Disruption claims are becoming more challenging as projects become ever larger and more complex (particularly internationally). These large projects usually involve multiple contract packages or, where a single main contractor is appointed, extensive subcontracting. The potential for delay and disruption tends to increase as complexity increases. It is not uncommon for there to be thousands of individual delaying and disrupting events that can impact – directly and indirectly – on many different design disciplines and trades across the project.

However, identifying and proving the full extent of the disruptive impact of such events also becomes more difficult as the complexity of a project increases. This may be further complicated by the fact that disruptive events can interact with each other so that the cumulative impact of a group of events is greater than the sum of its parts. As a result, parties are increasingly looking for ways to analyse time and cost overruns in order to bring claims that assess the aggregated impact of accumulated (and often small) disruptive events.

One such approach is system dynamics modelling. This involves building a computer model of a project using mathematical equations to assess the ripple effect of disruptive events through different parts of the project. The equations reflect assumptions about relationships and interactions that can influence labour productivity. 

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