Drydock execution
Drydock extras: approving variation orders without losing cost control
How to handle growth work during the yard period with clear impact, acceptance, and approval.
6 min read
Extra work is part of every drydock. What turns it into a budget problem is not the extra itself, but approving it by message, without knowing what it does to cost and schedule.
01
Every change gets its own record
Open a variation order for each change: what was found, what will be done, who requested it, and which original item it affects. Photos and measurements from the inspection belong in the same record.
02
Show the before and after
A variation should state the contracted cost and dates before the change and the new values after it. Items already quoted use the contract rates; new items carry the price proposed by the shipyard.
03
Two signatures, in order
The shipyard accepts the change and its price, and only then the owner approves it internally. Until both happen, the variation does not change the contract value or the schedule.
- Description and evidence
- Cost and schedule impact
- Shipyard acceptance
- Formal internal approval
04
Keep the forecast honest
Approved variations update the forecast final cost immediately. The team sees during the yard period where the project will end, instead of discovering it when the last invoice arrives.