How to use the Deltek Acumen Fuse-Forensic Toolset and P6 in Analyzing Schedule Delay
It is a known fact that construction projects are often subject to events that result in delays for various reasons. Failure to complete the planned finish or planned start dates of certain activities might or might not impact the project key end dates, but delay in any critical task can trigger severe delays resulting in possible significant financial losses.?
The forensic delay analysis presented here identifies and traces the cause of the delay impacting the project's in-service date. Although not always the case, adversely affected contracting parties can claim to recover the damages from the delay. One can use various methods to analyze and demonstrate the offending sequence of events that leads to the schedule pushing to the right.?
Here is an overview of an approach utilizing the popular toolset called Deltek Acumen Fuse (Forensic Module).
The method recognizes that the critical path (CP) changes every time the project Scheduler updates the schedule. Therefore, it is vital to Remember that CP is from the data date to the project key date of concern.
Anyone interested in the Acumen toolset can E-mail [email protected] with the subject "Deltek Acumen." Visit the PM Solution Pro website for complete contact information.
BACKGROUND
On February 7, 2022, the Project Manager of the PMSP Distribution Station Project requested a Time-impact delay analysis of the project after observing that the Transformer In-service date has gradually departed from the original baseline.
GIVEN
1. Transformer in-service date has a forecast of 41 calendar days delay compared to the current project baseline (see Annex-1). This project established the baseline on DD082021.?
2. The Project Schedule has a current Data date of 21-Jan-2022.
3. Native copies of the schedules (XERs), according to the data date of each period update considered, were provided to the analyst.
OBJECTIVES
1. Identify and analyze the delayed critical activities.
2. Identify what activities are responsible for the delays and the source of their delay.
3. Work with the Construction Team to discuss the analysis result and find a way to mitigate further delays.
4. Determine the amount of delay.
ASSESSMENT TOOL OF CHOICE
1. Deltek Acumen Fuse (Forensic Analysis) V8 and up
2. Primavera P6 Professional V18 and up
3. Excel V2301
METHOD OF ANALYSIS
? Retrospective method was performed after the delay in some activities, impacting the entire project completion.?
? The Underlying Fundamentals: At any given point in time on projects, specific work must complete then, so the completion of the project does not slip later in time. The industry calls this work "critical work." As such, we listed the changes through time below, demonstrating the impact on the main ISD deliverable (Annex-1).?
? We then highlighted the shifting Criticality, identifying the activities that push the project's end date on each Data Date move (Annex-2).?
? Through observation, we will know why Criticality shifted and what drove them to change(Annex-3).
ANALYSIS
Annex-1 Forecast Delay to the In-Service Date (ISD) changes through time
T1 in-service (DD082021 Baseline) = 24-Mar-2022
T1 in-service (DD012122) = 04-May-2022
?Annex-2 Changing Criticality through time
T1 in-service (DD082021 Baseline) = 24-Mar-2022, forecast completion
T1 in-service (DD012122) = 04-May-2022, forecast completion
The Criticality of each activity has changed through time, as can be observed in the table directly below. Every time the schedule is updated, some activities relinquish their critical nature and replace by others. The red color below depicts critical activities with a check mark. The red x on a white background means they are not critical (or no longer critical). If they were previously critical in the last update period, they lost their Criticality. It demonstrates that the critical path has changed.
领英推荐
PRIMARY PATH (DD012122)
Annex-3 Identified driver is Activity ID PMSP280CN13130, HV, and LV Structure Foundation completion.
It drives many activities to the right due to the delay in starting and completion. The activity is still in progress. As of 12-Jan-2022, there was only one to do from eight (8). These foundations are needed to build the structures and for the duct bank to complete. Adding to the already growing delay was the issue of steel material delivery. These critical setbacks are discrete, happen chronologically, and tend to accumulate, adding to the overall project delay at project completion.
Yes, currently, we've traced the path back to the foundation delay. The question is, what's the main reason for this foundation delay? What are the circumstances that delay critical work and have now potentially extended the project duration? Civil discipline should answer this.
?Tracking the changes to Activity ID PMSP280CN13130, HV, and LV Structure Foundation completion forecast finish date across various data dates.
?Below is the tabulated record of forecasted finish dates of the PMSP280CN13130 activity per update period. The activity has a baseline Finish of 15-Oct-2021, sliding to 06-Dec-2021 during the project's November 2021 data date update. The forecast is now sitting on 14-Feb-2022.
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF DELAYS
References: Project updates records, P6 log, and meeting notes
1. 2022 construction team remobilization delay due to adverse winter weather, contributing in some way to a total slide in the schedule.
2. The delay in the steel material delivery prevents the project from finishing the structures and continuing with grid grounding.
3. Is it a scope change?
Referring to the P6 schedule log, sometime in the last quarter of 2021, the PM mentioned an additional scope to the project. Was the F3 duct bank a new scope not flagged directly as the source of delay to the subject foundation?
Action: PM to discuss with CIVIL. The structure foundation impacted the duct bank and cascaded the delays further downstream.?
4. How about the delay in relocating the pole inside the yard due to design considerations? We discussed this as a team around the third second week or third week of October 2021. The project finally relocated the pole on 07-Nov-2021. Did this relocation work impacts in any way the remaining foundation work? The CPM network retrospect did not flag it as the driver to structure foundation work.?
Action: The PM to double check with CIVIL construction to confirm.
5. Did the delay in Transformer Installation make even a little impact on delaying the completion of the remaining Structure Foundation?
Action:?Check with CIVIL Construction if it did impact their foundation work.
The logic is that the transformer must complete first before the HV and LV Structure Foundations (Source: 121421 Civil Update). As such, it made slight contributory delays to the In-Service Date (ISD) and the project end date.
6. Did the project use up the float unnecessarily? The project depletes the floats unknowingly when the performance of non-critical works is delayed for a certain amount of time, as they will not affect the timing of project completion. The activities go critical when the float (or slack) is eaten up. This is also called preferential sequencing, as the activities are scheduled not based on physical or safety considerations and resource assumptions. When one says, "this activity, we can do anytime," it is preferential sequencing. This concept is fine but can be a problem if not put under monitoring and control.?
VALIDATION
No matter how reliable and meticulously implemented, any analysis method can only succeed if the input data is correct. The PM must check with construction firsthand if the information gathered by the delay analyst does reflect what happened. The primary purpose is to minimize the failure of an analysis method based on the flawed use of source data. The faithful reflection of the facts will achieve the most reliable result. However, it is expected in many instances that although we have an accurate model of reality, the result will still almost always be a matter of debatable opinion. Therefore, the PM must arrive at a plausible conclusion with the help of the entire project team, most notably the Lead responsible for the task in focus.
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2 年Rufran, how would you rank the Acumen forensic tool against similar software used for delay analysis?