Procurement and long-lead items

Most late buildings are not late because crews worked slowly. They are late because a piece of equipment arrived after the work that needed it. Long-lead items such as electrical gear, rooftop units and dock equipment have chains that start months before anyone installs them, and the owner who watches only the field schedule sees the problem when it is too late to fix.

Learning outcomes

• Identify the long-lead items on a building project and explain why their risk sits in the paperwork before fabrication.
• Lay out the full procurement chain, from supply award to installation, and calculate procurement float against a need-by date.
• Set up a procurement log that is tied to the contractor's schedule and reviewed every month.
• Choose an owner lever, such as early release or pre-purchase, and know what each one changes in the contract.

The lesson

What makes an item long-lead

A long-lead item is any product whose time from order to delivery is long enough to drive the schedule. There is no fixed threshold. A useful working rule is that an item is long-lead if its procurement chain is longer than the time between contract award and the date the item is needed. On a commercial or industrial building the usual list is electrical distribution equipment, packaged mechanical units, structural steel and joists, specialty doors, elevators and anything custom-fabricated.

Lead times move with the market. Wood Mackenzie reported in October 2025 that average lead times for utility switchgear had eased slightly but still sat at about 44 weeks, with power transformers at about 128 weeks. Simple Thread, citing industry data in 2026, puts standard distribution transformers at 30 to 50 weeks, up from 8 to 12 weeks before 2020, which matters for the utility side of a new service connection. A building's own low-voltage switchboard is a smaller product, but it draws on the same factories and components. The lesson for owners is simple: a lead time quoted at tender is a forecast, not a promise, and it needs to be checked again at award and at every update.

The procurement chain

The fabrication time is only one link. Before a factory starts, the supplier has to be under contract, prepare shop drawings and product data, and get them reviewed. Under CCDC 2-2020, shop drawings are dealt with in GC 3.8, and many of the procedural details moved from the 2008 form into the CCDC Division 01 master specification, Section 01 33, which has to be expressly made part of the contract. The contractor reviews and stamps each submittal before the Consultant sees it. The Consultant then reviews for general conformance with the design intent, as the Ontario Association of Architects describes in its practice guidance. Rejected or "revise and resubmit" drawings add a full loop. Lesson 10 covers submittals and shop drawings in detail.

Work backward from the need-by date

The right way to schedule a long-lead item is backward. Start with the date the installing crew needs it on site, the need-by date. Subtract fabrication and shipping to get the latest release for fabrication. Subtract review time, including one resubmission for anything complex, to get the latest submittal date. Subtract the supplier's drafting time to get the latest award date. If that date has already passed, the item is late before anyone has done anything wrong.

The gap between the forecast delivery and the need-by date is procurement float. It behaves like total float in the field schedule: it is shared, it is consumed silently, and it is the first thing to look at in each update. Ten Six's guidance for P6 users recommends modelling long-lead items as linked activities (submit, review, fabricate and deliver) that drive the installation activity, rather than loading the whole submittal register into the schedule. That gives the critical path a chance to see the item.

The procurement log

The schedule shows logic. The procurement log shows status. A good log has one row per long-lead item with the WBS code, the supplier, the quoted lead time and the date it was confirmed, the planned and actual dates for each link in Figure 1, the need-by date, the forecast delivery, the float and a short note on the next action. JE Dunn describes a colour-coded log tied to the P6 schedule so overdue items stand out. The owner does not need to keep this log, but the owner should receive it with every monthly progress report and check it against the schedule update, as lesson 13 describes for the monthly schedule check.

The owner's levers

On a stipulated price contract, procurement is the contractor's job and the contractor carries the risk of late supply unless a delay is excusable under the contract. The owner still has levers, and most of them work only if they are set up before or at tender.

