Forensic schedule analysis →
The delay analysis that underpins the time element of a claim.
Claims advisory and dispute support is technical and commercial analysis of contract administration records, programme evidence, notices and project documentation. It helps owners, contractors and their advisers establish what a claim or response can support, where substantiation is incomplete and how the delay, disruption and record evidence fit together.
The problem
Most claims are not lost on the merits. They are lost on the record. Under the FIDIC 2017 suite, Sub-Clause 20.2 requires a Notice of Claim as soon as practicable and generally no later than 28 days after awareness; a fully detailed claim then follows within 84 days. Particular conditions frequently amend those periods, so the contract text is always checked first.The administrative exposure is material. HKA's CRUX Insight research found sums in dispute averaged 33.4% of contract budgets across its 2,200+ project dataset. Claims work is stronger when the commercial narrative, programme evidence, notices and project records tell a consistent story.
Scope
Notice and entitlement review
Establish what was notified, when, under which provision and whether the contractual conditions precedent have been met.
Delay and disruption claim preparation
Assemble a causal narrative, programme evidence and record references into a reviewable submission.
Claim assessment and response
Test a received claim against the contract, records and programme evidence; identify what is substantiated and what is not.
Entitlement and quantum evidence coordination
Keep the event, period and causal chain consistent across the time and cost workstreams without presenting quantum valuation as a substitute for specialist advice.
Disruption assessment
Review productivity evidence separately from delay, including measured-mile or comparable-work approaches where records permit.
Capability transfer
Train commercial and controls teams in notice discipline, record-keeping and the evidence that is relied upon.
Method
- 01
Read the contract first
Review notice provisions, conditions precedent, time bars, assessment mechanisms and amendments.
- 02
Audit notices
Create a dated register of events, notices and compliance risks.
- 03
Establish the record
Identify contemporaneous evidence for each event and the gaps that need resolving.
- 04
Test causation
Trace event, effect, time impact and cost, with each link supported or marked as an assumption.
- 05
Separate supportable from arguable
Make clear what the records establish and what needs further evidence.
- 06
Assemble and support
Coordinate narrative, chronology, schedule analysis and responses through the relevant process.
What you get
Notice and entitlement audit
Register of events, notices, clauses, compliance status and risks.
Claim strategy note
What the records support, what is arguable and what is not sustainable.
Fact chronology
Dated event chronology with source references.
Claim submission or assessment
Narrative, causation, evidence appendices and response points.
Substantiation gap register
Further evidence required, owner and priority.
Dispute support materials
Programme-side exhibits and responses to further particulars.
What we need
- Contract, particular conditions and variations to claims provisions
- Full notice correspondence sequence
- Baseline programme and updates in native format
- Site diaries, labour and plant returns, minutes, photographs and surveys
- Instructions, RFIs, submittals and approval registers
- Cost records aligned to events, where cost is in issue
- Previous submissions, determinations, assessments or rejections
Engagement
Engagement length and composition depend on the question, the available records and the required decision date. An initial discussion establishes scope; no published prices or generic duration promises are used.
| Engagement shape | Suitable where | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Notice and entitlement health check | A live programme where notice discipline is uncertain. | Confirmed after scope and record review |
| Claim preparation | A specific claim being assembled. | Confirmed after scope and record review |
| Claim assessment | A claim received that must be tested on its merits. | Confirmed after scope and record review |
| Dispute support | Technical programme and record input to a formal process. | Confirmed after scope and record review |
| Workshop or capability programme | Commercial and controls teams establishing preventative discipline. | Confirmed after scope and record review |
Scope limits
- Legal advice on the construction of contract terms or governing law.
- Advocacy or representation in proceedings.
- Preparing a claim to a conclusion the records do not support.
Frequently asked questions
At the point of the event, not only after rejection. A claim may be constrained by notice periods and by the quality of contemporaneous records created while the event is unfolding.
The answer depends on the contract, governing law and facts, including the other party’s conduct. Legal advisers answer the legal question; the technical work establishes exactly what was notified, when and under which provision.
A delay claim concerns time and any associated prolongation cost. A disruption claim concerns productivity and may not move the completion date. They need different evidence and should be analysed separately.
Yes. The same discipline applies in reverse: contract requirements, notices, programme evidence and substantiation are tested against the submitted position.
No. This service provides technical and commercial analysis of the project record. Legal advice, entitlement as a matter of law and conduct of proceedings remain with the client’s legal advisers.
Initial discussion
Discuss a claims advisory and dispute support challenge.
Share the project context, the decision required and the records available. The first conversation is used to establish whether the work is a fit.
This is not legal advice. Advice on contract interpretation, governing law and the conduct of proceedings must come from the client’s legal advisers.
Last reviewed: August 2026