Forensic Delay Analysis
Forensic delay analysis is the detailed examination of a project programme to establish what caused delay, who carried the risk for it, and the time and cost consequences. It is the evidence behind an extension of time claim, and the analysis that tests one. Project Scheduling provides independent forensic delay and disruption analysis for construction and mining disputes across Australia, applying recognised methods to programmes that have to hold up to scrutiny.
When You Need It
Delay analysis matters when time is contested. You may be making an extension of time claim and need to prove the delay was not your risk. You may be defending against a claim and need to test whether it holds. Or a project may have run months over with no agreement on why. In each case the programme and the records hold the answer, and a rigorous, independent analysis is what turns a dispute into a resolved position.
Recognised Methods
The right method depends on the records available and the question being asked. The analysis draws on the established techniques:
Windows analysis, tracking delay across defined periods against the contemporaneous programme
Time impact analysis, modelling the effect of a delay event on the critical path
As-planned versus as-built, comparing the intended sequence to what actually happened
Impacted as-planned and collapsed as-built, where the records suit them
Measured mile, quantifying disruption by comparing impacted against unimpacted productivity
Concurrency assessment, separating excusable, compensable and concurrent delay
Critical path and float analysis, establishing which delays actually affected completion
The analysis supports extension of time, prolongation and disruption claims, and is applied in line with the Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol so the approach is defensible and recognised.
Records Win Claims
Delay claims are won or lost on the quality of the contemporaneous record. Australian courts increasingly favour evidence of what actually happened on the ground over retrospective reconstruction, and they scrutinise partisan expert positions. The analysis is built from the contemporaneous programme and project records, with a transparent method and findings traceable to source, so it stands up in negotiation, adjudication and arbitration. Read about recent cases in our Insights.
What You Get
A clear forensic report setting out cause, responsibility, and the time and cost effect of each delay event
The programme analysis and supporting exhibits behind the findings
Extension of time claim substantiation, or a rebuttal of a claim made against you
A methodology that names the technique used and why it suits the records
Expert reporting and, where required, expert witness support for adjudication, arbitration or litigation
A Recent Result
On an earthworks dispute, forensic analysis of the approval record, more than 200 transactions, demonstrated the baseline was unachievable from the outset. The result was a twelve-month extension of time and a formal dispute avoided. Read the full case study in our Insights.
Independent and Sector-Specific
Project Scheduling works across mining, heavy industrial, civil, infrastructure and commercial construction disputes. The analysis is independent and delivered directly, so the findings rest on the evidence, not on which side engaged us.
Whether you are making a claim or defending one, get delay analysis that stands up to scrutiny. Let us look at where your project stands.