the dynamics of float, logic, resource allocation, and delay timing in forensic schedule analysis and construction delay claims

The Dynamics of Float, Logic, Resource Allocation, and Delay Timing in Forensic Schedule Analysis and Construction Delay Claims By Long Duy Nguyen KY SU (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam) 1999 M.ENG. (Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand) 2003 M.S. (University of California, Berkeley) 2005 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering-Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor C. William Ibbs, Chair Professor Glenn Ballard Professor Frederick Collignon Professor Arpad Horvath Fall 2007 The dissertation of Long Duy Nguyen is approved: Chair __________________________________________ Date _________________ __________________________________________ Date _________________ __________________________________________ Date _________________ __________________________________________ Date _________________ University of California, Berkeley Fall 2007 The Dynamics of Float, Logic, Resource Allocation, and Delay Timing in Forensic Schedule Analysis and Construction Delay Claims Copyright 2007 by Long Duy Nguyen 1 Abstract The Dynamics of Float, Logic, Resource Allocation, and Delay Timing in Forensic Schedule Analysis and Construction Delay Claims By Long Duy Nguyen Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering-Civil and Environmental Engineering University of California, Berkeley Professor C. William Ibbs, Chair Delay claims in construction projects present various tough and controversial issues. How to prove the three elements, namely entitlement, causation, and quantum in the “triad of proof” is an onerous task. The analyses of schedule delays and their associated damages especially concern claims analysts, project parties, courts, Boards of Contract Appeals, and so forth. On the one hand, the industry has employed various forensic schedule analysis techniques to support delay claims. Paradoxically, schedule-related factors such as float, logic, and resource allocation are frequently ignored even though they can affect project completion time and delay responsibility, too. On the other hand, the current “one-size-fits-all” methods for calculating financial consequences undermine the relative importance of delayed activities and the fluctuating nature of overhead levels. The effects of the context of a delay in terms of the timing of the delay and degree of suspension should be therefore paid attention in quantifying delay damages. Accordingly, this research develops novel techniques for analyzing causation and calculating damages in construction delay claims. They address the dynamics of float, 2 logic, resource allocation and the delay context in forensic schedule analysis and delay claims. Several published and hypothesized case studies are used to illustrate their applications. Among other things, this research proposes: (1) an enhanced window analysis technique considering resource allocation; (2) an activity-specific overhead allocation process (ASAP) for quantifying field-overhead damages; (3) FLORA as a novel forensic schedule analysis technique that can capture the dynamics of float, logic, and resource allocation; and (4) a framework which integrates FLORA and ASAP for analyzing schedule delays and their field overhead damages in a real-time and interactive manner. Through the applications, comparisons, and evaluations in case studies, these developments really overcome various limitations of the available techniques and practices currently used in forensic scheduling and delay claims. This research recommends that the schedule-related factors should be captured in forensic schedule analysis. In addition, the quantification of delay damages should emphasize the context of a delay. This also enables equitable apportionments when concurrent delays occur. ASAP and FLORA developed in this research are able to tackle these issues. __________________________________________ Professor C. William Ibbs Dissertation Committee Chair i To my Mom and Dad guyen Thi goc Lan and guyen Van Quy Kính Tặng Ba Mẹ guyễn Văn Quy và guyễn Thị gọc Lan ii Table of Content Table of Content ii List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Acknowledgements xii Abbreviations xiv Symbols xvi Chapter 1 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 The Need for Research 2 1.3 Problem Statement 6 1.4 Research Objectives 7 1.5 Scope of Work 8 1.6 The Structure of the Dissertation 9 Chapter 2 11 Literature Review 11 2.1 Scheduling Practices in Delay Claims 11 2.1.1 Types of Schedules 12 2.1.2 The Use of the Critical Path Method 13 2.2. Roles of Project Change in Delays and Disruptions 14 2.2.1 The Concept of Project Change 14 iii 2.2.2 The Extent of Project Change 15 2.3 Delay, Disruption, Acceleration, and Delay Concurrency 16 2.3.1 Delay, Disruption, and Acceleration 16 2.3.1.1 Delays 16 2.3.1.2 Delay versus Disruption 17 2.3.1.3 Delay versus Acceleration 19 2.3.2 Causes and Costs of Delays 22 2.3.3 The Types of Delays 23 2.3.4 Concurrent Delays 25 2.3.4.1 The Concept of Concurrent Delays 26 2.3.4.2 Conditions for Occurrence of Concurrency 27 2.3.4.3 Apportionment of Concurrent Delays 28 2.4 Float and Criticality in Project Schedules 32 2.4.1 Float 32 2.4.2 Float versus Criticality 33 2.4.3 Float Ownership 34 2.4.4 Alternatives to Float Distribution and Management 35 2.5 Process of Forensic Schedule Analysis 37 2.6 Forensic Schedule Analysis Techniques 39 2.6.1 Global Impact Method 41 2.6.2 As-Planned vs. As-Built Method 41 2.6.3 Impacted As-Planned Method 42 2.6.4 Collapsed As-Built Method 43 iv 2.6.5 Schedule Window Analysis 44 2.6.6 Time Impact Analysis 45 2.6.7 Other Schedule Analysis Techniques 46 2.6.8 Criticism of Available Schedule Analysis Techniques 48 2.7 Delay Damages and Commonly Applied Methodologies 49 2.7.1 Overview of Delay Damages 49 2.7.2 Owner’s Delay Damages 50 2.7.3 Contractor’s Delay Damages 51 2.7.3.1 Types of Recoverable Damages 