Delay Impact Calculator
Quantify the financial impact of a delay including extended overheads and liquidated damages.
Impact = Days × (Daily Overhead + LD per Day)Interpretation Guide
- Includes overheadSite staff, plant standing time, supervision.
- Includes LDContractual penalties per day.
Example
30 days × ($8k overhead + $5k LD) = $390k total impact.
Real-world use cases
- Claims preparation
- Risk register pricing
- Time-extension negotiations
Common mistakes
- Ignoring escalation and acceleration costs
Professional tips
- Document concurrent delay and apportion responsibility
Frequently asked questions
Are LDs always payable?
Only when contractually triggered and not excused by a compensable event.
What this tool does
Quantify the financial impact of a delay including extended overheads and liquidated damages.
It applies the standard formula Impact = Days × (Daily Overhead + LD per Day) so planners, schedulers and PMOs get a defensible number they can put in front of a steering committee.
Looking for the underlying terminology? Open the PM Glossary or the PM Cheat Sheet for quick references on EVM, scheduling and risk terms.
When to use it
- Claims preparation
- Risk register pricing
- Time-extension negotiations
Typical owners: project managers, planning engineers, project controls leads and PMO analysts running weekly or monthly performance reviews on EPC, infrastructure, IT and construction projects.
How to interpret the result
Treat the number as a signal, not a verdict. Read it together with the trend over the last 3–6 reporting periods, the critical-path status, and the risk register before you change the plan.
- Compare against the baseline, not against another project.
- Investigate the drivers behind the value before reporting it up.
- Pair it with at least one complementary KPI (cost, schedule, risk or quality).
Worked example
30 days × ($8k overhead + $5k LD) = $390k total impact.
In a real project review, document the inputs, the resulting value, the interpretation, and the corrective action you committed to. That audit trail is what turns a calculator output into a controls decision.
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