FIDIC Contract Administration and Claims Training Course

Course overview

FIDIC contracts allocate risk through defined procedures, notice periods, determinations, claims records and dispute-resolution steps. Project teams often understand the technical work but lose contractual entitlement through late notices, incomplete contemporary records, weak cause-and-effect analysis or correspondence that does not meet the contract requirements. This course equips participants to administer FIDIC contracts systematically, protect legitimate entitlements and make defensible decisions before issues become formal disputes.

Participants work through the administration of the FIDIC 2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books, with focused comparison to commonly encountered FIDIC approaches. They learn how to identify contractual events, issue and assess notices, manage programme and record requirements, prepare extension-of-time and cost claims, evaluate substantiation, support the Engineer’s determination process, and manage escalation to the DAAB. The course also addresses payment certification, variations, suspension, termination and the practical consequences of time bars.

Instructor-led briefings are paired with clause-based workshops, correspondence reviews, claim-document exercises and a multi-stage project case. Participants leave with a practical FIDIC contract administration toolkit: a notice register, claims workflow, contemporary-records checklist, claim-substantiation structure and action plan for applying the methods on their current projects. They also receive a certificate on completion.

The course is suited to professionals administering employer-contractor relationships on construction, engineering, infrastructure and EPC projects, as well as managers responsible for commercial governance, claims exposure and dispute avoidance.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Interpret risk allocation and procedural obligations in the FIDIC 2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books
• Build a contract administration plan covering notices, registers, correspondence, records and decision authorities
• Issue compliant claim notices and maintain a notice register against contractual time limits
• Prepare extension-of-time claims using delay events, programme evidence and cause-and-effect analysis
• Quantify cost claims using contractual entitlement, contemporaneous records and auditable cost categories
• Assess variations, payment applications and Employer or Contractor claims against FIDIC procedures
• Support Engineer’s determinations with structured submissions, consultation records and reasoned evaluations
• Develop a dispute-avoidance and DAAB referral strategy for an active FIDIC project

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Contract Managers — who must administer FIDIC obligations, notices, claims and commercial correspondence
• Project Managers — who need to protect project delivery while meeting contractual procedures and deadlines
• Quantity Surveyors — who prepare valuations, variations, payment submissions and cost claim evidence
• Claims Consultants — who analyse entitlement, delay, disruption and claim substantiation under FIDIC
• Engineers and Employer’s Representatives — who support instructions, records, evaluations and determinations
• Procurement and Commercial Managers — who oversee contract risk, supplier performance and dispute exposure

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be comfortable reading commercial contracts and have basic exposure to construction, engineering or infrastructure project delivery. Familiarity with terms such as variation, payment certificate, programme, extension of time, delay, defect and dispute is helpful. Experience working with a contract administrator, project manager, engineer, quantity surveyor or contractor commercial team will make the exercises more immediately applicable. Prior FIDIC training is not required, and participants do not need legal qualifications, claims-specialist experience or advanced planning software skills. Complete beginners should expect focused pre-reading and active use of contract clauses throughout the week.

Training methodology

The five-day programme combines instructor-led clause walkthroughs with practical administration tasks drawn from a continuing FIDIC project case. Participants annotate contract extracts, test notice deadlines, review sample letters, build a records matrix, analyse programme evidence and assemble claim components in small groups. Facilitated discussions compare Contractor, Employer and Engineer perspectives, including where procedures fail in practice. Each participant completes an end-of-course application plan that identifies priority contract controls, registers and claim-readiness improvements for a current or planned project.

Course outline

Day 1: FIDIC structure, roles and risk allocation

• FIDIC contract family selection: Red, Yellow and Silver Book project fit
• General Conditions, Particular Conditions and contract document hierarchy
• FIDIC Golden Principles and limits on amendment drafting
• Roles of Employer, Contractor, Engineer and DAAB
• Risk allocation for design, site conditions, time and cost
• Core definitions, communications and notice mechanics
• Contract administration plan and obligation register design

Workshop: Participants map a project scenario to the relevant FIDIC parties, documents, risks, notices and administration controls in a contract obligation register.

Day 2: Instructions, variations, payment and records

• Engineer instructions and authority boundaries
• Variation initiation, proposals and valuation routes
• Measurement, valuation and adjustment mechanisms
• Payment applications, certificates and payment timelines
• Contemporary records for labour, plant, materials and events
• Contractual correspondence protocols and document control
• Notice registers, early-warning logs and decision trackers

Workshop: Participants review a disputed instruction and produce a compliant notice, variation record and evidence checklist.

Day 3: Time, delay and extension-of-time claims

• Time for Completion, milestones and programme obligations
• Delay events and contractual grounds for extension of time
• Claim notice time bars and detailed claim submission requirements
• Baseline programmes, updates and critical path evidence
• Concurrent delay and responsibility analysis
• Cause-and-effect narrative development for delay claims
• Extension-of-time assessment and determination documentation

Workshop: Using a programme extract and event records, participants prepare an extension-of-time claim chronology, notice check and entitlement narrative.

Day 4: Cost claims, determinations and claim evaluation

• Cost entitlement categories under FIDIC claims procedures
• Direct cost, prolongation cost and disruption evidence
• Pricing records, invoices, timesheets and productivity data
• Contractor and Employer claim preparation requirements
• Engineer consultation and determination under Sub-Clause 3.7
• Claim evaluation matrices and reasoned decision writing
• Negotiation preparation without compromising contractual position

Workshop: Participants evaluate a cost claim pack, identify missing substantiation and draft a determination briefing with recommended findings.

Day 5: Dispute avoidance, DAAB and implementation

• Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board role and appointment process
• Informal dispute avoidance and senior-management escalation
• DAAB referral requirements and position-paper structure
• DAAB decisions, notices of dissatisfaction and enforceability
• Suspension, termination and exceptional-risk procedures
• Lessons learned from common FIDIC claims failures
• Project-specific contract controls and claims readiness planning

Workshop: Participants develop a dispute-avoidance strategy and 90-day FIDIC administration action plan for the course case or their own project.

Tools & standards covered

FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction, Second Edition 2017 (Red Book), FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Plant and Design-Build, Second Edition 2017 (Yellow Book), FIDIC Conditions of Contract for EPC/Turnkey Projects, Second Edition 2017 (Silver B

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions