Construction Forensic Delay Analysis: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction:

Schedule delays are an unfortunate and harsh reality in the world of projects. As project professionals, no matter what we do, it seems that things don’t always go according to plan, and we often end up facing delays in our projects.

This is no surprise since there are so many uncertainties and realities on the ground that keep changing. These factors continue to create a ripple effect even today, and projects are facing more unprecedented delays than ever before.

With delays mounting, Extension of Time (EOT) Claims and disputes have become the new normal for projects worldwide. To prepare EOT claims, one must analyse delay events and employ suitable methodologies to create a well-drafted claim.

Unfortunately, without proper knowledge of recommended practices and delay analysis methodologies, the claims lead to rejection and often ending in disputes.

This is where Forensic Planning and Delay Analysis come into the picture to tackle claims and perform schedule delay analyses to quantify and determine the extent of the claim and help resolve them.

Construction Forensic Delay Analysis

Construction forensic delay analysis refers to the process of analysing and identifying the causes of construction delays and determining the extent to which each delay event contributed to the overall delay to the project completion date.

Forensic delay analysis is undertaken in order to resolve disputes between contracting parties, and to help project owners, contractors, and other stakeholders to assess the impact of delays on the project schedule and budget.

The analysis typically involves the review of project plans and documents, identification of significant delay events, and the quantification of the impact of each delay event on the project timeline.

Types of Forensic Delay Analysis:

According to the Society of Construction Law (SCL), there are six types of forensic delay analysis as more detailed in following table:

Method of Analysis	Analysis Type	Critical Path Determined	Delay Impact Determined	Requires
Impacted As Planned Analysis	Cause & Effect	Prospectively	Prospectively	Logic linked baseline programme. A selection of delay events to be modelled.
Time Impact Analysis	Cause & Effect	Contemporaneously	Prospectively	Logic linked baseline programme. Update programmes or progress information with which to update the baseline programme. A selection of delay events to be modelled.
Time Slice Windows Analysis	Effect & Cause	Contemporaneously	Retrospectively	Logic linked baseline programme. Update programmes or progress information with which to update the baseline programme.
As Planned versus As Built Windows Analysis	Effect & Cause	Contemporaneously	Retrospectively	Baseline programme. As-built data.
Retrospective Longest Path Analysis	Effect & Cause	Retrospectively	Retrospectively	Baseline programme. As-built programme.
Collapsed As Built Analysis	Cause & Effect	Retrospectively	Retrospectively	Logic linked as-built programme. A selection of delay events to be modelled.

Conclusion:

The output of the forensic delay analysis is a detailed report that outlines the causes of the delays, quantifies the delay impacts, and identifies any potential construction defects or design issues that may have contributed to the delays.

Further, there is no single best method to analyse a project as each case is unique dependent on the circumstances and the information available. Any analysis needs to be fair and reasonable providing an independent balanced view as a conclusion which what our seasoned consultants are experts in.

This report is typically used in legal proceedings, such as litigation or arbitration, to demonstrate the reasons for the delay and to support claims for additional time and costs.

Overall, construction forensic delay analysis plays a critical role in the successful completion of construction projects by enabling stakeholders to effectively manage delays, mitigate project risks, and ensure timely project completion.

Petrocontracts possesses the necessary skills and resources to effectively manage claims in the energy sector ranging from simple to complex quantum & delay analysis (including forensic delay analysis). Petrocontracts will be pleased to provide a more accurate assessment, additional information about Petrocontracts' specific expertise, experience in handling claims, and available resources. Please contact us at info@petrocontracts.com and one of our senior representative will get in touch with you.