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Buildings 2013, 3, 506-531; doi:10.3390/buildings3030506

buildings ISSN 2075-5309

www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings/

Review

Construction Delay Analysis Techniques—A Review of Application Issues and Improvement Needs

Nuhu Braimah

Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Design, Brunel University,

Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK; E-Mail: [email protected];

Tel.: +44-0-1895-265-919; Fax: +44-0-1895-269-782

Received: 8 May 2013; in revised form: 1 July 2013 / Accepted: 18 July 2013 /

Published: 23 July 2013

Abstract: The time for performance of a project is usually of the essence to the employer

and the contractor. This has made it quite imperative for contracting parties to analyse

project delays for purposes of making right decisions on potential time and/or cost

compensation claims. Over the years, existing delay analysis techniques (DATs) for aiding

this decision-making have been helpful but have not succeeded in curbing the high

incidence of disputes associated with delay claims resolutions. A major source of the

disputes lies with the limitations and capabilities of the techniques in their practical use.

Developing a good knowledge of these aspects of the techniques is of paramount

importance in understanding the real problematic issues involved and their improvement

needs. This paper seeks to develop such knowledge and understanding (as part of a wider

research work) via: an evaluation of the most common DATs based on a case study, a

review of the key relevant issues often not addressed by the techniques, and the necessary

improvements needs. The evaluation confirmed that the various techniques yield different

analysis results for the same delay claims scenario, mainly due to their unique application

procedures. The issues that are often ignored in the analysis but would also affect delay

analysis results are: functionality of the programming software employed for the analysis,

resource loading and levelling requirements, resolving concurrent delays, and delay-pacing

strategy. Improvement needs by way of incorporating these issues in the analysis and

focusing on them in future research work are the key recommendations of the study.

Keywords: delay analysis; construction claims; extension of time; scheduling; damages

OPEN ACCESS

Buildings 2013, 3 507

1. Introduction

The duration of contract performance has a direct effect on the profitability of construction projects

from the perspective of all stakeholders [1,2]. For project owners, lost profits or benefits stem from

being unable to make use of the project at the agreed date whilst to the contractor, extra cost will be

incurred due to prolonged stay on site. Most standard forms of contract thus have provisions that

anticipate delay brought about by the actions and/or inactions of the contractor, the owner or are

outside the control of both parties. The contractor is often excused from the consequences and/or

allowed compensation for any costs due to delays resulting from events or circumstances that are

beyond its control. Contractual provisions also allow the owner to recover liquidated damages from the

contractor for failure to deliver the project within the contract performance period. Liquidated damages

clauses entitle the owner to recovery of a specified sum of money for each day or week of culpable

delay. In both instances, a detailed schedule analysis is required to investigate the events that have

actually caused the project to overrun. Over the years, owners and contractors have used various Delay

Analysis Techniques (DATs) to achieve this. However, in the vast majority of cases, the parties are not

able to settle delay claims amicably resulting in costly disputes after project completion [3–5].

Consequently, delay claims are now a major source of conflict in the construction industry and also

one of the most difficult to resolve [6–8]. This has generated considerable initiatives from researchers

and industry practitioners aimed at enhancing the application of existing DATs (see for example, [6,9–15])

and the development of “good practice” documents for providing guidance to practitioners on what the

best application of the various techniques entails and the circumstances that dictate their proper use. Of

such documents, the most notable are the “Delay and Disruption Protocol” [7] developed by the UK’s

Society of Construction Law and “Recommended Practice on Forensic Schedule Analysis” by the

Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering International [16] of the USA.

In spite of the many contributions, proper analysis of delay claims which take into consideration the

effect of a number of scheduling and delay issues is often lacking in practice [8,14,17]. Therefore, the

need for greater awareness and incorporation of these issues in delay analysis is crucial to ensuring

fairness and amicable resolution of delay claims. As part of a wider study aimed at addressing these

issues, the purpose of this paper is to: discuss the most common existing DATs, as well as review the

issues that are often missed in the analysis, and the required improvement needs. The scope of this

wider study involves investigating the techniques’ applications (in theory and in practice) thoroughly

with the view to developing an appropriate framework for enhancing their proper usage, in order to

help reduce the frequent delay claims resolution difficulties. This paper’s presentation on DATs, as

detailed in the next section, was done based on a hypothetical case study so as to clearly demonstrate

the application processes of the techniques and their weaknesses in presenting (or defending)

delay claims.

2. Existing Delay Analysis Techniques

The objective of delay analysis is to calculate the project delay and work backwards to try to

identify how much of it is attributable to each party (contractor, owner, or neither) so that time and/or

cost compensation can be decided. Questions that need to be answered here often include [3,18]:

Buildings 2013, 3 508

 what was supposed to happen?  what did actually happen?  what were the variances?  how did they affect the project schedule?

