Abstract

Claims resulting from delays and acceleration on construction projects are inevitable. To prepare a delay/acceleration claim, a forensic schedule analysis needs to be performed. In this analysis, the impacts of different delays/accelerations are assessed and the responsibility of each party is calculated. The analysis usually involves CPM schedule calculations using a number of methods adopted by the industry. Although some of these methods are more accurate than others, they usually produce different results depending on the available data and the user’s point of view.
There is a need for an integrated framework that enhances the documentation of progress data, and that performs forensic schedule analysis and damage quantification in a more timely, accurate, and cost effective manner. There is also a need to integrate the forensic schedule analysis function with the more routinely performed scheduling and monitoring functions. From this perspective, the present research introduces an integrated framework for progress data documentation, forensic schedule analysis, and damage quantification.
The main objectives of this research are to: i) Identify delays/accelerations and document their related information as they emerge; ii) Determine the impact of delays/accelerations on the project duration and determine responsibilities; iii) Quantify damages for contractors and owners; and iv) Integrate and automate the process of schedule analysis and damage quantification to help minimize time, cost and errors. The methodology adopted for this research includes a review of the literature, the design and implementation of a delay/acceleration and cost database, a schedule analysis module, a direct cost module, an impact cost module, an overhead cost module, and a liquidated cost module.
The event identity concept (EIC) and the equal liability method (ELM) were introduced to document delays and apportion concurrency entitlements, respectively. An Isolated Daily Window Analysis Technique (IDWAT) was also introduced and used as part of the framework. The framework assists in the creation of the as-built, as-planned, and of any adjusted schedule at any day of a project’s life. It also facilitates forensic schedule analysis using essentially any analysis technique.
MS Project, Access, and VBA were used to implement the framework; MS project was used as both a scheduling tool and as an interface for the user, while Access was used to create the database. Using MS Project as an interface made the forensic schedule analysis function totally integrated with the more routinely performed scheduling and monitoring functions. The VBA was used to implement the schedule analysis and cost calculation modules as well as to integrate the different components of the framework.
The framework was tested using manually calculated cases and by comparing its results with those of previous studies. The results of the framework were reasonable and always resulted in a total delay equal to the sum of the parties’ shares of the delay.