51 2.7.3.2 Equitable Adjustments 52 2.7.3.3 Field Overhead Damages 52 2.7.3.4 Extended HOOH versus Unabsorbed HOOH 54 2.7.3.5 Methodologies for Calculating HOOH Damages 55 2.8 Summary of the Literature Review 62 Chapter 3 63 Research Methodology 63 3.1 Research Framework 63 3.2 Bases, Tools, and Techniques 66 3.2.1 Current Forensic Schedule Analysis Techniques 66 3.2.2 CPM, Linked Bar Charts, and Resource-Constrained Scheduling 67 3.2.3 Scheduling Software Packages 67 3.2.4 Project Overhead Allocation 67 3.2.5 Research Evaluation 70 v 3.3 Data Sources 71 Chapter 4 72 Impacts of Resource Allocation on Forensic Schedule Analysis 72 4.1 Introduction 72 4.2 Motivating Case 73 4.3 Window Analysis under the Effect of Resource Allocation 75 4.4 Case Study 78 4.4.1 Case Overview 78 4.4.2 Analysis of Delays 79 4.5 Discussion 84 4.5.1 Possible Extended Effect of Delays 84 4.5.2 Positive/Negative Effect of Resource Allocation on Delay Responsibility 85 4.5.3 Legal Acceptability 85 4.5.4 Implications of Applying the Enhanced Window Analysis 86 Chapter 5 89 Delay Damages and Schedule Window Analysis 89 5.1 Introduction 89 5.1.1 Delay Context versus Delay Responsibility 90 5.1.2 Field Overhead Damages 94 5.2 An Integrated Approach 95 5.3 Hypothetical Case Study 98 5.4 Discussion 104 5.4.1 Estimated FOH versus Actual FOH 104 [...]... quantifying and apportioning delay damages under the impacts of the context of a delay in terms of the timing of delay and the degree of suspension during the course of a project; 3 To develop a new forensic schedule analysis technique that addresses the dynamics of float, logic, and resource allocation; 4 To propose an integrated framework for analyzing delays and damages in delay claims under the dynamic... of project change in delays and disruptions; c Concepts of delay, disruption, acceleration, and delay concurrency; d The state -of -the- practice management of float and criticality in CPM project schedules; e Process of forensic schedule analysis in delay claims; f Forensic schedule delay analysis techniques used in delay claims; and g Delay damages and methodologies for quantifying them 2.1 Scheduling... part of this dissertation addresses the dynamics of float, logic, and resource allocation in forensic schedule analysis That is, these factors and others such as acceleration, pacing delays6, concurrent delays, and realtime analysis are captured in forensic scheduling analysis 6 Pacing delays relieve the owner (contractor) of some of delay damages it otherwise may have owed to the contractor (owner) since... Scheduling Practices in Delay Claims Project scheduling is a very broad topic An understanding of scheduling concepts and acquaintance with tools and techniques for analyzing and explaining scheduling problems and their cost impact is helpful in any kind of construction schedule dispute (Pinnell, 1992) The interface between scheduling and delays creates the conditions for all delay claims (Wigal, 1990)... holistically captures the dynamics of float, logic, and resource allocation in forensic schedule analysis Analysis of delays is more complicated if concurrent delays occur There are two major problems encountered in scrutinizing delay concurrency4 They include (i) how to properly separate competing causes of delay and (ii) how to equitably apportion damages incurred by concurrent delays between the parties Though... as-planned schedules (e.g., the as-planned schedule with certain types of delays added) or but-for or collapsed as-built schedules (e.g the as-built schedule with certain types of delays removed) A schedule analysis will eventually compare an entitlement schedule to the pertinent baseline schedule (some version of either the as-planned or as-built schedule) to find out the extent of delay and apportion delay. .. between their cost elements and the activities in their CPM schedules since this can be crucial, especially for evaluating the impact of delays on the work (Overcash and Harris, 2005) Boards and courts have also recognized the importance of CPM to assess the impact of delays and disruptions (Wickwire and Ockman, 1999) The Department of Energy Board of Contract Appeals (EBCA) in Lamb Engineering and Construction. .. occur in a variety of industries such as defense, construction, and software engineering This research concentrates on delay claims in the construction industry In addition, only delay claims between contractors and owners are in the scope of this research As the research objectives suggested, this dissertation only addresses two elements, namely causation and resultant damages of the “triad of proof” in. .. impacts of float, logic and resource allocation and the context of a delay; and 5 To evaluate the proposed approaches compared to the current forensic schedule analysis techniques and damages-quantification methodologies using hypothetical and available published case studies This objective is achieved by evaluation of the individual proposed approaches 1.5 Scope of Work Schedule delays and delay claims. .. proceeding” (AACEI, 2007) 2 1 crapshoot There is a recent increase in both the number and size of construction claims (Schone, 1985; Pinnell, 1998) In addition to evaluating and apportioning responsibility for schedule delays, the quantification of the damages caused by delays is also an extremely challenging job Most professionals agree that measuring and demonstrating evidence on the damages are the . Abstract The Dynamics of Float, Logic, Resource Allocation, and Delay Timing in Forensic Schedule Analysis and Construction Delay Claims By Long Duy Nguyen Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering-Civil. calculating damages in construction delay claims. They address the dynamics of float, 2 logic, resource allocation and the delay context in forensic schedule analysis and delay claims. Several. The Dynamics of Float, Logic, Resource Allocation, and Delay Timing in Forensic Schedule Analysis and Construction Delay Claims By Long Duy Nguyen KY SU (Ho Chi Minh City