Contract Claims Management Training: Delay Analysis, Quantum and Dispute Avoidance

Programme Summary

Contract claims management, from delay analysis to quantum and dispute avoidance, is the subject of this five-day training course for contracts and project leaders at advanced level, culminating in a claims management procedure for their organisation. On construction and engineering projects, entitlement is often lost through late notices and thin records, while weak delay analysis invites rejection. The approach moves from notice and records to extension of time, disruption and quantum, then claim presentation, negotiation and dispute routes. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in contract claims management.

The Business Case

Time and money claims decide the final margin on many projects for contractors and the final cost for employers. Organisations that give notice on time, keep records and quantify claims with recognised methods settle faster and spend less on experts and lawyers.

• Claim Recovery or Exposure Ratio: Improves as entitlement is proven with records and accepted analysis methods.
• Time to Settle Claims: Shortens as claims are presented and assessed in a structured, evidence-led form.
• Disputes Referred to Formal Proceedings: Fall as dispute avoidance boards and negotiation are used early.

Principles and Evidence Base

• FIDIC Conditions of Contract: The claims procedure, notice and time-bar provisions and the Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board structure Sessions 1 and 5.
• AACE International Recommended Practice 29R-03 Forensic Schedule Analysis: Its taxonomy of delay analysis methods frames Session 2.
• Critical Path Method and Concurrent Delay Principles: Float, critical path and overlapping causes guide entitlement in Session 2.
• Measured Mile and Head Office Overhead Formulae: Disruption measurement and the Hudson, Emden and Eichleay formulae support quantum in Session 3.

Intended Participants

• Leaders who set claims strategy for a portfolio of construction or engineering contracts.
• Managers who prepare, review or defend extension of time and cost claims.
• Senior commercial staff who negotiate settlements and final accounts.
• Project directors who must keep records and give notices that protect entitlement.

The programme serves employers and contractors in building and infrastructure, oil and gas, power and water, and industrial projects.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to diagnose notice, time-bar and record-keeping gaps that put claims at risk.
2. Participants will be able to evaluate delay events using recognised forensic schedule analysis methods.
3. Participants will be able to construct a quantum for prolongation, disruption and loss and expense.
4. Participants will be able to prepare or defend a claim submission with a clear chain of cause, effect and evidence.
5. Participants will be able to prioritise negotiation positions and settlement options for open claims.
6. Participants will be able to justify the choice between dispute avoidance, adjudication and arbitration.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Claims Entitlement, Notices and Records

Is the entitlement protected before the claim is even written?

• Sources of Entitlement: Contract, Variation, Breach and Law
• Notice Provisions and Time Bars in Standard Forms
• Contemporaneous Records: Diaries, Programmes and Correspondence
• Early Warning and Risk Registers as Claims Evidence
• Claims Register and Contract Claims Management Responsibilities

Day 2: Extension of Time and Delay Analysis

Which delays are excusable, and how is their effect on completion proven?

• Critical Path, Float Ownership and Programme Updates
• As-Planned Versus As-Built and Impacted As-Planned Methods
• Time Impact Analysis and Windows Analysis
• Concurrent Delay and Apportionment
• Selecting a Method Under AACE 29R-03

Day 3: Disruption and Quantum

How much money follows from the delay and disruption proven?

• Heads of Claim: Site Overheads, Finance and Loss of Profit
• Head Office Overheads: Hudson, Emden and Eichleay Formulae
• Disruption and Loss of Productivity: Measured Mile Analysis
• Acceleration and Mitigation Costs
• Global Claims and Their Risks

Day 4: Claim Presentation, Assessment and Negotiation

How is a claim built, tested and settled on its merits?

• Claim Document Structure: Narrative, Cause, Effect and Evidence
• Employer and Engineer Assessment of Claims
• Defending Claims: Rebuttal, Counterclaims and Set-Off
• Negotiation Planning: Interests, Ranges and Concessions
• Settlement Agreements and Final Account Closure

Day 5: Applying Contract Claims Management and Dispute Avoidance

Which route resolves the dispute at the lowest cost and risk?

• Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board Under FIDIC
• Mediation, Expert Determination and Arbitration Routes
• Testing a Day 4 Claim Against Day 2 Delay Findings
• Applying Day 1 Notice Controls to a Live Project
• Claims Management Procedure Completion

Methodology

The programme relies on case analysis and structured exercises built around a fictional infrastructure contract. Participants analyse programme updates, site records and cost data, price the claim and negotiate it from opposite sides, with examples from building, oil and gas and power.

• Suggested activity: Auditing a project's notices and records against time-bar provisions.
• Suggested activity: Running a windows analysis on a delayed programme.
• Suggested activity: Negotiating a prolongation claim between employer and contractor teams.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a claims management procedure for their organisation. It sets notice and record controls, a delay analysis method statement, quantum templates, a claim document structure, negotiation authority levels and escalation criteria for dispute routes. It is used to run current and future claims consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the contract claims management training suitable for both employer and contractor teams?

Yes. It is set at advanced level for staff on either side and assumes experience of administering construction or engineering contracts.

Which methods does the contract claims management course rest on?

It rests on FIDIC claims and dispute provisions, AACE International Recommended Practice 29R-03, critical path method, measured mile analysis and recognised head office overhead formulae.

How is the claims management procedure from contract claims management training used at work?

You can adopt it as the standard for notices, records, delay analysis and claim submissions, and to approve settlements.

How does contract claims management training differ from a course on contract administration?

Contract administration covers running a contract day to day. Contract claims management concentrates on proving, pricing, defending and resolving time and money claims.