This research contributes to a realistic schedule development that will benefit construction industry professionals
to better analyse float loss impact on project cost. The research paper draws attention to the
importance of float and how affects project cost, beside that the paper tries to solve the dilemma of float
ownership by determining the cost impact of float loss due to project parties’ delays. The paper proposes
a new approach that classifies the cost impact of float loss into four cases including: interruption of
resource usage which will be analysed considering the forgetting and learning theories; effect of Cash
flow change; impact of the price change for construction materials during float consumption; finally, float
loss impact on crews’ cost (Labour and equipment), while activities’ duration increase. After that the
paper provides a case study to discuss the developed framework and developed simple application tool
to calculate the total cost. The results indicated that the float loss has a tangible effect on the total project
cost. For the dilemma of float ownership, the float should be available for all project parties with
responsibility for float consumption cost damages.