Managing Extension of Time (EOT) Claims & Variation Orders

An Extension of Time is the contractual mechanism that moves the completion date when the Contractor is delayed by events which, under the contract, are not its risk. Under FIDIC 2017 (Clause 8.5), qualifying events include variations, exceptional weather, unforeseeable conditions, and delays caused by the Employer or its personnel. Under NZS 3910, the equivalent regime (clause 10.3) covers similar ground for New Zealand projects.

Two points professionals often miss:

1. 1

   An EOT protects both parties

   It relieves the Contractor from liquidated damages for the extended period — and it preserves the Employer's right to deduct LDs for culpable delay. Without a valid EOT mechanism, time can become "at large" and the completion obligation reduces to a reasonable time, which serves nobody.

2. 2

   An EOT is about time, not automatically money

   Prolongation cost is a separate claim with its own tests. Winning time does not guarantee winning the cost of that time.

A Variation Order is a formal instruction changing the works — scope added, omitted, or changed in quality, sequence, or timing. Under FIDIC 2017 (Clause 13) the Engineer may instruct variations; under NZS 3910 (clause 9.1) the Engineer's instruction has the same function. Three rules keep variations clean:

1. 1

   No instruction, no work

   A verbal request is confirmed in writing before it is built. That single habit converts future arguments into simple administration.

2. 2

   Every variation states its time effect

   Even when the effect is nil. Cost-only variations that later grow a time claim are a classic dispute seed.

3. 3

   Transparent build-ups

   Labour, plant, materials, and time effect itemised so the other side can check every line. Lump sums invite suspicion; build-ups invite agreement.

Variations are one of the most common causes of delay — which makes them the most common foundation for EOT claims. But the entitlement does not flow automatically: a variation only supports an EOT where it impacts the critical path. Ten added days of work in an area with float moves nothing. The discipline that links the two is programme analysis: demonstrate, on the current accepted programme, that the varied work pushed critical activities and therefore the completion date.

1. 1

   Serving notice late — or not at all

   Teams "wait to see if it becomes a problem." By then the time bar has closed. Serve a short, factual notice within the window; you can always withdraw a claim, but you can rarely revive one.

2. 2

   Building the claim backwards from a number

   A lump-sum figure hunting for a story fails. The order is always: cause (evidenced) → effect (shown on the programme) → entitlement (the clause) → quantum (the build-up). In that order, always.

3. 3

   Doing varied work on a verbal instruction

   Friendly site relationships produce the most expensive variations. Confirm in writing within 24 hours ("We understand you require X; we will treat this as an instruction under the contract unless advised otherwise"), then proceed.

4. 4

   Ignoring concurrency and float

   Claiming 30 days when 12 were concurrent with your own culpable delay destroys credibility on the other 18. Address concurrency and float ownership head-on — assessors respect candour and punish silence.

5. 5

   Reconstructing records after the fact

   Daily diaries, labour and plant allocations, photos from fixed positions, marked-up programmes — kept contemporaneously, they win claims. Reconstructed six months later, they read exactly like what they are.

1. 1

   Run a notice register

   Every potential event logged the day it arises, with its contractual notice deadline and owner. Review weekly at the site meeting — the register is the cheapest insurance on the project.

2. 2

   Update and agree the programme monthly

   An EOT is demonstrated on the current accepted programme, not the tender baseline. A dead programme means every delay analysis starts with an argument about the tool itself.

3. 3

   Price variations while the concrete is wet

   Set a standing rule: variations priced within 14 days, agreed or escalated within 28. An ageing variation list is a disputes register in incubation.

4. 4

   Keep cause-and-effect files per event

   One folder per delay event: the trigger document, affected activities, photos, diary extracts, correspondence, programme impact. When particulars are due, the claim assembles itself.

5. 5

   Settle at the lowest level, at the earliest fair moment

   Escalation rarely changes the answer; it changes the price of getting it. A fair deal this month beats a perfect entitlement in two years — and you will work with these people again.

Most claims don't fail on merit. They fail on notice given late, records never kept, and entitlement traded away in the daily rush to be helpful.

— Ahmed Albasry, PMP · MCIOB

EOT claims and Variation Orders are not adversarial weapons — they are the contract working as designed. Managed with discipline, they protect the completion date, the account, and the relationship at the same time. The professionals who do this well aren't the most aggressive; they're the most organised.

Serve the notice kindly, keep the records daily, show the cause and effect on the programme, and close change while the memory of it is still warm. Everything else in claims management is commentary.