Delay Analysis and Data Research the Method that Works

On someones recent post, a method was advised and used called "As-built Projected" by Mikes Testo. Mike is a knowledgable guy and he said his method was challenged by some of the big players in the expert witness delay analysis market as not being a recognised method. Mike said the adjudication panels he had been involved in thought differently to the "big time playboys" and accepted his method.

The point being is that delay analysis is subjective, and one method over another may work in certain circumstances and in others it may not. I think arguing something is not a recognised method is a "cop out". If one does not challenge , inquire and look to better methods in anything we endeavour to do, there will be no advancement and better methods will not be researched and progressed and as technology advances those stuck with their "recognised methods" will become a laughing stock. Could one imagine DNA forensics being challenged as a none recognised method by the "big time playboys". In days gone by I bet they did and they are very quiet about those challenges now.

Effectively their challenge on Mikes' method, unless they can prove his method is not robust, is a ridiculous proposition and designed to prey upon and exploit those with little delay analysis knowledge to be bullied into accepting their "recognised methods" for whatever reasons they may have?????

However, I have always found that by doing the following, if the records are available, is a pretty robust way of demonstrating cause and effect and will stand most challenges.

In a nutshell, if you do the following, you will not be lead into a non factual guessing game if the methods used are solid and based on fact. They will demonstrate with reasonable certainty and accuracy cause and effect. The methods I use are recognised. However, I have enhanced them and have sped up the process using VBA and C# programming skills (Note: my automated float map method has been used in arbitration. However, I was not the expert witness. If I had of been I would have enjoyed any challenges to its competence as I wrote the software and I can tell you anything identified in the "float map" out put is exactly the same as the output produced by P6 etc..., it changes nothing. What is doe do, is enable all the updates to be reviewed for all information on one spread sheet, you do not need to look at , for example, 32 different programme update print outs of P6. Now is that not a step in the right direction? What say the "big time playboys").

My view is , where possible, you should use as-built facts all the way. Then use "float maps" (all updates consolidated into a spread sheet to see the dynamic critical path) and then establish by comparison of the as-built CP identified through productivity analysis compared to the baseline the credibility of the dynamic analysis. This will then tell you whether ones dynamic updates are close enough to be followed or not, or should be simply abandoned as nonsense. Then one can justify the as-built CP identified through a productivity method as against a dynamic method that may produce nonsense if the activities to the right of the data date line have not been modified as the works progress to follow what will be the Contractor's true works sequence and logical intent when he builds. 

From my experience the above delay analysis will give you a true and and reasonably accurate identification of the as-built CP and the one that the Works can be said to have followed. Which will be accepted by a knowledgable adjudication or arbitration tribunal. 

Once done, research the facts. Generally I produce my own MSSQL data bases of which I code (primary and secondary keys) making it searchable and useful for what I need to research. If the letters are in PDF then "Adobe Acrobat" can be programmed via VBA or C# to open the PDF files and OCR the first page and search for the references, dates and titles. These can then be written in to columns of the MSSQL data base with a hyperlink (or you can just do it on an Excel Spread sheets). Then turn the data base of letters etc... into milestones that can be set down as a time line (again developed through VBA and C#). 

Take a look at: https://www.fearnsidesandassociates.com/COMPUTER%20APPS.html and get a taste of what can be done. There are free downloads of examples available.

Fearnsides and Associates Computer Apps Page

I have just done the above on a claim and it took about 4 weeks from start to finish and that was with a full claim write up. The delay analysis and the data collection took five days. 

So if you want it done properly and quickly send us an email: [email protected] or call us on +971 50 4945873