Claims & Delay Analysis
Schedule Delay Claim
A schedule delay claim is a request for additional time (and often money) based on documented evidence that specific events pushed back a project's completion date beyond what the contract allows without penalty.
Definition
A schedule delay claim asserts that identifiable events -- an owner-caused design change, a differing site condition, weather beyond what the contract's calendar assumed, a late owner decision -- pushed the project's completion date later than the contract's agreed schedule allowed, and that the contractor is therefore entitled to a time extension (and, depending on the cause, delay costs). Proving a delay claim generally requires showing, with schedule evidence, that the delaying event actually affected activities on or near the critical path, not just that some activity somewhere slipped. That's why the underlying schedule data -- logic, float, actual dates, and how they changed between updates -- is the real substance of most delay claims, far more than the narrative written around it.
Example
A contractor documents that an owner-issued change order added scope to a critical-path activity, extended its duration by 15 working days, and traces that exact 15-day shift through to the project's forecast completion date in the very next schedule update.