The various DATs have varying capabilities in providing sound answers to these questions. The

techniques can be grouped under non-Critical Path Method (CPM)-based techniques and CPM-based

techniques. They have been reported by different authors in the literature using different names, with the

most common techniques being: “as-planned vs. As-built”, “impacted as-planned”, “as-planned but for”,

“collapsed as-built”, “window analysis”, and “time impact analysis” (see, for example, [5–8,19–24]).

3. A Case Study Project

To critically evaluate the existing techniques, a simple case study has been designed and

simulated with various delay scenarios. The case study project involves the construction of a small

garage with the necessary approach drive-in, as shown in the network diagram of Figure 1, adopted

from Pilcher [25].

Figure 1. Arrow diagram of the case-study project.

The as-planned programme of this project (in bar chart format for clarity) is as shown in Figure 2,

indicating a total project duration of 40 days. The as-planned critical path, indicated in red bars, flows

through activities of the garage structure, with a 5-day float on the path of drive-in activities.

The project started as scheduled but progress was affected by three main types of delay events:

(1) Events for which the contractor assumes the risks of costs and the time consequences involved,

which are often categorised as “Nonexcusable–Noncompensable” delays (NN); (2) events for which

the contractor is entitled to both time extensions and recovery of extra cost consequential upon the

delay [“Excusable Compensable” delays (EC)]; and finally, (3) those events for which no party has

control over or bears the risks involved, (e.g., acts of God and strikes), which are often termed as

“Excusable Non-compensable” (EN) delays.

Buildings 2013, 3 509

Figure 2. As-planned schedule.

A ct. ID

A ctivity D escrip tion O rig ina l d ura tion

D ay s

G 1

G 9

G 8

G 7

G 6

G 5

G 4

G 3

G 2

D 2

D 1

H a rdco re b a se to d rive

C lear and excava te for driv e -in

P aint and clean up

F ix do ors

W aterproof roof

F ix ro o f s tructu re

C o n c rete to flo o r s la b

B rick w o rk to ro o f lev e l

B rickw ork to 1m high

C oncrete foundation

E x cavate fou ndatio n

G A R A G E

D R IV E -IN

D 3 T arm acad am to d rive -in

1 4

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

C om ple tion date

Table 1 below defines the delay scenarios encountered in the hypothetical project. The as-built

schedule, which includes all delays that occurred during construction of the project, had total project

duration of 51 days and a critical path along the drive-in activities (see Figure 3). To distinguish

between the various delays, EC delays are indicated in dark horizontal strips and NN delays in dark

diagonal strips. Apart from the delays, there were also changes in the planned sequence between some

of the activities. The as-built programme thus shows start–start logic with lag of 2 days between the

first two activities of the garage instead of the originally planned finish–start relationship. Similar logic

with a lag of 3 days exists between the first two activities of the drive-in.

Figure 3. As-built schedule.

Act. ID

Activity Description Actual

duration Days

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 60555045 7065

Actual completion date

Buildings 2013, 3 510

Table 1. Delays events that affected the sample project.

Activity As planned duration

Chronology of delays

Delay information

Description Type Start date (day)

End date (day)

Duration (days)

Concrete foundations (G2)

3 1 Contractor had a labour problem so it took 3 days extra to complete activity G2.

NN 6 9 3

Clear and excavate for drive-in (D1)

15 2 Contractor encountered unforeseen adverse ground condition during excavation of the drive-in.

EC 10 17 7

Brickwork to roof level (G4)

14 3 Activity G4 did not start immediately after completion of its predecessor as-planned due to 1-day delay by the contractor’s brick supplier.

NN 15 16 1

Concrete to floor slab (G5)

4 4 Contractor advised the owner on the need to increase the thickness of the floor slab. This change required 1 extra day to accomplish.

EC 19 20 1

Hardcore base to drive-in (D2)

10 5 After 5 days of working on activity D2, the owner suspended works for 3 days as a decision on the suitability of the hardcore material was being made.

EC 24 28 4

Brickwork to roof level (G4)

14 6 The owner ordered the contractor to add an extra window after the completion of G4. This design change caused 2-day delay.

EC 30 32 2

Hardcore base to drive-in (D2)

10 7 A quality control test revealed that certain sections of the drive-in base were poorly constructed. This defective work resulted in 5 days of rework by the contractor.

NN 31 36 5

Tarmacadam to drive-in (D3)

5 8 There was a 4-day delay by the owner in making available to the contractor an owner-furnished equipment for activity D3

EC 38 42 4

Waterproof roof (G7) 2 9 It took the contractor 3 more days to complete activity G6. NN 40 43 3

Fix doors (G8) 2 10 The owner changed his mind on the type of door used for the garage so ordered the contractor to make changes. This caused 3 extra days of work.

