Construction schedule delay claims and disputes are one of the top five most common types of disputes in the construction industry. Yet, schedule delay claims have a propensity to be some of the least understood and most complex disputes in construction.
Delay claims typically relate to unanticipated project events and circumstances which extend the project and/or prevent work from being performed as originally planned. There are many causes for schedule delays on a construction project which include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Mismanagement and maladministration
- Site access restrictions
- Differing site conditions
- Permits and approvals
- Financial problems
- Defective plans and specifications
- Changes in the work
- Labor productivity issues
- Document review/approval
- Testing/inspections
- Inclement weather
- Force majeure events
Three common points of contention relative to schedule delay claims are as follows:
- Whether an issue impacted the critical path of the project
- The delay quantification
- The root-cause of the delay and contractual entitlement to a time extension and/or additional compensation
One must review the contract to understand the basis of the agreement and determine who accepted particular risks and what constitutes compensable or excusable delays or inexcusable delays. Consequently, a clear understanding of the basic elements necessary to substantiate delay claims is invaluable. Having knowledge of critical path method (CPM) schedule analysis and extensive practical experience in the contract claims environment involving construction delay claims can be a strong asset to evaluating and presenting a schedule delay analysis to a project management group and to fact finding in a legal action. Interface experts prepare and analyze claims, present in negotiations and mediations, and testify in litigation and arbitration proceedings on matters concerning CPM scheduling, schedule delay/disruption, and acceleration.
Interface Consulting provides contemporaneous and forward-looking CPM schedule analysis to facilitate the early resolution of time extensions, as well as forensic delay analysis for the preparation and/or defense of construction delay claims. Our construction claims consultants specialize in CPM schedule analysis by means of the following industry-recognized methodologies:
It should be noted that the selection of a particular schedule analysis methodology depends on the project facts, the nature of the events being analyzed, the nature and extent of available as-built information, and the available progress data, and the methodology may vary from project to project. Each of the above-referenced schedule analysis methodologies has inherent advantages and disadvantages. Extensive experience addressing construction delay claims and tailoring a schedule analysis approach to suit a project’s needs and constraints is important to the successful resolution of any delay-related dispute.