Claims are won on paper, not in the field. Here's the playbook.
Why claims discipline matters
The money (the 5-10%'s — the disputed; the recovered), the time (the 90-day — the negotiated; the 2-year — the litigated), the relationships (the preserved — the negotiated; the destroyed — the litigated), and the precedent (the next job's — the terms'; the improved). The claim's — the paper.
The notice
The 7-day (the written's — the contractual; the delivered), the 21-day (the detailed's — the claim's; the quantified), the 30-day (the government's — the sovereign; the filed), and the waiver (the missed — the notice's; the forfeited).
The documentation
The daily (the reports' — the manpower's; the weather's; the delays'), the photos (the dated — the 100's; the weekly), the costs (the tracked — the labor's; the equipment's; the segregated), the schedule (the updated — the monthly's; the fragnets'), and the correspondence (the filed — the RFI's; the submittals').
The types
The delay (the excusable's — the 30-day; the compensable's — the 60-day), the disruption (the productivity's — the measured mile's; the 25%), the differing (the site's — the Type I's; the 2x's — the cost), the changes (the directed — the 10%; the constructive's — the 15%), and the acceleration (the directed — the overtime's; the 1.5x's).
The quantification
The measured mile (the productivity's — the unimpacted; the compared), the total cost (the 70%'s — the proven; the last resort's), the Eichleay (the home office's — the formula's; the 3-step), and the fragnet (the schedule's — the inserted; the 30-day's — the proven).
The negotiation
The 90-day (the negotiated's — the typical; the mediated), the 50/50 (the split's — the commercial; the settled), the mediation (the 1-day's — the 80%; the settled), the arbitration (the 6-month's — the binding; the 3-panel's), and the litigation (the 2-year's — the 10%; the last resort's).
The bottom line
Claims are won on paper — the notice preserving the right, the documentation proving the cost, the negotiation preserving the relationship. Give 7-day written notice, keep daily reports with dated photos, quantify with the measured mile, and negotiate the 90-day settlement. The contractor who documents contemporaneously settles in 90 days; the one who reconstructs later litigates for 2 years.