EC 40 43 3

Buildings 2013, 3 511

4. Project Delay Analysis Using the Various Techniques

4.1. As-Planned vs. As-Built

Under this method, all delaying events (EC, EN and NN delays) encountered on the project are

depicted on the as-built schedule. The difference between the as-planned and as-built completion dates

is the amount of time for which the claimant will request for compensation. The critical path is

determined once in the as-planned and again in the as-built schedule [8,22]. This technique and the net

impact technique utilising bar chart are similar in that they all show the net effect of all claimed delays.

By the approach of Stumpf [24], the following illustrates the allocation of delay responsibility between

the owner and the contractor for the sample project.

Sum of contractor-caused delays (NN) = ΣNNi = 3 + 1 + 5 + 3 = 12 days (see Table 1); Sum of owner-caused delays (EC) = ΣECi = 7 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 3 = 21 days (see Table 1).

From the above, the assumption is that concurrent delay due to both parties is 12 days (“i.e.”, the

lower of the above two types of delays). Therefore, net project delays for which the owner is

responsible = 21 − 12 = 9 days;

From Figures 2 and 4, the net total project delay = 51 − 40 = 11 days, the balance is the contractor

responsibility, which is 11 − 9 = 2 days. The limitations of this methodology are:

 it does not scrutinize delay types and this makes it easy for it to be manipulated and distorted to reflect either the position of the claimant or the defendant;

 it ignores the dynamic nature of the critical path and any changes in schedule logic [20,24,26];

 no attempt is made to determine the individual impact of each delay on the project completion. All delays, including delays on non-critical path, were summed up and their net

effect calculated.

Figure 4. As-built schedule with delays.

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration Days

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 60555045 7065

NN=3

NN=1 EC=2

EC=1 NN=3

EC=3

EC=7

EC=4

NN=5 EC=4

Actual completion date

Planned duration

Buildings 2013, 3 512

4.2. Impacted As-Planned

This method measures the impact of the delays on the contractor’s as-planned CPM schedule. The

various delays are formulated as activities and added to the as-planned network in a chronological

order showing the effect of each delay at a time and demonstrating how the project is being

delayed [27]. The amount of delay equals the difference in completion dates between the schedules

before and after the impacts. The technique can be used for analysis of delay during and after

project completion.

Delay analysis of the sample project using this technique was carried out by sequential addition of

the delays to the as-planned schedule. The impact of each delay is as shown in Figures 5–13 below.

Figure 5. Impact of first delay.

Days

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

As-planned completion

Delay=3days

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Figure 6. Impact of second delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

delay =0 (completion date same as

previous schedule)

50 55 60

DaysAct. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Buildings 2013, 3 513

Figure 7. Impact of third delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

New completion date

50 55 60

Days

Delay = 1day

Previous completion date

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Figure 8. Impact of fourth delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Completion date same as previous schedule

50 55 60

Days

Delay = 0

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Buildings 2013, 3 514

Figure 9. Impact of fifth delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

New completion date

50 55 60

Days

Delay = 1 day

previous completion date

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Figure 10. Impact of sixth delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

New completion date

50 55 60

Days

Delay = 1 day

previous completion date

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

1+2

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Buildings 2013, 3 515

Figure 11. Impact of seventh delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

New completion date

50 55 60

Days

Delay = 4 days

previous completion date

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

4+5

1+2

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Figure 12. Impact of eighth delay.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

New Completion

date

50 55 60

Days

Delay = 4 days

previous completion date

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

4+5

1+2

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Buildings 2013, 3 516

Figure 13. Impact of ninth and tenth delays.

The first delay (NN = 3) was on the critical path, G1-G2-G3-G4-G6-G7-G8-G9 so it caused 3 days

of slippage to the as-planned programme. The second, fourth, ninth and tenth delays were on

non-critical paths so their impacts did not cause any slippage. The impacts of fifth, seventh and eighth

delays caused project slippage on the critical path, D1-D2-D3-G9. A summary of the results obtained

are as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Impacted as-planned results.

Chronology of delays Activity Delay

Type Duration (days) Impact (days)

1 G2 NN 3 3 2 D1 EC 7 0 3 G4 NN 1 1 4 G5 EC 1 0 5 D2 EC 4 1 6 G4 EC 2 1 7 D2 NN 5 4 8 D3 EC 4 4

9 and 10 G7 and G8 NN and EC 3 and 3 0

From Table 2, the owner is responsible for six days of delay to the project whilst the contractor is

responsible for 8 days. The sum of these delays is greater than the actual project delay of 11 delays

because of the failure of this technique to consider any changes in the as-planned programme, which is

by maintaining the original finished–start relationship of all activities in the analyses.

