Extension of Time, from delay event to EOT determination.

The EOT pathway

A successful EOT claim is not a single document. It is a chain of actions that has to happen in the right order:

1. 1Delay Event on site
2. 2Contractual Notice served within time
3. 3Schedule Impact modelled in the programme
4. 4Delay Analysis carried out
5. 5EOT Assessment quantified
6. 6Claim submitted with full evidence pack

Break any link in the chain — missed notice, weak baseline, thin records — and the claim weakens or fails.

What counts as a delay event

A delay event under FIDIC is an occurrence that impacts the Contractor's ability to complete work by a milestone, and for which the contract provides relief. Not every delay is a delay event: only the ones the contract recognises give rise to entitlement.

Employer-caused delay

Delays caused by acts or omissions of the Employer or the Engineer — late instructions, late drawings, late free-issue equipment, restricted access, changes to the works. These typically entitle the Contractor to time and cost.

Contractor-caused delay

Delays caused by the Contractor's own performance — late procurement, productivity shortfalls, subcontractor default, unresourced sequences. These are the Contractor's own risk and reduce the entitlement to EOT for concurrent Employer-caused events, depending on the method used.

Concurrent delay

Concurrent delay is where two or more delay events, each of which would independently delay completion, occur in the same window — one caused by the Employer, the other caused by the Contractor. Different methods of allocating responsibility exist (the “dominant cause” approach, the SCL Protocol approach of granting the Contractor time but not money, and others). The right approach depends on the contract, the jurisdiction and the facts.

Contractual notices

Under FIDIC 1999, Sub-Clause 20.1 requires notice within 28 days of the Contractor becoming aware, or being deemed to have become aware, of the event. FIDIC 2017 restructures this under Sub-Clause 20.2 with equivalent time-bar discipline. Notice content should identify the event, cite the relevant sub-clause, and state that particulars will follow.

Schedule impact and delay analysis

Once notice is served, the delay event must be modelled in the programme to demonstrate its impact on the critical path. This is where Delay Analysis methods come in — Time Impact Analysis, Windows Analysis, As-Planned vs As-Built and Collapsed As-Built are the four most commonly used, and each has its place.

EOT assessment

The EOT assessment quantifies the extension of the completion milestone attributable to the event. It must relate the delay to the critical path (not just any activity) and account for any concurrent Contractor-caused delay. The output is a specific number of days of extension supported by the schedule model.

Supporting evidence

• Baseline programme (approved, and where relevant, revised baselines)
• Progress updates immediately before and after the event
• Fragnet or delay-model file showing the impact insertion
• Correspondence establishing the trigger, response and consequence
• Contemporaneous site records — diaries, photographs, minutes
• Chain of notices served throughout the event