• Early release. The owner authorizes the contractor, by letter or a short early-works agreement, to place a specific order before the main contract is signed. The authorization should cap the owner's exposure if the project does not proceed.
• Owner pre-purchase and assignment. The owner buys the item directly and the tender documents require the contractor to accept assignment of the purchase order, install it and coordinate its warranty. This needs Supplementary Conditions so that responsibility for delivery delays, defects and storage is clear.
• Priority review. The owner asks the Consultant to commit to review periods for named long-lead submittals, and checks that the Consultant has the staff to meet them.
• Deposits and off-site materials. Suppliers may ask for deposits or payment for stored goods. Before paying for anything not on site, owners commonly require a bill of sale, insurance, identification of the goods as the owner's and a lawyer's view on lien and title risk.

Northgate worked example

Northgate Distribution Centre (fictional) is a 12,000 m² tilt-up warehouse in Vaughan for Northgate Logistics Inc. (fictional), built by Halvorsen Builders Ltd. (fictional) under CCDC 2-2020, with Ridgeline Architects Inc. (fictional) as Consultant. Halvorsen keeps its schedule in Oracle Primavera P6; the owner's master schedule is in Microsoft Project desktop. See the Northgate fact sheet.

The switchboard chain

The item that worries the owner's representative most is the main switchboard, because milestone M7, permanent power, is Friday October 1, 2027, and commissioning (M8) starts a month later. Figure 2 shows the chain built backward with an illustrative supplier lead time of 23 weeks for fabrication and shipping. The contract is signed on Monday January 11, 2027 (M0). Halvorsen awards the electrical supply package on January 25. Shop drawings go in on Tuesday February 16, the day after Family Day, and Ridgeline returns them "reviewed as noted" ten working days later, on Tuesday March 2. Halvorsen releases the order for fabrication on Monday March 8.

View the data

Link	Start	Finish
Contract executed (M0)	Mon Jan 11, 2027	milestone
Electrical supply award	Mon Jan 25, 2027	milestone
Shop drawings prepared and submitted	Mon Jan 25, 2027	Tue Feb 16, 2027
Consultant review (10 working days)	Tue Feb 16, 2027	Tue Mar 2, 2027
Release for fabrication	Mon Mar 8, 2027	milestone
Fabricate and ship (23 weeks)	Mon Mar 8, 2027	Mon Aug 16, 2027
Procurement float	Mon Aug 16, 2027	Mon Aug 23, 2027
Install, terminate and test	Mon Aug 23, 2027	Fri Sep 24, 2027
M7 permanent power	Fri Oct 1, 2027	milestone
Sensitivity: 30-week lead time delivery	Mon Mar 8, 2027	Mon Oct 4, 2027

One week of float on a 23-week factory lead is thin. If the supplier's queue slips to 30 weeks, which is well inside the range the market has seen, delivery lands on Monday October 4, after M7, and commissioning starts late. The week between M7 and the end of installation also has to hold the utility connection and the electrical inspection, which run on someone else's calendar.

The log at the July 2027 update

Figure 3 shows five rows from Halvorsen's procurement log as the owner's representative reviews it at the July 2027 update. Four items have float. The office rooftop units are two weeks late against their need-by date of Monday August 16, because the supplier pushed its ship date to August 30.

View the data

Item	WBS	Need-by	Forecast delivery	Float (weeks)
Steel joists and deck	4	Mon Jun 14, 2027	Mon May 17, 2027 (actual)	+4
Main switchboard	7	Mon Aug 23, 2027	Mon Aug 16, 2027	+1
Office rooftop units	7	Mon Aug 16, 2027	Mon Aug 30, 2027	−2
Dock levellers and seals	8	Mon Jul 19, 2027	Mon Jun 7, 2027 (actual)	+6
Overhead dock doors	8	Mon Aug 30, 2027	Mon Aug 9, 2027	+3

Negative float on the rooftop units does not automatically move M6 or M9. The owner's representative asks three questions: does the late delivery reach the critical path in the P6 update, can the roofer leave the curbs and finish around them, and does Halvorsen have a recovery plan, such as a second shipment or temporary heat, before the units are needed for the mezzanine fit-out? The answers go in the minutes of the next OAC meeting.