The limitations of this method include the following:

 it uses fixed as-planned schedule to analyse delays out of context and time [24,26];

Buildings 2013, 3 517

 the original baseline programme may not be a realistic model on which to base the whole analysis;

 it has the potential of failing to consider the delays of all parties especially that of the claimant (“i.e.”, being one-sided);

 potential disputes over the adequacy of the as-planned schedule because it is not economically possible, nor does it makes sense, to schedule the entire project in detail at its inception [3].

4.3. As-Planned But for

This method entails injecting the as-planned schedules with all the delays of a particular party to

form an adjusted schedule. The completion date of this adjusted as-planned schedule compared with

the actual completion date gives the amount of delay for which the other party is responsible [8,19,22].

A contractor using this method would identify and add all non-excusable delays to the as-planned

schedule, whereas the owner would add all excusable delays. The advantage of this method is that

it can be performed quickly because there is no need to consider actual progress of the work.

This technique is applied to the sample project first for contractor’s point of view and then for owner’s

point of view.

Contractor’s point of view: Under this, all the contractor-caused delays were impacted on the

as-planned schedule. This resulted in an adjusted as-planned schedule with completion date as day 47

and G1-G2-G3-G4-G6-G7-G8-G9 as the critical path (see Figure 14 below). With the actual

completion date as day 51, the owner is responsible for 4 days’ project delay, which could be charged

as compensable delay. The amount of delay for which the contractor is responsible is 47 − 40 = 7 days,

where 40 is the original as-planned completion date.

Figure 14. As-planned schedule impacted with contractor’s delays.

Owner’s point of view: Under this, all the owner-caused delays were impacted on the

as-planned schedule. This resulted in an adjusted as-planned schedule with completion date as day 49

Buildings 2013, 3 518

and D1-D2-D3-G9 as the critical path (see Figure 15 below). With actual completion date as day 51,

the contractor is responsible for 2 days’ project delay, which could be charged for liquidated damages

by the owner. The owner is then responsible for the difference between the adjusted schedule and the

original completion date, i.e., 49 − 40 = 9 days.

Figure 15. As-planned schedule impacted with owner’s delays.

The limitations of this method include the following:

 it does not take into account any changes in the critical path schedule during the course of the project [19];

 it assumes that the planned construction sequence remains valid during the project duration [5];

 owner’s point of view and contractor’s point of view may yield different results resulting in disputes (as this case shows).

4.4. Collapsed As-Built

In principle, this method is a form of “but for” which does not use the as-planned as a baseline

schedule, but rather uses the as-built schedule (and thus also referred to as “as-built but for” technique). It

involves removing the delays of each party from the as-built network so that the resulting schedule will

give the completion date of the project but for the delays of the other party [18,24]. Like the previous

technique, this technique is applied to the sample project first for contractor’s point of view and then

for owner’s point of view as follows:

Contractor’s point of view: Under this, all owner-caused delays were subtracted from the as-built

schedule resulting in a collapsed as-built schedule of completion date as day 45 and critical path

G1-G2-G3-G4-G6-G7-G8-G9 (see Figure 16).

Buildings 2013, 3 519

Figure 16. As-built schedule with owner’s delays subtracted.

With actual completion date as day 51, the owner is responsible for 6 days of the (51–45) project

delay, which could be charged as compensable delay. Comparing the collapsed as-built schedule with

the original schedule gives 45 − 40 = 5 days project delay, as caused by the contractor.

Owner’s point of view: Under this, all contractor-caused delays were subtracted from the as-built

schedule resulting in a collapsed as-built schedule of completion date as day 46 and critical path

D1-D2-D3-G9 (see Figure 17). With actual completion date as day 51, the contractor is responsible for

5 days of project delay, which could be charged for liquidated damages. Comparing the collapsed

as-built schedule with the original schedule gives 46 − 40 = 6 days project delay as that caused by

the owner.

Figure 17. As-built schedule with contractor’s delays subtracted.

This technique and the “as-planned but for” could give similar results if the planned logic remains

unchanged in the course of the project. The perceived advantage of this technique is that it is based on

actual events on the project, making it one of the techniques of high credibility [5]. However, its

shortcomings include the following:

Buildings 2013, 3 520

 in collapsing the schedule, the analyst is typically forced to insert after-the-fact logic ties which may not reflect the thinking of the executor of the schedule during actual performance [5];

 the removal of the delays from the schedule could result in an unrealistic as-built but-for schedule, particularly when the schedule sequence has been so much impacted by those delays;

 adjusting the collapsed schedule to suit what the contractor is likely to follow requires experience and sound judgement beyond the capability of most analysts [18];

 it ignores the circumstances at the time of the delay and the dynamic nature of the critical path;  the identification of the as-built critical path requires great deal of effort on judgement and

schedule manipulation [20];

 the use of as-built information to prepare the as-built schedule is subjective and highly amenable to manipulation [27].

