vol. iv issue no. 8

1. Volume IV Issue No. 8
The Global Leader in Managing Construction Risk
The Basics of Delay Analysis
A long time has passed since the Society CONTEMPORANEOUS RECORDS It depends on what the contract says!
of Construction Law (SCL) introduced its Key to the selection criteria is the The various methods of analysis deal with
delay protocol and the industry is awash available contemporaneous information. concurrency in very different ways and
with different forms of delay analysis. The importance of keeping good project prior to selection of a method of analysis
Typical terminology describes variants of records cannot be stressed enough. type I would suggest consultation with
the same method of analysis and Claims are all about proving cause and your legal representative to be clear on
understandably, there is confusion as to effect and this cannot be achieved your position.
what the various analyses provide and without records to substantiate the
what method should be used and when. delaying event and associated losses. COST/TIME
When it comes down to the brass tacks of
This article sets out a few of the basic Prior to any actual delay analysis being delay analysis the questions inevitably
questions that need to be asked, and undertaken, one must identify the asked are: how long is this going to take
answered before undertaking a delay records that are available to support an and what is it going to cost me?
analysis - a selection criteria of sorts. analysis. Selection of a specific method of
analysis may depend on the number of The different methods of analysis
OBSERVATIONAL VERSUS MODELLED available updates of a construction available require very different levels of
One of the most useful contexts for delay programme or the quality of the records effort to complete, and inevitably the cost
analysis has been provided by the to support the delaying events. and duration increase as the methodology
American Association of Cost Engineers gets more complex. This complexity can
(AACE) which has produced a taxonomy ENTITLEMENT, CAUSE & EFFECT come from the different type of analysis
of delay analysis techniques in an effort A crucial aspect of delay analysis is the required, but also the number of delaying
to ring-fence the circumstances in which demonstration of cause and effect, to events that are required to be analysed
the different methodologies should be support contractual entitlement. and the overall complexity of the
used. Whilst not perfect, it is useful as a construction project.
general guide to the available Every delay analysis needs to be
methodologies in a broad range of supported by a right to claim entitlement James Lyall
circumstances, splitting the types of to time under the contract. Part of Director
analysis into two methods defined as presenting a robust delay analysis is Hill International, Claims Group
follows: presenting this contractual argument and
the facts which support the case, an
“The observational method consists of important aspect of every claim which is
analysing the schedule by examining a often overlooked or marginalised.
schedule, by itself or in comparison with
another, without the analyst making any When assessing the methodology to use,
changes to the schedule to simulate any it must be ascertained whether or not the
scenario.” type of analysis actually demonstrates the
effect of the delay that has been suffered
“Unlike the observational method, the so as to bridge the cause/effect nexus. In
modelled method calls for intervention by other words, will the chosen method
Hill International, with 3,200
the analyst beyond mere observation. In show the effect on the contractual
employees in 110 offices worldwide,
preparing a modelled analysis the analyst completion date caused by the delay
provides program management,
inserts or extracts activities representing event and is this supported by the project management, construction
delay events into or from a CPM network contractual entitlement and the facts management and construction claims
and compares the calculated results of the relating to that event? and consulting services. Engineering
‘before’ and ‘after’ states.” News - Record magazine recently
CONCURRENCY ranked Hill as the 11th largest
These definitions are fundamental to the The elephant in the room is always how construction management firm in the
United States.
selection of the appropriate method of concurrency is dealt with and how the
delay analysis and reduce matters to one claiming party’s own inefficiencies are to
For more information on Hill, please
crucial question - is there an electronic be presented. So what needs to be visit our website at www.hillintl.com.
programme available which can be used considered first?
for a modelled delay analysis?
David Brodie-Stedman David Merritt
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute advice, legal or
Senior Vice President & Managing Director Senior Vice President & Managing Director otherwise, and is provided only as general
Asia, Middle East and Africa Middle East and Africa commentary. Appropriate professional advice should always
be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any
Abu Dhabi Office Sultan Business Centre action in relation to such information and/or the application
Butti Al Otaiba Bldg., Suite 1601 & 1602 5th Floor, Suite 501 of applicable law. This article and the materials contained in
Sh. Khalifa St., P.O. Box: 5201, Abu Dhabi – U.A.E P.O. Box: 71467, Dubai - U.A.E. it are provided on the basis that all liability for any loss or
damage, whether direct or indirect, arising out of or in
Tel : +971 – 2 – 627 2855 Tel. : +971 - 4 - 337 2145 connection with any use or reliance upon this article is
Fax: +971 – 2 – 627 2042 Fax : +971 - 4 - 335 6077 excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
E-mail: auh@hillintl.com E-mail : dxb@hillintl.com