The critical path is the single longest chain of dependent tasks in a schedule — it sets the earliest possible finish date. Float is how much any other task can slip without moving that date. A task with zero float is on the critical path, by definition.
Procore’s glossary defines the method behind it directly: “Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project modeling analysis that specifies all of the critical and non-critical activities and their logical-order sequence to identify which activities are critical.” Every activity on that longest chain is critical because delaying any one of them delays the whole project by the same amount.
Float is the mirror image of that idea, and the same glossary defines it in plain terms: “The term Float is scheduling-related construction jargon that refers to the amount of time that a project task can be delayed without delaying the overall completion of the work.” A task can run late, within its float, without the project finish date moving at all — which is exactly why float matters for sequencing decisions and for negotiating which delays actually cost time.
This distinction is also what separates a real delay claim from a schedule complaint. A delay to a critical-path activity moves the finish date and can support a time extension or a delay claim; eating up float on a non-critical activity generally doesn’t, because the project still finishes on the same day either way.
A schedule has two parallel paths running to the same finish date. Path A — excavation, then foundation, then framing — takes 40 working days. Path B — site services, then landscaping — starts the same day and takes 25 working days. Path A is the critical path: a one-day delay to excavation pushes the whole project’s finish date out by one day. Path B has 15 working days of float — site services and landscaping could start up to three weeks late and the project would still finish on schedule, because that path was never the one setting the pace.
See also: Delay claim elements · Liquidated damages on a construction job.
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