Health-check your programme before you submit it
A DCMA 14-point assessment read contractually: what each check means, the thresholds, and why a clean programme is a claims asset long before any dispute.
Schedule · 7 min read · updated 2026-06-12 · FIDIC 2017 Red Book references unless stated
1. Programme quality is a contractual matter
Under FIDIC 2017 Sub-Clause 8.3 the programme is a contractual deliverable with prescribed content, and it is the instrument through which an EOT is measured. A network riddled with missing logic, hard constraints and lags will be attacked the first time it is used to demonstrate delay — by then it is too late to fix the baseline.
The DCMA 14-point assessment is the de-facto industry screen for schedule quality. Running it before submission — and before each update is issued — turns the programme from a liability into the evidential backbone of every future time claim.
2. The structural checks — is the network real?
Logic (missing predecessors/successors, target ≤ 5% of incomplete activities): an activity without logic floats free of the network and breaks any critical-path argument. Leads (negative lags, target 0%): they distort float and are near-impossible to defend. Lags (target ≤ 5%): prefer a real activity over an invisible wait. Relationship types (target ≥ 90% finish-to-start): exotic links obscure the path. Hard constraints (target ≤ 5%): a constrained date that overrides logic severs cause from effect — the very thing a delay analysis must demonstrate.
3. The float and duration checks — is the network honest?
High float (> 44 working days, target ≤ 5%): large float usually signals missing logic rather than genuine flexibility. Negative float (target 0%): the plan admits it cannot meet its own constraints — explain it or fix it before anyone else finds it. High duration (> 44 working days on incomplete activities, target ≤ 5%): long bars hide the real sequence; break them down where the work is near-term.
Invalid dates (forecast in the past, actuals in the future — target 0%) and missed activities (finished later than baselined, monitored against 5%) test whether the update discipline is sound; resources checks whether effort/cost is loaded where the contract requires it.
4. The path checks — does the critical path behave?
The critical path test pushes a critical activity and checks the completion date moves with it — if it does not, the network's spine is broken. CPLI (Critical Path Length Index, target ≥ 0.95) measures how realistic the remaining critical path is against the baseline finish. BEI (Baseline Execution Index, target ≥ 0.95) measures whether tasks are being completed at the planned rate. Together they tell you — and the other side — whether the programme is a credible forecast or an optimistic drawing.
5. Read the results contractually, then fix forward
A failed check is not an academic blemish — it is the cross-examination question you will face when the programme is used to prove delay. Fix structure before baseline acceptance (logic, constraints, long bars), watch the update-discipline checks at every data date, and record why any deliberate exception exists (a contract-mandated constraint, for instance). A programme that passes clean is worth more than most claim narratives.
Educational content for construction professionals. This guide summarises common contract mechanics and industry practice; it is not legal advice, and contract forms differ — your contract’s wording, including its Particular Conditions, governs. ControlsIQ outputs are designed to support professional judgement, not replace it.