The construction process is complex and is often divided into dozens of small tasks called activities. These activities are scheduled at the beginning of the project and are closely linked with each other. If one activity faces a delay in its completion, it can cause another dependent activity to begin with a delay.
Such a situation can cause a chain reaction, and if the impact is not mitigated adequately, your project can subject to a critical delay. Analysis of delays in construction projects is important so that the impacts can be quantified. You need the help of a construction claims consultant in this regard.
This article will shed light on one of the most important techniques of construction delay schedule analysis.
Steps of contemporaneous period schedule analysis in construction
Construction delay schedule analysis can be carried using a number of routes. Contemporaneous period schedule analysis, which is often named as window analysis as well, is a comprehensive technique. You can analyze the claims and disputes in the construction project with the help of professionals. The steps of the process are as follows:
Analyze your project’s contract
This method of analysis basically deals with the critical path method schedule and the changes that occur in it in the course of the project. The specifics of the CPM schedule are decided at the time of the signing of the contract. The contract also entails the terms and conditions pertaining to the changes, if any, occurring in the scheduling after the construction process begins.
Clarity on the responsibility of claims of certain kinds of delays is very important before you assign a delay expert to carry out this schedule delay analysis. Contemporaneous period schedule analysis needs you to first consider the project’s contract and its terms relevant to the matter of delays.
Review the as planned and as-built schedules
Every project has a schedule pre-planned after thorough analysis before the construction process begins. This schedule is called the ‘as-planned schedule.’ When the construction process begins, the schedule can deviate from the ‘as-planned’ schedule owing to multiple reasons. This deviated schedule is called the ‘as-built’ schedule.
Once the project terms are considered and studied in light of the delays, you have to review these two schedules. Keep these two available for the analysis to the expert witness, and engineering consultant.
Identify the difference between the two schedules
There are some instances where there is hardly any difference that can be identified between the ‘as-planned’ and ‘as-built’ schedules. This is possible when the project schedule is planned with thorough detail and deep insight coupled with practical implications. Since that’s not the case every time, the differences can be identifiable.
The expert witness will identify these differences after the review of each and help you relate the delay claims after trying to find the reasons attached to each delay.
Analyze ways to control delays
Once you have identified the differences between the ‘as-planned’ and ‘as-built’ schedules, it gets easy to reach the root from which the problem has stemmed. You can then seek the services of a delay expert to sort out ways to control delays in the remaining tenure of the project. The expert will help the project manager mitigate the negative influence of various delays on the CPM.
Once you have mitigated the impacts of the delays already occurred and identified the reasons and party’ responsible for each, you can reduce the probability of delays for the rest of the construction process.
Quantify the analysis of each window period
The period of lag or delay in the completion of activities that results from delays is important to identify. Once you have identified those windows of delay, you can hand the analysis over to a quantum analyst for translating the losses into numbers. The responsible party then has to pay for the escalated costs, which go beyond the scope of the project or which exceed the budgetary limits.
Without quantification of the delays, a delay analysis method remains incomplete and arguably useless.
Is your project struck with delays?
Delays in construction projects are inevitable. These cannot be completely avoided or eliminated. But these can be avoided. You can avoid the delays to the maximum extent by considering the ground realities and investing time and effort in the planning phase. Once you have covered the planning part carefully, there’s very little that’s left to anticipation or the element of surprise.
But, the delays may still occur. The claimants would ask for their rights if they faced any loss. The role of an expert witness comes into play here. Thus, make sure you have taken a construction consultancy in the loop since the beginning of your construction project. You will need to carry out delay analysis at any point during the project construction process.