Introduction
FIDIC contracts contain detailed mechanisms governing notices, claims, programme obligations, determinations and time entitlement. The precise requirements depend on the edition and amendments incorporated into the Contract.
1. Identify the exact contractual mechanism
Before drafting a claim, establish the applicable clause, the qualifying event and the contractual procedure. Particular attention should be given to notice periods, continuing-event notices and substantiation requirements.
2. Protect entitlement through timely notices
A technically strong delay analysis cannot always cure a failure to comply with contractual notice requirements. Project teams should maintain a live claims register and track notice deadlines alongside programme activities.
3. Maintain contemporaneous records
Daily reports, approved drawings, RFIs, instructions, meeting minutes, correspondence, access records, inspection records and programme updates can become critical evidence. Records should identify the event, date, affected work and project consequence.
4. Keep the programme current
Programme updates are not merely progress-management documents. When properly maintained, they provide an analytical record of how the critical path and forecast completion changed as project events occurred.
5. Separate time from money
An EOT entitlement and a prolongation-cost entitlement are related but distinct questions. The time analysis should establish the qualifying delay period; the cost analysis should then demonstrate the appropriate contractual basis, actual exposure and causation.
6. Explain concurrency carefully
Where competing delays overlap, the analysis should identify the timing and effect of each event rather than simply labelling a period as concurrent. The contractual and jurisdictional treatment of concurrency should be considered separately from the programme analysis.
Conclusion
FIDIC claims are strongest when contract administration, project records and programme analysis operate together. Early identification and disciplined record-keeping generally provide a stronger evidential foundation than retrospective reconstruction.