4.5. “Window” Analysis

This technique involves interim assessment of delay on updated schedules at specific periods of the

project. This is similar to the “snapshot technique” described by Alkass [19] and “contemporaneous

period analysis” described by Schumacher [2]. First, the total project duration is divided into a number

time periods (windows or snapshots) usually based on major changes in planning or major project

milestones [6,8]. The schedule within each window is updated to reflect the actual durations and

sequence at the time of the delay while the remaining as-planned schedule beyond the window period

is maintained. Analyses are performed to determine the critical path and new completion date. This

new completion date is compared with the as-planned completion date prior to this analysis to give the

amount of delay during that window period.

Applying this technique to the sample project, the total contract period was first broken into discrete

time periods at days 10, 21, 32, 40 and 51, resulting in 5 “window” periods. Analysis was carried out

for each “window” successively at the various updates as shown in Figures 18–22 below.

Figure 18. Updated schedule on day 10.

Buildings 2013, 3 521

Figure 19. Updated schedule on day 21.

Figure 20. Updated schedule on day 32.

Days 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 60555045 7065

completion date

completion date at start of window

3rd WindowAct. ID Activity Description

Delay duratio

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Act. ID Activity Description

Delay duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

4+1

1+2

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

Buildings 2013, 3 522

Figure 21. Updated schedule on day 40.

Figure 22. Updated schedule on day 51.

Days 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 60555045 7065

completion date

Completion date at start of window

5th WindowAct. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Act. ID

Activity Description Delay

duration

Hardcore base to drive

Clear and excavate for drive-in

Paint and clean up

Fix doors

Waterproof roof

Fix roof structure

Concrete to floor slab

Brickwork to roof level

Brickwork to 1m high

Concrete foundation

Excavate foundation

4+5

1+2

GARAGE

DRIVE-IN

D3 Tarmacadam to drive-in

Planned duration

There was 1-day slippage at the end of the 1st window due to 3 days’ delay by the contractor on the

critical path G1-G2-G3-G4-G6-G7-G8-G9. The updated schedule at the end of the 2nd window

showed 1 day slippage due to 1-day delay by the contractor on the critical path. There was 2 days of

project delay at the end of the 3rd window as a result of 2 days delay by the owner on the critical path.

The critical path changed to D1-D2-D3-G9 at the end of the 4th window, resulting in 5 days slippage.

By “but for” analysis, the contractor’s delay responsibility within this window is 2 days while that of

the owner is 3 days. At the end of the last window, further 2 days’ slippage was caused by the owner

along the critical path, D1-D2-D3-G9. Table 3 below gives a summary of the results of this analysis.

Buildings 2013, 3 523

Table 3. “Window” analysis results.

Window number Schedule update (day No.) Completion date (day No.) Delays in window

EC NN

0 (start) 0 40 0 0 1 10 41 0 1 2 21 42 0 1 3 31 44 2 0 4 39 49 3 2

5 (completion) 51 51 2 0

Total 7 4

Thus the contractor is responsible for 4 delays to the project whilst the owner is responsible for

7 days’ delay. A major advantage of this method is that it divides a complicated network into a

manageable one and also takes into account the dynamic nature of the critical path. This method offers

a very effective approach to analysing delays and the more snapshots or windows used the better the

accuracy of the results. However, the limitations of this technique include:

 it is time consuming and costly to operate and also demands complete project records, which are often not available;

 differences in the time periods (or “windows”) can produce different results [14];  periodic updates may not be existing which may then require the analyst to perform a highly

laborious analysis of project records to create updates.

4.6. Time Impact Analysis

This technique is a variant of the window technique described above, with the difference being that

the time impact technique concentrates on a specific delay or delaying event but not on time periods

containing delays or delaying events [19].

A stop-action picture of the project is developed each time it experiences a major delay situation.

The schedule is then updated at this delay period and the effect of the delay is analysed to establish a

new completion date. The difference between the new completion date and the date prior to the

exercise gives the delay caused by that particular impact. A “fragnet” or subnetworks are sometimes

prepared to depict the impact of the delay event, e.g., change orders on the schedule. It is an effective

technique because the delays are analysed using real time CPM. It is also applicable to use during

project duration and after completion. However its limitations include:

 it may not be practical or realistic to use if there are an overwhelming number of delay causing events [8];

 periodic updates may not be existing which may then require the analyst to perform highly laborious analysis of project records to creates updates;

 the analysis requires intensive effort and is time consuming.

Because of the close similarity of the time impact analysis and the window analysis, the former was

not applied to the sample project.

