FIDIC Claims and Disputes Management

The FIDIC Claims and Disputes Management training course in Dubai is a practical three-day program for professionals who prepare, review, or defend contractual claims on construction and infrastructure projects. Over 18 hours, participants learn how to identify claim events, serve valid notices within FIDIC time bars, build entitlement with contemporary records, and resolve disputes through negotiation, the DAAB, mediation, or arbitration.

Each module combines contract principles with real project scenarios, so participants leave able to manage variations, extension of time (EOT) requests, and cost claims with confidence, while protecting the commercial interests of their organization.

Why FIDIC Claims Training Matters on UAE and GCC Projects

FIDIC conditions of contract are used on a large share of major construction, infrastructure, and energy projects across the UAE and the wider GCC, often with project-specific amendments. On these projects, a strong claim can fail simply because a notice was served late, records were incomplete, or entitlement was never linked to a specific contract clause.

This FIDIC course focuses on exactly those failure points. Participants learn to treat every claim as a structured process: event, notice, records, entitlement, evidence, submission, assessment, and determination. The result is fewer rejected claims, faster determinations, and fewer disputes reaching formal proceedings.

Course Objectives

By the end of this FIDIC claims training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the contractual framework governing claims and disputes under FIDIC contracts.
• Identify common claim events and establish potential contractual entitlements.
• Apply FIDIC procedures for notifying, preparing, submitting, assessing, and determining claims.
• Explain the roles of the Employer, Contractor, Engineer, and DAAB in claims management.
• Manage contractual notices, contemporary records, and supporting evidence.
• Handle variations, delays, extensions of time, and cost claims using sound contractual methods.
• Apply key principles of delay analysis, including concurrent delay.
• Use dispute avoidance techniques throughout the project lifecycle.
• Draft clear, effective contractual notices and correspondence.
• Compare DAAB, mediation, arbitration, and litigation as dispute resolution routes.

Who Should Attend This FIDIC Training Course

This course is designed for professionals on the Employer, Contractor, and Consultant side of construction projects, including:

• Contract Managers, Contract Administrators, and Commercial Managers
• Quantity Surveyors and Commercial Engineers
• Claims Consultants and Planning and Delay Analysts
• Project Managers, Construction Managers, and Engineers
• Employer's Representatives and Consultants
• Contractor management teams
• Legal and contract professionals involved in construction projects

Day 1: Fundamentals of Claims Under FIDIC Contracts

Day 1 builds the foundation every successful claim depends on. Participants explore how FIDIC contracts allocate risk, what turns an event into a valid claim, and why notices, time bars, and contemporary records decide entitlement long before quantum is discussed. The day ends with a hands-on workshop that takes a claim from the initial event through to the Engineer's determination.

Module 1: Introduction to FIDIC Claims and Disputes

Key topics

• Overview of the FIDIC contract suite
• Contractual principles governing claims
• Risk allocation under FIDIC contracts
• Common sources of claims and disputes
• Contractual rights and obligations
• Roles of the Employer, Contractor, Engineer, and DAAB, and how they interface
• Claims versus disputes: understanding the distinction

Practical application

• Identify typical claim and dispute scenarios.
• Map project risks to potential contractual claims.
• Review a project scenario and identify the principal parties and their contractual responsibilities.

Module 2: Understanding Contractual Claims

Key topics

• What constitutes a contractual claim
• Contractor's claims and Employer's claims
• Contractual entitlement and events giving rise to claims
• Cause, effect, entitlement, and quantum
• Time bars and notice requirements
• Why compliance with contractual procedures matters
• Common deficiencies in claim submissions

Exercise: Claim identification

Participants review a project scenario and determine:

• What event has occurred
• Who may have a contractual entitlement
• Which contractual provision may apply
• What notice may be required
• Which records and evidence should be preserved

Module 3: The FIDIC Claims Management Process

Key topics

• Identifying and recording claim events
• Initial assessment of contractual entitlement
• Preparing claim notifications: requirements and timing
• Contemporary records and project documentation
• Supporting evidence and submission procedures
• Evaluation, assessment, and determination of claims
• Managing claims throughout the project lifecycle

Workshop: From claim event to claim submission

Participants work through a simulated claim from start to finish: event, notice, records, entitlement, evidence, submission, assessment, and determination.

Day 2: Managing Variations, Delays, and Cost Claims

Day 2 focuses on the three claim types that cause the most commercial friction on construction projects: variations, delays, and additional cost. Participants learn how to value scope changes, assess extension of time (EOT) entitlement using critical path and delay analysis principles, and link cost claims to clear evidence of cause and effect.

