FREE CALCULATOR
Subcontractor Lead Time Planner
Check whether a subcontract package has enough lead time between your planned award date and the installation start date. Enter each phase of the procurement pipeline and see if the schedule holds.
Required lead time is the total number of calendar days a subcontractor needs between contract award and material or crew readiness on site. It includes internal approvals, submittals and shop drawings, approval turnaround, fabrication or procurement, shipping, and a site delivery buffer.
If the gap between your planned award date and the installation start date is shorter than the required lead time, the package will slip. This calculator quantifies that gap and shows you the risk.
Package Details
Lead Time Breakdown
Buffers & Costs
Results
ModerateBreakdown
How this planner works
Every subcontract package moves through a procurement pipeline between contract award and site readiness. This planner maps each phase of that pipeline—internal approvals, submittal preparation, design-team review, fabrication or procurement, shipping, and site delivery buffer—and adds them up to calculate the total lead time required.
It then compares that required lead time against the calendar gap in your current schedule. If the gap is wide enough, the package has float. If the gap is too narrow or negative, the package will slip. The planner shows you exactly how much float exists, when the latest safe award date is, and what the delay exposure costs per day.
Enter each lead-time phase based on your subcontractor's actual timelines—not best-case assumptions. Add a contingency buffer for rework, late submissions, or shipping delays. The result tells you whether your current award date is early enough, or whether you need to move it forward.
How the Calculations Work
- Base Lead Time
- Internal Approval + Submittal + Approval Turnaround + Fabrication + Shipping + Site BufferSum of every calendar-day phase between award and site readiness.
- Contingency Days
- round(Base Lead Time × Contingency % / 100)A buffer on top of base lead time for rework, late submissions, or shipping delays.
- Required Lead Time
- Base Lead Time + Contingency DaysThe total calendar days you need from award to site delivery.
- Available Days
- Installation Start Date - Planned Award DateThe actual calendar gap in your current schedule.
- Float / Negative Float
- Available Days - Required Lead TimePositive means the schedule holds. Negative means the package will slip.
- Delay Exposure
- Projected Slip Days × Daily Delay CostThe estimated cost if the package slips past the installation date.
What the result means
Positive float
The schedule has more days than the subcontractor needs. The package should arrive on time if each phase stays within its allocated window. More than 21 days of float is low risk. Between 7 and 21 days is moderate—watch for fabrication delays.
Negative float
The required lead time exceeds the available schedule gap. The package will slip unless you move the award date earlier, compress the procurement pipeline, or push the installation start later. Every day of negative float is a day of projected delay.
Earliest safe award date
The latest date you can award the subcontract and still have enough time for the full procurement pipeline. If your planned award date is after this date, the package is at risk before the contract is even signed.
Delay exposure
The estimated daily cost if the package slips past the installation date. Multiply the projected slip days by your daily delay cost. This number tells you whether expediting the package is cheaper than absorbing the delay.
What to Do if Float Is Too Thin
- 1
Move the award date forward
Award the subcontract by the earliest safe award date or earlier. Every day of delay in award compounds the risk of a late installation.
- 2
Fast-track approvals and submittals
Ask the design team for expedited review of shop drawings and submittals. Reducing the approval turnaround by even a few days can restore schedule float.
- 3
Pre-order long-lead fabrication items
If the subcontract allows, release fabrication or procurement before the formal award. This compresses the pipeline by starting the longest lead-time phase early.
- 4
Add schedule float by pushing installation
If upstream sequencing allows, delay the installation start date to create more calendar days between award and install. Even a one-week shift can change the risk band.
Worked Example
A mechanical contractor plans to award an HVAC subcontract package on June 1, 2026, with installation starting September 1, 2026. Here is how the lead time planner evaluates the schedule fit.
Package Inputs
Lead Time Phases
Calculation
Contingency (10%)
7 days
Required Lead Time
72 days
65 + 7
Available Days
92 days
Jun 1 to Sep 1
Float
+20 days
Moderate
Earliest Safe Award
Jun 21
72 days before install
Projected Slip
0 days
Schedule holds
Delay Exposure
$0
No slip
20 days of float is moderate. The schedule holds, but fabrication delays of more than 3 weeks would push the package past the installation date. If the award date slips to June 21 or later, the package enters the high-risk zone. The contractor should confirm fabrication capacity before award and track submittal turnaround closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as lead time for a subcontract package?
Lead time is the total calendar days a subcontractor needs from contract award to site readiness. It includes internal approvals, submittal preparation, design-team review, fabrication or procurement, shipping, and a site delivery buffer. Each phase runs sequentially and consumes schedule float.
What does negative float mean?
Negative float means the required lead time exceeds the calendar gap between your planned award date and the installation start date. The package will slip unless you move the award date earlier, compress the procurement pipeline, or delay the installation start.
How much schedule buffer is reasonable?
Most contractors carry 7 to 21 days of float on subcontract packages with fabrication. Shorter packages may need 3 to 7 days. Packages with long fabrication or imported equipment may need 21 to 35 days. The right buffer depends on package complexity and confidence in each lead-time phase.
What is the difference between fabrication delay and subcontractor delay?
Fabrication delay is a lead-time overrun in the manufacturing or procurement phase. Subcontractor delay is a mobilisation or readiness failure by the trade contractor. Both consume float, but they have different root causes and recovery options. Fabrication delays are often addressed through expediting or alternate sourcing. Subcontractor delays through schedule recovery or crew changes.
Does this planner replace a procurement schedule?
No. This planner checks one subcontract package at a time. A full procurement schedule tracks every package across the project, sequences releases, and manages resource conflicts. Use this planner to validate individual packages before loading them into the master schedule.
How does lead-time risk relate to delay cost?
If a subcontract package slips past the installation date, the project incurs daily delay costs including site overhead, supervision standby, labour reallocation, and potential liquidated damages. This planner identifies the slip risk. The delay cost impact calculator quantifies the cost if the slip materialises.
FROM ONE PACKAGE TO EVERY SUBCONTRACT
This planner checks one subcontract package. Quoteloc manages lead time across your entire backlog.
Track every subcontract package from award to delivery. See float and risk across all trades in one view. Catch lead-time problems before they become delay claims.
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