Delay Analysis
How CPM Schedules Determine Delay Liability
Critical path analysis is the backbone of any delay claim. Here's how courts evaluate CPM schedules, and what makes an expert's schedule analysis withstand cross-examination.
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- Construction Delay Analysis
Construction Delay Expert Witness
Construction
Delay Expert
Witness
Delay disputes are technically demanding. They require someone who can reconstruct what happened on a project schedule, identify who caused what, and explain it clearly to a court. I provide CPM-based delay analysis, expert reports, and testimony for delay cases in litigation, arbitration, and mediation.
- PSP
- CCP
- CCM
- FMPC
- B.S. Civil Engineering
- Licensed GC
- $3B+ in Projects
Why It Matters
Delay Analysis Is Where Weak Experts
Get Exposed
Schedule analysis is one of the most contested areas of construction litigation, because the methodology matters as much as the conclusion. Attorneys who've been through delay cases know that an expert who can't defend their approach to baseline schedule, float ownership, or concurrent delay will get dismantled in deposition. I'm a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional with field experience managing complex project schedules. I know how CPM schedules are built, maintained, and sometimes manipulated, and I know how to reconstruct what actually happened when the records are incomplete or disputed.
Services
Construction Delay Analysis Services
Delay analysis requires the right methodology for the facts at hand. I provide the full range of delay analytical services:
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CPM Schedule Analysis
Review and analysis of baseline, updated, and as-built schedules using industry-standard methodology. I start with the schedule record as it actually exists, not an idealized version.
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Delay Causation Analysis
Identification of delay events, responsible parties, and causal connections to project completion. Causation is the hardest part, and the most important.
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Concurrent Delay Assessment
Analysis of overlapping delays and allocation of responsibility where multiple parties contributed. This is where many delay analyses fail, by ignoring concurrency or by treating it imprecisely.
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Time Impact Analysis (TIA)
Prospective and retrospective assessment of schedule impacts from change events. TIA is the preferred methodology under many contracts, and the right methodology when the schedule record supports it.
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As-Built vs. As-Planned Analysis
Comparison of planned versus actual schedule performance to identify and quantify delays. Useful when the as-built record is solid and the methodology can be supported.
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Fragnet and Window Analysis
Fragnets, collapsed as-built, and window (contemporaneous period) analysis methodologies as appropriate to the facts. The right methodology depends on what the project records support.
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Expert Reports
Written opinions with documented methodology, schedule exhibits, and clear causation findings in a format suitable for court or arbitration disclosure.
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Deposition & Trial Testimony
Expert testimony explaining complex schedule analysis to judges, juries, and arbitrators who have never seen a Gantt chart.
The Difference
Why a Scheduler Who's Built Projects
Sees the Full Picture
There's a significant difference between an expert who has reviewed CPM schedules and one who has built and managed them on active commercial projects. I've done both. As a project manager on complex commercial construction, I've maintained baseline CPM schedules, updated them as conditions changed, and used them to manage subcontractor performance and track owner-caused impacts in real time.
That experience changes the analysis. When I review a contractor's as-built schedule, I understand the pressures that caused float to erode, the decisions that shifted sequencing, and the difference between a delay that was documented and one that was absorbed into the project without notice. I also understand how contractors and owners manipulate schedule records, including adding activities after the fact, adjusting logic ties to assign float to the wrong party, or submitting baseline schedules that never reflected the actual execution plan.
My PSP (Planning and Scheduling Professional) certification from AACE International reflects a tested body of knowledge in delay methodology, but it's the field experience behind that credential that gives it analytical weight. An expert witness who has been on both sides of a schedule dispute, as project manager and as forensic analyst, brings context that a pure consultant cannot.
- $3B+
- in Projects
- 20+
- Years Experience
- PSP
- Certified
- P & D
- Plaintiff & Defense
How I Work
My Approach to Delay Analysis
- Step 1
Schedule Record Assessment
I start by assessing the project schedule records: baseline CPM schedule, updates, look-aheads, daily reports, and correspondence. The quality and completeness of the schedule record determines which analytical methodology is most appropriate. I'll tell you upfront what the record supports, and what it doesn't.
- Step 2
Delay Analysis & Causation
The schedule analysis identifies delay events, traces their causes, and quantifies their impact on project completion and interim milestones. This includes concurrent delay analysis, identifying where delays from multiple parties overlap and how responsibility should be allocated.
- Step 3
Expert Report
My written report explains the methodology, documents the findings, and states my opinions in terms that work in court, not just in a scheduling software export. The report is organized so that your legal team can use it directly, with schedule exhibits that support the narrative.
- Step 4
Deposition & Trial Testimony
Delay depositions tend to focus on methodology: baseline validity, float ownership, concurrent delay, whether proper notice was given. I'm consistent and clear under cross-examination. I present schedule analysis in a way that makes sense to a fact-finder who has never run a construction project.
