Do not release progress payments against individual contractor milestones until the shared site utilities have been load-tested under combined draw. Per-package claims hide the moment when power, water or comms capacity is exceeded.
Contractors file their own consumption estimates into the PMO system. Each figure looks plausible on its own line because it assumes the header will stay within design limits.
The first time all packages run at once, the switchboard trips or the main water line pressure drops. The dashboard still shows every milestone green because no single claim exceeded its allocated slice.
PMO teams then spend weeks negotiating who caused the shortfall instead of fixing the header. The delay lands on the critical path while lawyers argue allocation percentages.
Require a single live test that runs every connected package at 80 percent of peak demand simultaneously. Record the actual draw on each utility before any further payment clears.
Update the completion criteria in every contract to include the joint test result. Static per-contractor certificates no longer count as evidence of operational readiness.
Track cumulative utility headroom in the same PMO register used for payments. When the running total approaches the design limit, the system flags the next claim for review instead of automatic approval.
This forces contractors to coordinate load profiles before they pour concrete or set equipment, not after the invoices arrive.