4 Ways to Take Control of Delays and Protect Profit
Do delays keep hurting your bottom line?
Do you see profit fade as the schedule slips, even when the cause wasn’t your fault? You may have even had to defend against liquidated damages tied to delays beyond your control.
A recent Procore study revealed that 49% of construction projects go over budget and over schedule¹. If you’re a commercial GC, that probably doesn’t surprise you. You’ve seen it: material delays, design revisions, labor shortages, and slow owner decisions.
But what is surprising—and costly—is how often PMs and Supers allow their projects to absorb these delays and their impacts, even when they may not be the GC’s responsibility.
That mindset comes at a high price. Fortunately, it’s fixable with the right systems and a more proactive approach.
Delays Happen — But They Shouldn’t Just All Be Passed on to the GC
Let’s ground this in the basic intent of construction contracts. AIA agreements generally state that the designer provides a buildable design, the owner gives timely direction and decisions, and the contractor executes the work.
These roles are meant to work together to deliver on the project’s objectives. But in practice, when delays occur, the contractor often gets the blame simply because they’re the ones putting the work in place.
Most GCs don’t want to point fingers - they want to deliver. But protecting your schedule and profit doesn’t mean being adversarial.
It means knowing your role, understanding the contract, and leading with better systems.
Win-Win Project Leadership
The best PMs and Supers I know don’t just defend their ground - they lead. They support the owner and design team, help the project succeed, and still protect the contractor’s risk and profit.
That’s what win-win leadership looks like.
But here’s where many GCs can go wrong:
They stay silent to avoid conflict
They lack documentation to back up their position
They don’t understand the contract provisions
They don’t have systems to track or communicate delays
Things get even more complicated with compound delays — when one issue snowballs into several, even if the GC didn’t trigger the first one.
Real-World Example
A mechanical design conflict stops your slab prep. You catch the issue during layout and submit an RFI. But the engineer is out of office, and the response takes a week.
That delay pushes the concrete pour into a cold snap, forcing a weather delay. Then your concrete sub, now off schedule, sends a smaller crew—who fall further behind.
Inspections get rescheduled. Trades start stacking. Coordination becomes reactive.
What started as a design delay has snowballed into a two-week schedule slide. And unless you’ve documented each step, the GC is often left holding the bag.
Stop Absorbing. Start Documenting and Leading.
You don’t need to get defensive or argumentative. But you do need to get proactive. Here are four practical ways to shift the mindset and protect your team and your bottom line.
1. Use the Schedule as a Shield
A well-built and regularly updated schedule is one of your best tools. It is essential to set a baseline in the schedule and use it to track changes and delays. If you maintain it properly, you’ll have a time-stamped record that clearly shows when something slipped, and why. The schedule will show graphically and logically the source of the delay and the effect on ensuing tasks.
A good schedule isn’t just a great planning tool. It’s a risk management document. And when done right, it’s hard to argue with.
2. Document Everything — Even the Small Stuff
It’s not about blame. It’s about clarity.
Use simple tools like:
Delay Logs – Track causes, responsible parties, and impacts, which aren’t always immediate.
Material Procurement Logs – Document when materials were released and ordered. If you followed the process, delays often fall outside the GC’s control.
Issues Logs – Track recurring problems that consume time, such as design clarifications, too many change order requests, and late decisions.
Daily Logs – Go beyond the basics. Record what was planned versus what was done, daily challenges, weather conditions, manpower, and equipment.
Together, these records should tell a clear and credible story to someone unfamiliar with the project.
These logs can be done in Procore or be simple templates in Excel or Word. The key for them is to be consistent, factual, and organized.
3. Know (and Use) the Contract
Your contract is your rulebook. You don’t have to be a legal expert or memorize it.
However, your team needs to understand:
What constitutes a compensable delay
How and when to report a delay
The responsibilities of other stakeholders
The procedures for requesting time or cost adjustments
“A great practice is to create a ONE-PAGE SUMMARY of key contract provisions for each project and review it with your team. Otherwise, you might have a solid case and miss it due to poor documentation or late notification.”
4. Train Your Team to Think Like Risk Managers
Even with a good contract and tools in place, it won’t matter if your staff doesn’t understand how to apply them.
Train your PMs, supers, and other staff on:
How delays should be documented
How to communicate impacts professionally, without blame or defensiveness
How to document delays in the schedule
How to submit timely requests for time or cost
Managing risk is not about creating conflict. It’s about being objective, having good systems, and equipping your team to lead with confidence.
The Stakes: Why This Matters
If you are not documenting delays or simply absorbing them, it is more likely:
You burn through general conditions and project profit
You miss opportunities to request time extensions or additional costs
You risk exposure to liquidated damages
You strain your team with unnecessary stress
You damage your reputation to deliver on time
On the flip side, when you get this right:
You assign accountability fairly, without being adversarial
You recover costs and time where appropriate
You build trust through clear and professional documentation
You reduce chaos and stress, creating a healthier jobsite culture
You set your team up to win — with fewer fires and more focus
The key is to have a process and train your team: You’re not just absorbing delays. You’re managing them.
Final Thought: Don’t Just Absorb — Lead
Delays aren’t going away. But when you change your mindset, build the right tools, and train your team, you create a more professional, proactive, and profitable project environment.
Want help equipping your team to manage delays, document impacts, and lead with confidence?
Let’s talk about how Peak81 can support your team with training, tools, and real-world strategies.
Sources: ¹How We Build Now: North America Report. Procore Technologies Inc., 2023. Available at: https://www.procore.com