Case Types
Common Delay Cases I Handle
Claimant
- Owner-caused delay (design changes, late RFI responses, access restrictions)
- Force majeure and excusable delay claims
- Directed and constructive acceleration cost recovery
- Differing site conditions and their schedule impact
- Permitting delay and regulatory hold claims
- Multi-party delay: establishing owner responsibility in concurrent situations
Respondent
- Defense against contractor-caused delay allegations
- Concurrent delay analysis to reduce or eliminate time extension claims
- Challenging as-built schedule reconstructions
- Float ownership disputes: who owns float in the project schedule
- Notice requirement defenses
- Government project delay: contractor-caused vs. agency-caused
Resources
Related Case Briefings & Analysis
Delay disputes involve a consistent set of contested technical issues. The briefings below address CPM methodology, concurrent delay, and other topics that come up in most delay cases.
Methodology
Excusable vs. Inexcusable Delays: What the Distinction Actually Means
Not all project delays entitle the contractor to time and money. Understanding which delays are compensable, and which are the contractor's risk, is foundational to delay analysis.
Read More →Concurrent Delay
Concurrent Delay: How Courts Allocate Responsibility
When both the owner and contractor cause concurrent delays, the analysis becomes more complex, and the outcome depends heavily on methodology, contract language, and the factual record.
Read More →FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions:
Construction Delay Expert Witness
What is CPM schedule analysis?
Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule analysis is the primary analytical framework used to identify, trace, and quantify construction project delays. A CPM schedule defines the logical sequence of project activities, the relationships between them, and the critical path (the chain of activities that determines the earliest possible project completion date). Delay analysis using CPM methodology examines how delay events affected the critical path, whether they caused actual project completion delay, and who was responsible. CPM analysis can be performed prospectively (during the project) using Time Impact Analysis, or retrospectively (post-completion) using methods like collapsed as-built or windows analysis, depending on the quality of the project's schedule records.
What's the difference between excusable and inexcusable delays?
An excusable delay is one caused by factors beyond the contractor's control: owner actions, design changes, force majeure events, differing site conditions, or other events not foreseeable at the time of contracting. Excusable delays typically entitle the contractor to a time extension (more time to complete the work) but not necessarily additional compensation. An inexcusable delay is caused by the contractor: subcontractor failures, poor planning, resource inadequacy, or other factors within the contractor's control. For a delay to be compensable (entitling the contractor to both time and money), it generally must be caused by the owner and not concurrent with an inexcusable contractor delay. The distinction is central to every delay dispute.
How is concurrent delay analyzed?
Concurrent delay exists when both the owner and the contractor are independently causing delays to the same portion of the project at the same time. The analysis requires identifying which delay events are occurring simultaneously, whether they are both truly on the critical path, and who bears responsibility for each. Under most U.S. construction contracts and case law, a contractor is not entitled to delay damages for a period during which a concurrent contractor-caused delay would have independently caused the same delay. However, the contractor typically retains the right to a time extension, protecting against liquidated damages, even in a concurrent delay situation. This requires careful CPM analysis, not just a factual assertion that both parties caused delays.
What methodologies do delay experts use?
The most commonly accepted delay analysis methodologies include: (1) As-Planned vs. As-Built analysis, which compares the original schedule to what actually happened; (2) Impacted As-Planned, which inserts delay events into the original schedule to measure their theoretical impact; (3) Collapsed As-Built, which removes delay events from the as-built schedule to measure their impact in reverse; (4) Time Impact Analysis (TIA), which analyzes delay events contemporaneously as they occur in the project's ongoing CPM schedule; and (5) Windows analysis, which breaks the project into time periods and analyzes delay within each window. The appropriate methodology depends on the quality of the project's schedule records, the contract requirements, and the specific facts of the dispute.
Background
Credentials & Qualifications
- B.S. Civil Engineering : Brigham Young University
- PSP: Planning and Scheduling Professional (AACE International) Primary credential for delay analysis work
- CCP : Certified Cost Professional (AACE International)
- CCM : Certified Construction Manager (CMAA)
- FMPC : FenestrationMaster Professional Certification
- Licensed General Contractor : B100 & E100 AK · ID · NV · UT
- $3B+
- in Projects
- 20+
- Years Experience
- 100+
- Projects Delivered
- 4
- State GC Licenses
Related Expert Witness Services
Construction Claims Consulting
Delay is usually one element of a larger claim. I provide integrated analysis of delay impacts alongside cost damages, change order disputes, and contract entitlement.
Learn More →Construction Defect Analysis
When defective work triggers remediation that disrupts the schedule, delay damages follow the defect analysis. I can address both in a single engagement.
Learn More →Get In Touch
Talk Through Your Delay Dispute
Delay cases benefit from early expert involvement, before the schedule record gets harder to reconstruct. Let's talk about the project and what the analysis would involve.
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