Buildings 2013, 3 524

Table 4 below summarises the results of delay responsibilities of the parties as given by the various

the techniques.

Table 4. Summary of delay analysis results for the case study.

Delay analysis methodology Delay

EC NN

As-planned vs. As-built 9 2 Impacted As-planned 6 8 As-planned But for

(a) contractor’s point of view 4 7 (b) owner’s point of view 9 2

Collapsed As-built 6 5 “Window”Analysis 7 4

4.7. Reflection on the Different Results DATs Generate

Clearly, the main reason responsible for the different results is the different modes of application

the various techniques employ. Not only are there wide differences in their applications, the delaying

events experienced by real-life projects are often extensive and more complex to deal with [7,19] than

the example of this case study portrays. Thus, the analysis results from DATs for real-life cases tend to

be staggeringly different and bear a significant amount of time and cost compensations, as

well [17,23]. The different modes of application also require varying levels of analysis details in the

delay assessment process. DATs that analyse a programme(s) directly as it is, without any major

modifications of the programme(s) (e.g., as-planned vs. as-built), are often considered “simplistic

methods” [20]. On the other hand, those that involve extensive programme modifications, including

running of “additive” and “subtractive” simulations (e.g., collapsed as-built and time impact analysis),

are termed “sophisticated methods” [20]. Although the latter group require more expense, time, skills,

resources and project records to operate, they tend to give more accurate results than the former partly

due to the detailed/rigorous analysis they entail [5,20]. In terms of which techniques are favoured by

claim parties, the impacted as-planned, as-planned but-for, and collapsed as-built are often preferred

by contractors or owners, since these techniques are capable of easily establishing the amount of

project delays that could be attributable to the actions or inactions (delays) of a particular party,

through just by inserting or removing such delays from relevant programmes [24,25].

In view of the aforementioned differences, the general view amongst practitioners regarding use of

DATs is that no single technique is suitable for all delay claims situations and that the most

appropriate one for any case is dictated by a number of factors or criteria [7,17]. The need to determine

and make use of this appropriate technique is increasingly becoming a crucial issue. For example, in

the UK case of Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd vrs The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough

of Lambeth [28], the defendant challenged the adjudicator’s decision for, in alia, not given any

opportunity to the parties to comment on the appropriateness of the technique adopted by the

adjudicator for determining time extensions and to seek their observations as to its use. The

defendant’s position was upheld by the judge, who regarded the adjudicator’s inaction as a serious

Buildings 2013, 3 525

omission. The following sections discuss the factors often mentioned in the literature as being the key

criteria that parties need to consider in deciding on the most appropriate technique.

Availability and accuracy of project records have a major influence on the suitability of a technique

since the various techniques employ different programming information sources. If a good as-planned

network programme exists but has not been updated with progress due to lack of as-built records, etc.,

then impacted as-planned analysis may be appropriate [8]. Conversely, where there are good as-built

records but no as-planned programme or the as-planned programme is not adequately prepared, then

the collapsed as-built method may be appropriate [24].

The time of performing delay analysis is an important factor, since some techniques (e.g., time

impact analysis, impacted as-planned) are suitable for performing forward or contemporaneous

assessment (termed “prospective analysis”), whilst others (e.g., collapsed as-built) can only be used for

hindsight assessment (retrospective analysis) [3,7]. The prospective analysis seeks to establish the

effect of delays during the currency of the project, particularly when the contract provides that the

contractor is entitled to relief from liquidated damages if completion is likely to be delayed.

Retrospective analysis, on the other hand, is carried out after the fact (i.e., at the end of the project),

where analysts usually have full benefit of hindsight [8,17].

The type of delay claims in dispute influences the type of DAT to be employed. The more

theoretical techniques like “impacted as-planned” are helpful for instances where a party is concerned

with proving delay time only [8]. Nevertheless, when the claim involves money as well, an approach

based on the analysis of what actually transpired on the project (e.g., using “Collapse As-built”) is

warranted [8]. The cases McAlpine Humberoak Ltd vrs McDermott International Inc. [29] and Ascon

Contracting Ltd vrs Alfred McAlpine Construction Isle of Man Ltd. [30] have both confirmed that

wholly theoretical calculations are unlikely to succeed.

The availability of resources for the analysis is also a relevant issue of consideration [7]. As noted

earlier, the sophisticated techniques require more time and resources to use than the simplistic ones

and hence the latter group may be suitable for small/medium size projects where management

resources are limited and the records are usually inadequate. On the other hand, larger-scale projects

with sufficient management resources warrant a more sophisticated method such as the time impact

analysis and window analysis [7,17].

