The 28-day notice
Under FIDIC 1999 Sub-Clause 20.1 and FIDIC 2017 Sub-Clause 20.2.1, the Contractor must give notice within 28 days of becoming aware of the event. Miss it, and an otherwise valid claim can fail.
FIDIC contract administration
Never lose a FIDIC claim to a missed notice
Under FIDIC, a claim notice that arrives late can cost the whole entitlement. BuildCore registers every contractual letter with its time bar and response deadline, highlights the ones running out, and — when you ask — has AI classify the letter, point to the clause and suggest actions. Claims then move from notice to the Engineer's determination against their own clocks, with a full audit trail.
The problem
Entitlement is lost in the inbox, not in the argument
Most commercial teams know the contract. What they lack is a system that notices the letter that started a clock, and keeps counting when everyone is busy on site.
The detailed claim
The fully detailed claim follows — within 42 days under the 1999 edition, 84 days under 2017 (Sub-Clause 20.2.4) — and interim updates continue while the effect lasts.
The other side's clocks
The Engineer has deadlines too — including 42 days to agree and a further 42 to determine under the 2017 Sub-Clause 3.7. Those are leverage, if someone is tracking them.
How it works
From the letter that arrives to the determination that closes it
AI assists when you ask it to. People decide.
1
Letter arrives
Registered as a contractual notice, with its time bar and response deadline.
2
AI classifies
On request: notice of claim, EOT request, variation instruction, defect notice, time-bar letter, dispute…
3
Clause and time bar
AI points to the likely clause and time bar; your team confirms the deadline.
4
Owner and deadline
Suggested actions, each with a deadline, a role and a priority, for your team to act on.
5
Reply drafted
AI drafts the response for the commercial team to review and issue.
6
Claim tracked
Notice, detailed claim and determination — each against its own clock.
Correspondence
Every contractual letter, read and risk-scored
The correspondence register records whether a letter is a contractual notice, its time bar and its response deadline, and highlights any time bar inside seven days. Run AI analysis on a letter and it returns:
- A classification — routine, important, critical, notice of claim, EOT request, variation instruction, defect notice, time-bar letter, final account or dispute
- A risk score from 0 to 100, with the flags behind it
- The contract clause it engages, for example FIDIC Sub-Clause 20.1
- The time bar in days
- Suggested actions — each with a deadline, a responsible role and a priority
- A two-to-three sentence summary, and a summary of the whole correspondence chain
Claims register
Each claim, from event to award
Each project is set up with its FIDIC edition and its notice, detailed-claim and Engineer's-determination periods (every step and date is in our Clause 20 claims checklist). Then every claim carries:
- The event date, the notice deadline and the date notice was given
- The detailed-claim deadline and the date it was submitted
- Days and amount claimed — and days and amount awarded
- A time-barred flag, so a lapsed claim is visible the day it lapses, not at the final account
- A claim raised directly from a variation order, so the two stay linked
- The full event history, with a versioned audit trail
AI you can govern
Choose where the AI runs
Contract correspondence is sensitive. BuildCore lets each organisation decide where it is processed.
On your own server
Run the AI on a local model through Ollama, and letters never leave your network — the right choice for government bodies and on-premise deployments.
With a cloud provider
Use OpenAI, Anthropic or Google Gemini under your own agreement. External AI processing only switches on once it has been enabled for your organisation.
BuildCore tracks deadlines, suggests actions and drafts letters. It does not give legal advice and does not decide entitlement — the commercial team and the Engineer do.
Connected
Part of one project record
Hindrance & EOT
A hindrance register with preset clocks for FIDIC 1999 and 2017, NEC4 and India's NHAI, CPWD and Railways contracts, letters and an evidence pack.
Contract Management
Client contracts, payment milestones, variation orders, EOT requests and FIDIC claims against their Clause 20 time bars.
Commercial & Finance
Budgets, commitments and interim payment certificates, on the same record as the claims.
Questions
FIDIC contract administration — common questions
Each project records its FIDIC edition and its notice, detailed-claim and Engineer's-determination periods. The Hindrance & EOT module ships presets for the 1999 and 2017 conditions, and every period can be edited to match the particular conditions of the contract.
No. When a user runs it, the AI classifies a letter, points to the likely clause and time bar, scores the risk, suggests actions and drafts a reply. Nothing is sent or changed on its say-so: your commercial team reviews and decides, and the Engineer determines under the contract.
Yes. BuildCore can use a local model through Ollama running on your own server. Cloud providers — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini — are optional and only process data once enabled for your organisation.
Yes. The Hindrance & EOT module has presets for NEC4 and for India's NHAI EPC and HAM, CPWD GCC 2023 and Indian Railways GCC 2022 contracts, plus a custom regime where every clock can be set.
See it on your contract
Bring one live claim
We will set up its clocks, run a real letter through the AI, and show you the claim register the way your commercial team would use it.