Notice registers and contemporary records: building claim evidence while the project is happening

A claim prepared months after an event is only as strong as the records created when the event occurred. Contemporary records are valuable because they show what the parties knew, what resources were present, what work was affected and what actions were taken before positions hardened into a dispute. They reduce dependence on reconstructed narratives and memory.

The event register should capture date, description, contractual basis, notice requirement, responsible person, affected work fronts, programme activity, initial cost code, Employer or Engineer action required and mitigation status. The register is not the claim itself; it is an early-warning system that prevents an event from disappearing between site, planning, commercial and contract teams.

Notice control requires more than a calendar reminder. The team should identify the contractual trigger, when knowledge is deemed to arise, the required recipient, communication method, minimum content and any follow-up detailed claim deadline. Particular Conditions can modify standard time bars, so project controls must use the executed contract rather than a generic FIDIC checklist.

Supporting records depend on the event. Delay and disruption may require daily reports, labour and equipment hours, access records, inspection hold points, delivery dates, photographs, weather, correspondence, revised sequences and programme updates. Quantity or variation disputes may require measurements, survey records, marked-up drawings, daywork sheets, invoices, material tickets and subcontractor records. The record plan should therefore be event-specific.

Evidence also needs consistency. If the daily report says the crew was fully productive while the later claim alleges complete disruption, credibility suffers. Planning, commercial, site and contract teams should use common event codes and review important records while facts are still fresh. Corrections should be transparent rather than silently rewriting historical records.

Good records do not guarantee entitlement, but poor records can make valid entitlement difficult to demonstrate. The practical objective is a traceable chain: event, notice, contractual obligation, contemporaneous facts, mitigation, programme effect, cost effect and requested remedy. When this chain is maintained continuously, claim preparation becomes an extension of project control rather than an emergency reconstruction exercise.