5. Relevant Issues not Addressed by Existing DATs

In addition to the different results that existing DATs produce when applied to the same set of delay

claims data, there are other relevant issues that have the potential of affecting the results but are often

not taken into consideration in the techniques applications. These issues include: functionality of the

programming software employed, resource loading and levelling requirements, resolving concurrent

delays, and delay pacing strategies.

5.1. Functionality of the Analysis Software Packages

Not only do current construction programming software packages have different functionalities and

capabilities [31,32], they also lack transparency on certain scheduling operations [33,34]. For instance,

when it comes to dealing with programming issues of relevance to delay analysis, such as project

Buildings 2013, 3 526

calendars, rescheduling activities with lags, handling of statuses/updates (progress override or retain

logic settings) and resource allocation, the packages have different settings and ways of handling

them [35–37]. As a result of these features, different software are likely to produce different results

when used to analyse a particular delay claim [38] and therefore further exacerbating the difficulties

often surrounding the amicable resolution of the delay claims. A possible solution to this issue is to

convert the programme being used for the analysis from one software package into another, but this

does not offer a viable solution either, as the conversion process is characterised by difficulties and

information distortion problems [38]. A notable recommendation for dealing with the software

problem is for the disputing parties to agree on a common software for undertaking the delay claims

assessment [7], unless the project contract specifies otherwise.

5.2. Resource Loading and Levelling Requirements

The basic assumption underpinning traditional CPM programme that resources are unlimited does

not hold in reality as resources tend to be limited in most practical situations [8,39]. It is thus quite

important for baseline programmes to be resource-loaded so as to ensure both reliable task duration

and network logic, especially when many tasks require the same resources at the same time [40].

Without such loading, the programme to be used for delay analysis would not show realistic float

values in its non-critical activities, and would thus affect the outcome of the analysis, especially for

cases involving time extensions claims resolutions [41,42]. Therefore, resource loading or levelling

considerations in delay analyses is quite crucial to ensuring accurate and trustworthy results [8,15],

except for the collapse as-built technique as it does not rely on baseline programmes.

It is noteworthy that the need for analysts to take resource allocations into account in their delay

analyses is becoming an increasingly vital requirement. For instance, in the UK case of McAlpine

Humberoak vrs McDermott International [29], the judge disapproved of the plaintiff’s delay claim

submissions on the basis of not giving consideration on how resource usage was planned for and how

they were actually utilized during construction. Wickwire [43] also reviewed legal decisions in the US

and noted that “in any analysis of project delays, the contractor is required to take into account realistic

resource levelling”. Although the incorporation of resource loading effects in the analysis represents a

more accurate and rigorous assessment of delay claims, there is very little research on how this

consideration can be incorporated in the existing techniques. There is thus the need for further research

into this aspect of programming to help enhance the resolution of delay claims in practice.

5.3. Resolving Concurrent Delays

The identification and apportionment of concurrent delays remains a contentious technical

subject [7]. More debilitating is the fact that there is no uniformly accepted definition among

practitioners as to what it concurrent delay itself means [7]. A reliable approach for analysing

concurrent delays would involve using dynamic multiple time periods or windows, as this is capable of

tracing changes in the critical path [7,14,24]. However, in such mode of analysis, identifying the

concurrency and the type of concurrent delays within a given period will be dependent on the length of

time chosen for the analysis period. Therefore analysts using different time intervals are bound to

interpret a given concurrent delay situation differently. To enhance amicable settlement of claims,

Buildings 2013, 3 527

analysts would have to agree on the analysis time interval to be used, which can either be based on

dates at which programme updating occurred or the occurrence of key project events such as project

milestone or major changes in the programme. The legal aspects of concurrent delays concerning the

kind of remedies to be offered to parties have also continued to remain a highly contentious issue.

Scott et al. [44], for example, found that UK practitioners hold dissenting views to the SCL’s

recommended remedies [7], which stipulate that, for employer and contractor delays occurring

concurrently, the parties should share the responsibility between them and extension of time without

costs also awarded. In addition, existing case laws that could offer some guidance on the remedies do

not speak in harmony [45]. This lack of consensus or clearly defined rules/methods for dealing with

remedies of concurrent delay types poses great difficultly to practitioners in delay claims resolution.

There is therefore the need for research into the underlying principles that govern the legal resolution

of concurrent delays to establish clear guidelines for dealing with all possible concurrency situations.

Employers may subsequently incorporate these in their contracts for it to guide claim parties during

delay claims resolutions.

