The RACI chart still lists the commercial director as final approver on every change-order above $50k. On Thursday the director nominates a duty roster that rotates four project controllers into the role for the weekend.
None of those controllers can release purchase orders, waive penalty clauses or authorise scope shifts. The vendor therefore parks the variation request and the schedule slips another day.
By Monday the original director has already moved on to the next crisis and treats the delay as a procurement problem. The cost of the idle crew lands in the monthly variance report with no owner.
Perth teams see this pattern most clearly because east-coast approvers routinely hand off after 3 pm their time. The local duty manager receives the escalation but cannot move without a fresh signature that only arrives the next business day.
The operating model assumes presence equals authority. When presence is delegated without the matching chequebook or contract rights, every cross-team change stalls at the first missing link.
Fix the model by publishing a single daily authority list that states exactly which decisions each stand-in can close and which must wait. Make the list visible in the same system that tracks the variation itself.
Until that list exists, Friday afternoon remains the cheapest place for a contractor to park risk and the most expensive place for the operator to absorb it.