify events by risk allocation and criticality.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate the reliability of a baseline and updated programme for delay analysis.
3. Participants will be able to select and apply a delay analysis method suited to the records available.
4. Participants will be able to assess extension of time entitlement, including concurrent delay and float.
5. Participants will be able to construct a quantum assessment for prolongation and disruption costs.
6. Participants will be able to justify a claim position and a route to settlement or formal resolution.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Delay Causation and the Critical Path

What caused the delay, and did it affect completion?

• Delay Event Categories: Employer, Contractor and Neutral Risks
• Critical Path Method, Logic and Float
• Baseline Programme Acceptance and Update Discipline
• Contemporaneous Records: Progress Reports, Diaries and Correspondence
• Programme Quality Checks Before Analysis

Day 2: Delay Analysis Methods

Which method fits the records and the stage of the project?

• Impacted As-Planned Analysis and Its Limits
• Time Impact Analysis With Fragnets
• Time Slice and Windows Analysis
• As-Planned Versus As-Built and Collapsed As-Built Approaches
• Method Selection Criteria and Presentation of Results

Day 3: Extension of Time Entitlement

How much time is due, and who owns the float?

• Notice Requirements, Time Bars and Conditions Precedent
• Prospective Versus Retrospective Assessment
• Concurrent Delay: Definitions and Apportionment Approaches
• Float Ownership and Pacing Delay
• Mitigation Duties and Acceleration Instructions

Day 4: Prolongation, Disruption and Quantum

What does the delay cost, and how is it proven?

• Time-Related Site Overheads and Head Office Overheads
• Disruption and Loss of Productivity: Measured Mile Analysis
• Finance Charges, Escalation and Liquidated Damages Exposure
• Global Claims and the Risk of Unlinked Costs
• Assessing and Valuing Contractor Claims From the Owner Side

Day 5: Applying Construction Delay and Disruption Management

Is the delay and claims position ready for negotiation?

• Combining Session 2 Analysis With Session 3 Entitlement Findings
• Linking Session 4 Quantum to Proven Critical Delay
• Negotiation, Expert Determination and Dispute Board Routes
• Claim Narrative Structure and Evidence Bundles
• Delay and Claims Management Plan Completion

Methodology

The programme relies on case analysis of a fictional project with a baseline programme, updates and correspondence. Participants run competing analyses, test entitlement and price quantum, then argue positions as employer and contractor teams. Cases from building, road and plant projects show how records shape outcomes.

• Suggested activity: Inserting a fragnet for a late design release and measuring the effect on completion.
• Suggested activity: Debating concurrency on a project with two overlapping delay events.
• Suggested activity: Testing a prolongation claim for gaps between cost and cause.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a delay and claims management plan for a live project. It sets out programme update rules, record requirements, notice triggers, the preferred analysis method, quantum steps and escalation routes. It is used to brief project teams and prepare or assess the next claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the construction delay and disruption course suitable for project directors who are not planners?

Yes. It is set at advanced level for leaders who review time and cost decisions, and assumes familiarity with programmes and contracts, not scheduling software skills.

Which protocol and methods does construction delay and disruption training rest on?

It rests on the SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol, the critical path method and recognised delay analysis methods, including time impact analysis and windows analysis.

How is the plan from the construction delay and disruption course used at work?

You can use it to set programme and record rules for your project team, trigger notices on time and prepare or assess extension of time claims.

How does construction delay and disruption training differ from a course on project scheduling?

Scheduling courses teach how to build and update programmes. This course uses programmes as evidence to establish delay, entitlement and recoverable cost.