Every window tracked, every clock watched
Every notice has a deadline, and missing it ends the entitlement regardless of the merits. The Clock tracks every window, every response and every deemed-acceptance trigger across the contract.
- Project
- Crestfield Distribution Centre, Warrington
- Contract
- NEC4 ECC Option A · £3,814,200
- Period
- Month 7 of 12 · May 2026
- Reference
- CRE-NT-001 · Period 7
- Prepared by
- BuiltAI Intelligence Ltd · J. Navarro
- Status
- Zero lapsed
Illustrative example: fictional project and parties.
The windows that matter
NEC4 ECC is a notice-heavy contract: missing a window does not just weaken the position, it ends the entitlement. The Clock tracks four windows at once for every compensation event.
Miss it and the event is time-barred - the most dangerous deadline in NEC4.
The PM must respond to the notification; if not, the Contractor can escalate.
The Contractor's clock: the quotation must be submitted on time.
The PM must respond to the quotation, or it is treated as accepted - a powerful lever.
The notice tracker - all 14 CEs
The full notice status for every event: notification, PM response, quotation and decision. One near-miss (CE-007) was caught with 3 days to spare.
| CE | Notified | PM resp | Quote sub | PM decision | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE-001 | 19 Nov | 24 Nov ✓ | 10 Dec | 18 Dec ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-002 | 4 Dec | 9 Dec ✓ | 23 Dec | 8 Jan ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-003 | 13 Dec | 18 Dec ✓ | 9 Jan | 22 Jan ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-004 | 9 Jan | 15 Jan ✓ | 3 Feb | 14 Feb ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-005 | 15 Jan | 21 Jan ✓ | 6 Feb | 19 Feb ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-006 | 3 Feb | 10 Feb ✓ | 27 Feb | 12 Mar ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-007 | 11 Apr | 16 Apr ✓ | 6 May | 19 May ✓ | Agreed (near-miss) |
| CE-008 | 7 Mar | 13 Mar ✓ | 28 Mar | 10 Apr ✓ | Agreed |
| CE-009 | 26 Mar | 28 Mar ✓ | 8 Apr | pending | Submitted |
| CE-010 | 9 Apr | 15 Apr ✓ | 1 May | pending | Submitted |
| CE-011 | 15 Apr | 22 Apr ✓ | 8 May | pending | Submitted |
| CE-012 | 23 Apr | 29 Apr ✓ | 14 May | pending | Submitted |
| CE-013 | 7 May | 13 May ✓ | - | - | Quoting |
| CE-014 | 13 May | pending | - | - | Notified |
CE-009 - every date tracked
- 24 Mar 2026, 14:22 - change detected.
PMI-047 changes the HV switchgear from 11kV to 33kV. Logged in The Radar within 2 hours; the 8-week clock (clause 61.3) starts, expiring 19 May 2026.
- 25 Mar 2026 - early warning issued.
Early warning to the PM under clause 15.1 - risk to Defined Cost and planned Completion. Acknowledged the same day.
- 26 Mar 2026 - CE notification.
Formal notification to the PM, 2 days from awareness, well within the 8-week window. The PM has 1 week to respond (clause 61.4).
- 28 Mar 2026 - PM responds, not disputed.
The PM accepts CE-009 as a compensation event and requests a quotation. The 3-week window starts (clause 62.3, due 18 Apr).
- 8 Apr 2026 - quotation submitted.
Defined Cost £38,600 plus the Fee at 11.5% (£4,439) = £43,039, programme impact 1.5 weeks. Submitted 10 days early. The PM has 2 weeks to respond (clause 62.6, due 22 Apr).
- 12 May 2026 - PM requests information.
The PM queries the DNO witness-testing lead. The two-week reply window (clause 62.6) has already lapsed, so deemed acceptance may apply; the position is reserved, and BuiltAI responds cooperatively with the data on 14 May to keep the relationship.
- 19 May 2026 (expected) - PM assessment.
Alder Cost Consultants confirmed the assessment for the week of 19 May. If it differs materially from the quotation, the dispute resolution procedure (clause W1 or W2) is next.
CE-007 - three days from a time-bar
The ventilation design revision arrived on 18 February. The site team recognised the delay but treated it as a programme issue, not a compensation event, and the commercial team was not told until a routine weekly review on 8 April - 7 weeks and 1 day after awareness. The 8-week time-bar (clause 61.3) would have expired on 15 April. The CE was notified on 11 April, with 3 working days to spare. One week later, £18,400 of entitlement would have been lost.
Outcome: CE-007 was notified in time, the PM did not dispute it, and it was agreed on 19 May at £18,400. The process was tightened: the site team now flags any employer-caused delay to the commercial team within 48 hours, not at the next weekly review.
Stage 02 gate - every window tracked, zero lapsed
- Early warning issued where applicable (clause 15.1).
- CE notification issued within the 8-week window (clause 61.3).
- PM response received, or non-response documented (clause 61.4).
- Quotation submitted within the agreed period (clause 62.3).
- PM assessment received, or the deemed-acceptance position documented (clause 62.6).
- All dates, communications and acknowledgements logged with an audit trail.
Hand-off to The Case™: CE-009's quotation is submitted and the assessment is expected the week of 19 May, with the deemed-acceptance position reserved. Build the entitlement narrative on the assumption the PM may assess lower - the cause → effect → entitlement chain must withstand scrutiny.