About Sitechain
Sitechain was founded by an experienced Senior Quantity Surveyor with 12 years of experience on some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects, including HS2 and major National Highways schemes.
Having spent over a decade on the main contractor side, our founder saw first-hand how civils subcontractors consistently lost significant commercial entitlement — not through lack of merit, but through missed notice windows, insufficient commercial resource on site, and the fundamental gap between what happens on site and what gets formally recorded.
Sitechain exists to close that gap.
Under NEC3 and NEC4 subcontracts, a Subcontractor must notify a compensation event within eight weeks of becoming aware of it — or within whatever shorter period has been specified in the contract. Miss this deadline and you lose your entitlement entirely. Not reduced. Not disputed. Gone.
On a fast-moving civils project this window closes quickly. An access obstruction, a late instruction, an unexpected ground condition — these events happen daily. The commercial team finds out weeks later, often when reviewing a CVR or preparing an application. By then the clock has already been ticking for weeks and the deadline may already have passed.
Main contractors know this. When a dispute arises, the first thing they check is whether the Subcontractor notified in time. If they did not, the time bar is enforced and the claim is dead regardless of its merits.
Sitechain ensures that every site event is captured and notified within hours — not weeks.
The Time Bar Problem
Under NEC3 and NEC4, if a Subcontractor fails to give an Early Warning of a matter that an experienced subcontractor would have notified, the Project Manager can assess the resulting compensation event as if the Early Warning had been given.
In practice this means the Project Manager can factor in any mitigation measures that could have been implemented had the warning been raised promptly. If earlier notification would have allowed the Contractor to avoid or reduce the delay, the Subcontractor’s time and cost entitlement can be reduced accordingly — sometimes significantly.
An example: a crane route is blocked, causing two days of standing time. If an Early Warning had been raised immediately, the Contractor could have arranged an alternative route within hours. The Project Manager assesses the CE on that basis — one hour of disruption, not two days. The Subcontractor raised no Early Warning and loses 95% of its entitlement as a result.
Sitechain raises Early Warning Notices the same day the event occurs. This protects your full entitlement and puts the obligation to mitigate firmly on the Contractor.
The Early Warning Risk
From Whatsapp to Draft Notice in Minutes
This is all it takes. A site foreman sends a quick WhatsApp message or voice note describing what has happened on site. Within minutes Sitechain returns a professionally drafted Early Warning Notice — reviewed by a Senior QS — ready for your approval and issue to the main contractor.
No forms to fill in. No platform to learn. No information to hunt down. Just a message.
The Result
A formally drafted Early Warning Notice — correctly structured, clause-referenced and ready to issue. Produced automatically from your WhatsApp message and reviewed by our Senior QS before delivery to your inbox.
Get In Touch
Contact us to find out more about the Sitechain service or to discuss a pilot for your business. We work with civils subcontractors on NEC3 and NEC4 contracts across the UK.