FORENSIC DELAY ANALYSIS

FORENSIC DELAY ANALYSIS
Forensic Delay Analysis
At Hazelton Hanlon Hart, we are consistently presented to Clients who are not only unsure of the myriad of methodologies of proving delays, but are also faced with either the real or perceived threat of EOT rejection, Liquidated Damages or Backcharges from the Principal.

Forensic Delay Analysis is especially prevalent to Contractors upon the Completion of the Construction Cycle, presented not only with the issues of Delay Identification and Justification, but where the Contractor has effectively lost Project Control.
Herein lies the triple threat pre-cursors upon which Forensic Delay Analysis is utilised
  • Insufficient Project Documentation and Reporting 
  • Insufficient Claim Justification, and more importantly
  • Loss of Project Personnel
In effect, the contractor has lost the Project Knowledge Base that could provide any real or tangible input into the Construction of a Timeline of Events that could be used to proactively contribute to supporting the validity of events as they took place, and we now rely upon factual recreation of the Events that Impact the Timeline. 

At Hazelton Hanlon Hart, we are committed to assisting Contractors in producing the Timeline of events that lead to delays in both Commencement and Completion of Contract deliverables. Our Senior Partners have identified, substantiated and valued Delay Claims, reducing the risk of financial damages and absolving contractors from Liquidated Damages from the principal. 

The Drag-Net of Frag-Net
Forensic Delay Analysis consumes time, it requires meticulous presentation, presented on fact and incorporates multiple overlapping delay fragments within the Construction Schedule, commonly referred to as  delay “frag-nets”, or Fragment of a Network Schedule however at Hazelton Hanlon Hart, we like to refer to refer to “frag-nets” just as the name would imply.

Imagine trawling the depths of the construction schedule, from baseline start to baseline finish, capturing the Individual Time Impact Events that negatively impacted the construction schedule, the events that allow us to produce a delay “frag-net” into the recreation of the As-Built Data, for example;
  • A Project with 100 Contract Variations would equal 100 Estimated Time Impacts
But, Imagine 
  • 100 Contract Variations Initiated by an Originating Document, such as 
  • RFI’s or TQ’s or
  • Issuance of New Design Drawings or
  • Issuance of New or Revised Specifications
All Account for the Origin of Impact, thusly the Time Impact in the majority of circumstances will predate the allowable Time Impact estimated by the Contractor, to execute the additional works within its Contract Variation Submission.

So we now have Time Impact Origin, we have the Time Impact Estimate from the Contract Variation, and our delay “frag-nets” begin to increase exponentially between Time Impact Origin on the way to As Built Completion as the Time Impact Durations scenarios then emerge such as;
  • Duration between Variation Submission vs Variation Approval 
  • Reallocation and Removal of Labour from existing Scheduled Tasks
  • Re-works or the Requirement to Revisit previously completed Areas of The Works 
These events are not solely confined to Contract Variations, In Forensic Delay Analysis, no one item is deemed insignificant until proven, and the above scenario can be transposed with any number of Event Fragments caught in the net, outside of the contractors span of control, such as;
  • Material Approval
  • Material Procurement
  • Weather and Environmental Effects
  • Site Instructions or Contract Directions 
  • Scope Gap’s
  • Other Trades 
All of these scenarios have a Resultant cause and effect in Time, by way of induced Slow Down or Delay in Contract Works Deliverables and Evaporation of Float to baseline completion dates.  


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To learn more about our integrated suite of services and solutions, or to collaborate with us on your next project, call us today on the number below or send Hazelton Hanlon Hart an email.
1300 765 330
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