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Some of what you mention parallels what is typically faced in the construction industry, the associated risks, results of bad decisions and problems left unresolved are just part of the overall program management, project level managment, and overall construction management of a large project.
I can only comment in a generic manner, having no knowlege of that kind of manufacturing plant, industry and related operations, but what you mention is very familiar in the construction industry.
1.) Any contractor who is qualified and capable of constructing a manufacturing/industrial type building in general, would NOT sign a contract that does not have an escalation clause contained in it. 10 years ago, you could not get quotes on materials that would be valid for any length of time, unlike many years before, stock on hand had also been drastically reduced for all kinds of goods, must be ordered, everything has a lead time before shop drawing approval, fabrication approval and actual delivery of materials, which eats time on the clock and absorbs escalated costs along the way. No one can predict what market prices are going to be, but no same contractor today is going to sign any contract that has no provision for material and labor escalation costs, if they do it would be a gross error on their part. 2.) Sequence & Delays: If contractor B holds a signed contract to provide and erect structural steel but is delayed by contractor A who is doing the excavation/foundation that precedes the steel erection, and contractor A's delays could be caused by a myriad of reasons, that could be attributable directly to the performance of their work, completely unrelated or a combination of each. Say contractor B is delayed 6 months or a year, they are in a precarious situation, if they bought and paid for materials, they avoid the escalation on that, but still can't install it, so when labor goes up, they should have the clause in their contract to cover the increase in costs. In this case the steel most likely would be bought out and fabricated to meet a delivery and erection schedule stipulated within the overall project master schedule. Other trades/contractors would eventually sense the obvious delays and sequence problems and may hold off as long as possible prior to material buyouts, and would be entitled to escalated costs, and would be foolish not to have the clause in their contract agreements. This can become a huge entangled mess very quickly without heavily experienced project management, contruction management, monitoring and documentation, that can lead to giant disputes over very large sums of money, that may not get resolved by arbitration, mediation or litigation, taking years to pursue and requiring even more significant sums of money for legal representation. This is worst case scenario for any large contractor in the construction industry and those who have been successful have done so by avoiding these situations on large jobs. It can be a monumental detriment to the success of a large project.
3.) Percentage of Completion Method Contractor Payments - it's industry standard, the American Institute of Architects payment requistion forms and process are the standard basis for payment terms. Usually monthly, sometimes bi-monthly payments, even weekly in some circumstances, it can be negiotiated or something that reduces hardship in regards to cash flow for a contractor under heavy burden. The work is monitored, contractor is supposed to requistion payment for work in place, project management must determine that the work is in place and is acceptable or they can and will make deductions on said contractors payment requistion. There is usually a schedule of values/detailed estimate, unit prices and other referenced cost values contained in the contract, and the master construction schedule can be cost loaded, by activity toi further help monitor the validity of progress payments requistioned, which is not even the main purpose behind a construction schedule based on critical path method, there are excellent softwares used as industry standard to tie all these things together to further organize and monitor, progress and costs, as well as logic and sequence. These schedules are also used as a tool to make up for delays encompassed along duration of the project, to re-calculate what resources and where they can be applied to remediate a serious delay and get back on schedule again. A retainage is usually held back from each payment requisition, 10-15%, until substantial completion or as sipulated in the contract, so an owner has some leverage for defective or unacceptable work performed by a contractor. Release of these funds are usually contingent upon certain conditions to be met at the close out stage of the job, sometimes held for 1 year after completion.
I don't think any media source except a related trade journal would have any idea of what it takes to successfully complete a large project, and the effort required by both the owner,construction management and contractors involved, it is the goal of every construction manager to keep a job rolling, through it's contractors, attaining acceptable production levels and progress, as well as making key decisions, planning far ahead and timely resolution of all problems,(unsolved problems will bring any job to a screeching halt everytime) avoiding delays and so on. There has to be a concentrated and highly focused effort at all times from start to finish on these kinds of jobs, by people who have the ability to cover all aspects of the job in its entirety, be it a hands on superintendent or a top notch senior project manager leading a project team, never losing sight of reaching substantial completion with minimal liability from delays and other kinds of claims.
A large project, poorly managed, that is of a complicated design, highly technical in nature, and is not adequately staffed by a team that is capable and qualified, can become a failure in a short time.
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