5.4. Pacing Delays

Zack [46] defined this as “deceleration of the project work, by one of the parties to the contract, due

to a delay to the end date of the project caused by the other party, so as to maintain steady progress

with the revised overall project schedule”. The thinking behind pacing delay is that it is sensible for a

party to slow down the working pace if a delay by other party makes it unnecessary for hard or fast

working, as often memorably argued, “why hurry up and wait”. It enables the contractor or the

employer to mitigate or avoid cost that otherwise would have been incurred had the work been done

faster. However, there are difficulties in exercising the right to pace delays, which can affect the delay

analysis process. For instance, float ownership, will determine whether a particular contractor-caused

delay could be a potential employer’s defence of concurrent delay or otherwise. Furthermore, as

argued by Zack [46], pacing delays tends to minimise compensable delay and this makes it imperative

to consider its effect in delay analysis process to ensure fairness in the apportionment of delay

responsibility. Further studies are thus needed to offer assistance on how to resolve these issues.

6. Conclusions

Delay claims are now a major source of conflict in the construction industry and also one of the

most difficult to resolve. Inspired by this, academic researchers and practitioners alike have made

numerous attempts by way of developing DATs and good practice documents for guiding practitioners

on the proper analyses and resolution of the claims. The knowledge of the application of these

techniques is of paramount importance to understanding their limitations and capabilities in practice

and areas of improvement needs. As part of a wider research work, this paper seeks to develop such

knowledge and understanding via: an evaluation of the most common DATs based on a case study, a

discussion of the key relevant issues often not addressed by the techniques and their improvement

needs. The evaluation of the techniques confirmed that the various DATs give different allocations of

delay responsibilities when applied to the same set of delay claims data, reinforcing the common

notion that the most appropriate technique for any claims situation depends on the claims circumstances

Buildings 2013, 3 528

and the project. The different results stem mainly from the unique set of requirements and application

procedures each technique employs. In addition, there are a number of issues such as: functionality of

the programming software employed for the analysis, resource loading and levelling requirements,

concurrent delay and delay pacing, which are all vital to ensuring accurate and reliable analysis results

but are not addressed by the DATs.

Current programming software packages for analysis delay claims are characterised by different

functionalities and capabilities. They also lack transparency on some crucial scheduling operations and

employ different settings for dealing with key scheduling issues that affects delay analysis process

such as project calendars, rescheduling activities with lags and status updates. These features increase

the chance of claimants and defendants at arriving at different delay claim results and thus make it

more difficult for amicable settlement of the delay claim disputes. This justifies the need for disputing

parties to agree on a common acceptable software package for the analysis and how it should be

applied appropriately.

To ensure a more reliable delay analysis results, it is important to use resource-loaded and levelled

baseline programmes, as such programmes provide for reliable task duration, network logic, and

realistic float values in non-critical activities. Without taking such programming requirements into

account in the analysis, the baseline programme would not adequately reflect the plan of work as

dictated by the true intent of resource usage in practice, thereby leading to results that are not accurate

and trustworthy. Although taking account of resource loading ensures reliable analyses and results

thereby contributing to successful claims resolution, there is very little research done on how this

consideration can best be incorporated in DATs. This limitation thus calls for the need for further

research studies in this area.

Resolving concurrent delays is still considered one of the most difficult issues to address, partly

because existing DATs do not take them into account in the analyses. The best approach to handling

this challenge is for the analyst to employ dynamic multiple time periods or windows, so as to be able

to trace changes in the critical path. Using different time intervals would however produce different

results as the extent and type of concurrency are bound to yield difference situations and effect. It is

therefore important for disputing parties to agree on the most appropriate time interval to be used for

the analysis, either based on status dates or the occurrence of key/milestone project events.

Delay pacing strategy is a relatively new defence strategy often argued by both owners and

contractors to demonstrate that their delay was not the dominant or controlling delay. Although each

party has the right to pace delays, the process is fraught with difficulties similar to those of concurrent

delays and float ownership issue. For instance, the latter will determine whether a particular

contractor-caused delay could be a potential employer’s defence of concurrent delay or otherwise.

In general, this paper offers valuable insights into the applications of existing DATs, which have

important implications for the resolution of construction delay claims and its improvement needs.

First, parties involved in such claims should not only be aware of the limitations and capabilities of the

techniques, but need to examine the above-highlighted issues as well so as to, as far as possible, take

them into account in the analysis. This consideration will hopefully increase the rigour and

transparency in the claims analysis, and hence reduce the chances of disputes in the claims settlement.

Secondly, the highlighted issues have, however, received very little awareness and research attention

thus far, as evidenced by delay analysis literature. Future research thus needs to focus more on these

Buildings 2013, 3 529

relatively overlooked issues, in order to extend the limited knowledge and understanding that exist

about them such as how best they can be addressed appropriately in delay analysis.

Whilst the case study used was based on a hypothetical project, the proposed claims scenarios

largely reflect that of a typical construction delay claims settings, both in relevance and context.

However, to strengthen this study, it is recommended that a similar study be undertaken in the future

based on real-life project data to validate the case study findings.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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