Owner-Furnished Equipment, Corridor Change, and a Pay-When-Paid Squeeze

Recovery depends on proving a compensable delay followed by a direction to meet the original completion date. The late owner-furnished equipment is an owner risk if the contract assigns that delivery to the owner; the corridor relocation is an owner-directed change on the critical path; the 21-day submittal reviews exceed the contract review period. Those events can consume the 12 days of float and push completion. But the premium is not automatically recoverable just because the sub is behind.

Preserve the claim by:

• Sending written notice now, within the contract notice period, identifying each owner-caused event, the schedule impact, and the reservation of acceleration costs.
• Stating in writing that you will not accelerate at your own cost and that meeting the original date after these delays will require owner direction or a change order.
• Requesting a time extension and a priced change order for the corridor work separately from the acceleration claim.
• Recording the sub's actual overtime hours, premium rates, and productivity loss by cost code.

A constructive acceleration claim generally requires an excusable/compensable delay, timely notice, the owner's insistence on the original date, and actual acceleration costs. If you direct overtime without that record, you risk absorbing the $85,000 as a business decision rather than a recoverable change.

Do not treat pay-when-paid as a permanent excuse to avoid the sub. First read the exact clause: some clauses make owner payment a condition precedent to the GC's obligation; others only set timing. Even a condition-precedent clause does not eliminate the need to pursue the owner diligently and to document why payment has not flowed down.

Practical response:

• Meet the owner with the approved pay application, the late-payment history, and the sub's threatened stop. Ask for direct payment, a joint check, or a written payment schedule.
• Tell the sub in writing that you dispute any right to stop work, that a stop may create a concurrent delay, and that you will pass through the owner nonpayment claim. Offer a standstill or partial payment if cash allows.
• Confirm whether the sub has given any contractual notice required before stopping work.
• Preserve pass-through rights against the owner and check whether the contract permits the sub to claim directly.

If the owner is withholding payment for work already approved, the GC should not simply finance the project indefinitely. Document the cash-flow impact and consider a demand letter, mediation, or lien preservation while continuing to manage the sub.

Build a time impact analysis using the baseline CPM schedule and contemporaneous updates. Insert each event as a separate fragnet: the six-week equipment delay, the corridor change, and the extended submittal reviews. Show the affected activities, the critical path before and after, and the point at which total float is consumed.

Key records:

• Baseline and monthly updated schedules, with data date and critical path.
• Daily logs showing crew size, weather, deliveries, and areas of work available.
• Submittal log with receipt dates, review dates, and resubmittal cycles.
• RFIs, change directives, and the owner's written responses.
• The electrical sub's baseline manpower, actual manpower, and any pre-existing productivity problems.
• Separate cost records for owner-change work and acceleration overtime.

If the sub was already behind before the owner events, or if its overtime was needed to overcome its own shortage, that portion is not recoverable. The analysis should allocate concurrent delay rather than assume all delay belongs to the owner. Present the fragnets to the owner before completion so the issue is contemporaneous, not reconstructed after the fact.