Module 4: Variations and Contract Changes

Key topics

• Understanding variations under FIDIC contracts
• Variation procedures and the Engineer's authority
• Instructions and scope changes
• Valuation, measurement, and pricing principles
• Value engineering
• Impact of variations on time and cost
• Documentation and administration of variations

Exercise: Variation assessment

Participants review a variation scenario and assess:

• The contractual basis for the change
• Required instructions and notices
• Time and cost implications
• Supporting documentation
• Appropriate contract administration

Module 5: Delay, Disruption, and Extension of Time (EOT) Claims

Key topics

• Principles of delay and disruption
• Extension of time (EOT) entitlement and delay notification
• Employer-caused and Contractor-caused delays
• Concurrent delay
• Critical path considerations and delay analysis principles
• Mitigation measures
• Records required to support delay claims
• Linking delay events to entitlement

Case study: EOT claim

Participants analyze a simplified project programme and delay scenario to:

• Identify delay events and potential responsibility
• Assess critical activities
• Consider concurrent delay
• Identify mitigation measures
• Establish the information needed to support an EOT claim

Module 6: Cost Claims and Contractual Remedies

Key topics

• Additional cost and prolongation cost claims
• Disruption-related costs
• Financial and payment-related entitlements
• Cost records and supporting evidence
• Establishing causation and linking events to financial impact
• Evaluating quantum
• Common weaknesses in cost claims and best practices in preparation

Workshop: Cost claim assessment

Participants examine project records and identify:

• Recoverable cost categories
• Supporting documentation and missing evidence
• Causation issues and potential weaknesses
• Appropriate methods for presenting financial entitlement

Day 3: Dispute Avoidance and Dispute Resolution Under FIDIC

Day 3 shifts from managing claims to preventing and resolving disputes. Participants learn how disagreements escalate, how early warnings and proactive contract administration keep them contained, and when to move to the DAAB, mediation, or arbitration. The course closes with an integrated FIDIC case study that brings all three days together.

Module 7: Dispute Avoidance

Key topics

• How disputes develop on construction projects
• Early warning mechanisms
• Proactive contract administration and communication
• Maintaining contractual records
• Risk identification, management, and risk workshops
• Negotiation techniques and collaborative problem-solving
• Amicable settlement
• Maintaining productive contractual relationships

Simulation: Dispute avoidance

Participants are presented with an emerging project dispute and build an action plan covering:

• Early identification of the issue
• Contractual communication and risk escalation
• Negotiation strategy
• Evidence requirements
• Settlement options
• Preventing further escalation

Module 8: Formal Dispute Resolution: DAAB, Mediation, and Arbitration

Key topics

• Transition from claim to dispute
• The Engineer's determination
• The Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board (DAAB): process and role
• Mediation, arbitration, and litigation
• Selecting the appropriate dispute resolution method
• Strategic considerations and preparing the evidential record
• Managing disputes while maintaining project continuity

Exercise: Dispute resolution decision

Participants assess a contractual dispute and determine:

• Whether the matter remains a claim or has become a dispute
• Appropriate escalation steps
• The role of the DAAB
• Potential use of mediation
• When arbitration or litigation may become relevant
• The advantages and limitations of each approach

Module 9: FIDIC Case Studies and Best Practices

Key topics

• Analysis of real-world FIDIC claim scenarios
• Lessons learned from international projects
• Drafting contractual notices and correspondence
• Reviewing claim submissions
• Common contract administration mistakes
• Documentation and record-keeping best practices
• Strategies for reducing disputes and protecting entitlements

Capstone workshop: Integrated FIDIC claims case study

Participants work through a single project scenario that combines a variation, a delay event, an EOT request, additional cost, contractual notices, supporting records, claim evaluation, an emerging dispute, dispute avoidance, and dispute resolution strategy. Each group then prepares and presents its recommended contractual response.

Training Methodology

This FIDIC training course in Dubai follows a highly practical, interactive approach. Sessions combine instructor-led presentations with FIDIC contract scenarios, claims preparation workshops, delay and EOT case studies, variation and cost claim exercises, correspondence drafting, dispute resolution simulations, and group discussion.

Learning follows the same sequence a real claim does: contract principle → claim event → notice → records → entitlement → evidence → claim → assessment → determination → dispute avoidance → resolution.

Practical Deliverables

Participants complete and take away the following working tools:

• Claim event identification matrix
• Contractual notice exercise
• Contemporary records checklist
• Variation assessment
• EOT and delay analysis case study
• Cost claim assessment
• Dispute avoidance strategy
• Dispute resolution decision matrix
• Integrated FIDIC claims case study
• Draft contractual correspondence

Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, participants will be able to:

• Recognize claim events and dispute triggers early, before time bars expire.
• Prepare and evaluate EOT, additional cost, and prolongation claims that hold up under review.
• Understand the challenges of concurrent delay and how they affect entitlement.
• Draft professional notices and correspondence that protect contractual rights.
• Choose the right dispute resolution route, from negotiation to DAAB to arbitration.
• Build a structured claims management strategy for the full project lifecycle.

Course Duration and Certificate

Duration: 3 days / 18 hours
Location: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh (in-house delivery also available for corporate teams)
Certificate: Participants receive an IIPD Global certificate of completion.

Explore related programs in our contract and project management courses, or pair this course with FIDIC Contracts Management.