Here is a brief review of the main documents that are used in Delay Analysis, and their usefulness for a Planner that is about to do the next schedule and is seeking to improve on the standard achieved on the previous project:
The DCMA 14 Point Assessment:
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) provides contract administration services for the Department of Defense (DoD). Their mission is to provide oversight and deliver “actionable acquisition insight” to ensure both contractors and government meet their contract obligations. As part of this effort, The DCMA developed a 14-point schedule assessment, which is documented in the Earned Value Management System (EVMS) – Program Analysis Pamphlet (PAP), a Portfolio Management and Integration policy. This assessment provides guidance for the inspection and improvement of project schedules. As much thought and consensus formed this assessment it serves as a useful resource for understanding sound industry scheduling practices
The Tests Are:
1. Missing Logic 2. Leads (Negative Lag) 3. Positive Lags 4. Relationships 5. Hard Constraints 6. High Total Float (Total Slack) 7. Negative Total Float (Total Slack) 8. High Duration Activities 9. Invalid Dates 10.Resources 11.Missed Tasks 12.Critical Path Test 13.Critical Path Length Index (CPLI) 14.Baseline Execution Index (BEI).
The advantages of these tests are as follows:
- They are a good solid basis for checking schedule quality
- There are plenty of software tools for most packages which will automatically review against the headings.
- It is often possible to define or adjust the pass/fail criteria within the testing software to make the review fit in a particular circumstance.
- There are concrete, measurable and defined outputs which specifically draw attention to error.
Society Of Construction Law Delay And Disruption Protocol
“The object of the Protocol is to provide useful guidance on some of the common delay and disruption issues that arise on construction projects, where one party wishes to recover from the other an extension of time (EOT) and/or compensation for the additional time spent and the resources used to complete the project. The purpose of the Protocol is to provide a means by which the parties can resolve these matters and avoid unnecessary disputes. A focus of the Protocol therefore is the provision of practical and principled guidance on proportionate measures for dealing with delay and disruption issues that can be applied in relation to all projects, regardless of complexity or scale, to avoid disputes and, where disputes are unavoidable, to limit the costs of those disputes”.
Issues with the SCL Protocol:
Based on the description the purpose of the SCL Protocol is to provide a method for dealing with delay issues. It is not a prescriptive pass / fail type testing system like the DCMA-14 and is not therefore orientated towards improving the mechanical planning process. As such while it defines clear working principles it is not immediately applicable to providing mechanical guidance to a Planner starting to plan the next project.
The SCL Protocol is a generic statement of best practice recommending the contemporary dealing with issues and claims, and drawing attention to a number of methods for forensic delay which are considered acceptable. It reminds the Parties that the primary purpose of an EOT is to relieve the Contractor from liability for damages.
Its primary usefulness is as a bench-mark of best practice which can be used for comparative purposes with the actual events and contract management on the site on a retrospective basis in a forensic dispute.
Aace – Forensic Schedule Analysis 29r-03
This is the standard AACE system for the forensic review of schedules and has in many ways a similar purpose to the SCL Protocol:
- Caveats 254 255 The purpose of this Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International (AACE) Recommended 256 Practice (“RP”) 29R-03, Forensic Schedule Analysis (“RP-29”), is to provide a unifying reference of basic technical 257 principles and guidelines for the application of critical path method (CPM) scheduling in Forensic Schedule Analysis 258 to identify and quantify project delay. In providing this reference, the RP will foster competent schedule analysis 259 and furnish the industry with the necessary technical information to implement and evaluate the varying forensic 260 schedule analysis methods. The RP discusses certain forensic methods of schedule delay analysis, irrespective of 261 whether these methods have specifically been deemed acceptable or unacceptable by courts or government boards in various countries around the globe.1 262 263 264 The RP is not intended to be a prescriptive document applied without exception. Therefore, a departure from the 265 implementation protocols for the recommended methods should not be automatically treated as not in compliance 266 with this RP if such departure is based on a conscious and sound application of schedule analysis principles described 267 in this RP, based on the project facts and circumstances. However, adherence to the practices set forth herein will 268 assist practitioners in producing a competent analysis that is based on peer-reviewed industry best practices and is 269 both verifiable and repeatable. As with any other Recommended Practice, the RP should be used in conjunction with 270 unbiased professional judgment and current knowledge of the subject matter. While the recommended protocols 271 contained herein are intended to aid the practitioner in creating a competent work product, it may, in some cases, 272 require additional or fewer steps.
Issues with the AACE 29R-03 Guidelines:
As with the SCL Protocol these guidelines are orientated towards the Forensic Review rather than schedule production. However the details of the way in which the standards are explained is close to being a prescriptive document ( while specifically stating this is not the intention). With a high level of detail it is possible for a Planner at the date of schedule preparation:
- To see the pitfalls of the method of preparation that is being considered
- To be aware of how the schedule may be assessed in a dispute situation that in a granular way the key pitfalls can be avoided.
- The detailed fault finding systems in the protocol draw attention to the key errors to avoid in schedule preparation and can be understood as prescriptive guidelines.
Conclusions:
Based on the above we strongly recommend the use of the DCMA – 14 tests for the purposes of basic scheduling. We like to use the AACE standards and in particular 29R-03 to help Planners to understand the risks and draw-backs of particular methods of schedule preparation. In terms of supporting Planners we teach individuals to:
Level 1: Basic Scheduling:
- Rapidly assess and review schedules in terms of DCMA -14
- To be familiar with the various methods of analysis under AACE 29R-03 so that they can prepare documents capable of with standing if necessary forensic attack.
- The correct updating of the schedule ( in any software)
Level 2: Advanced Scheduling
The key issues at the advanced level are:
- Risk Modelling and Project Change Management Processes (AACE: RP 134R-24)
- Critical Chain and more advanced critical path methods such as:
- Super Float
- Interfering Float
- Critical Path Drag
- Financially Constrained Critical Path
- Resource Modelling
- Resource Driven Critical Paths
- Use of AI:
- For Schedule Production and preparing more advanced schedules using Schedule Risk Analysis and Critical Chain or Key Resource Methods.
- For Claims preparation, matching costs to events where a cost linked schedule was not prepared in the first place.
- In “as built” analysis in support of the narrative
Key Take-away: A strong Planner can very rapidly teach to Level 1 the rest of the company in terms of schedule preparation. As soon as the schedules are correct then the financial data of the production and performance can be matched to the historic schedules for quantification purposes. The historic financial data tends to be correct. If the schedules have been produced correctly the financial and the scheduling data will align and can be used to substantiate cost overruns. This in our view is one of the major untapped opportunities in Construction as a business.