Owner's move

• Name the long-lead items in the tender. Ask bidders to state the lead time they carried for each one and the supplier behind it.
• Decide on early release before award. If any chain is longer than the time from award to need-by date, authorize early release or pre-purchase, with a capped commitment.
• Put the chains in the schedule. Require submit, review, fabricate and deliver activities for every long-lead item, linked to the installation activity.
• Make the procurement log a monthly deliverable. Review float against the schedule update and ask for a recovery plan on any negative row.
• Protect the review slot. Agree review periods for long-lead submittals with the Consultant and hold both sides to them.

Common mistakes

1. Counting the lead time from award. The factory clock usually starts at release for fabrication, after shop drawings are approved.
2. Trusting the tender-day lead time. Quotes go stale; confirm them in writing at award and at every update.
3. Showing only the installation activity. A schedule with no procurement chain cannot show procurement float or a procurement-driven critical path.
4. Paying for off-site goods on a handshake. Without title, insurance and identification, the owner may pay for goods it cannot get.
5. Forgetting the utility. Permanent power depends on the local utility's connection schedule as well as the switchboard.

Quick quiz

1. When does the fabrication lead time usually start counting?

   1. At tender close
   2. At contract award
   3. At release for fabrication
   4. At delivery to site

2. A switchboard is forecast to arrive on August 16 and is needed on August 23. What is its procurement float?

   1. Zero
   2. One week
   3. Two weeks
   4. It cannot be calculated without the critical path

3. Under CCDC 2-2020, which GC deals with shop drawings?

   1. GC 3.8
   2. GC 6.5
   3. GC 12.1
   4. GC 13.1

4. What does owner pre-purchase with assignment require to work well?

   1. Nothing beyond a purchase order
   2. Supplementary Conditions that set responsibility for delivery, defects and storage
   3. A change order after award
   4. A separate CCDC 2 with the supplier

5. Which item belongs in a procurement log but not in a submittal register?

   1. Submittal number
   2. Consultant's review stamp
   3. Need-by date and forecast delivery
   4. Spec section

Show answers and explanations

1. C. Most suppliers schedule the factory once approved drawings are released; award only starts the paperwork.
2. B. Float is the need-by date minus the forecast delivery: one week.
3. A. GC 3.8 covers shop drawings; many procedures now sit in Division 01, Section 01 33.
4. B. Without Supplementary Conditions, it is unclear who carries late delivery, defects and storage once the order is assigned.
5. C. The submittal register tracks review; the procurement log tracks delivery against the date the field needs the item.

Key terms

Long-lead item

A product whose order-to-delivery time is long enough to drive the schedule.

Need-by date

The latest date an item can arrive on site without delaying the activity that installs it.

Release for fabrication

The contractor's instruction to the supplier to start manufacturing, normally after shop drawings are reviewed.

Procurement float

The time between forecast delivery and the need-by date.

Procurement log

A register of long-lead items with planned and actual dates for each link, need-by date, forecast and float.

Early release

Owner authorization for the contractor to order a named item before the main contract is signed.

Pre-purchase and assignment

The owner buys an item and the contractor takes over the purchase order under the contract.

References

1. Wood Mackenzie, Mind the gap: tackling supply-chain challenges in the electric T&D sector (October 2025).
2. Simple Thread, The equipment doesn't wait for the approval (September 2026).
3. Gowling WLG, What the new CCDC 2 stipulated price contract means for you (December 2020).
4. Ontario Construction News, Revised CCDC2 and the new Division 01 (Clive Thurston).
5. Ontario Association of Architects, The shop drawing review process: a brief discussion (May 2020).
6. Ten Six Consulting, How do we handle submittals in a P6 schedule? (May 2020).
7. JE Dunn Construction, Ahead of the game: leveraging procurement to keep project schedules intact (March 2023).

Verified on November 6, 2026.

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