Category Archives: Forensic Delay Analysis

Forensic delay analysis methods and claims

The Importance of Monthly Construction Progress Schedule Reviews and Schedule Comparison Software

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In the fast-paced world of construction, time truly is money. Schedules drive everything — from procurement and resource allocation to cash flow and stakeholder confidence. Yet, despite their importance, project schedules are often underutilized tools. Conducting monthly schedule reviews and leveraging schedule comparison software can make the difference between proactive project control and costly surprises.

Why Monthly Schedule Reviews Matter

A project schedule isn’t static. It evolves with each change order, weather delay, design issue, and resource shift. Monthly schedule reviews provide an essential checkpoint to evaluate how the project is performing against the original plan and to identify emerging risks before they escalate.

Here’s why these reviews are critical:

  1. Early Identification of Delays: Regular reviews reveal slippages in critical path activities early enough to implement recovery strategies.
  2. Transparency and Accountability: Routine reporting ensures all stakeholders — owners, contractors, and subcontractors — are aligned on current progress and forecasted completion.
  3. Improved Decision-Making: Accurate schedule data supports timely and informed decisions related to manpower, sequencing, and budget adjustments.
  4. Documentation for Claims and Defense: Monthly updates provide a consistent, contemporaneous record — invaluable evidence when disputes arise regarding delay responsibility or time extensions.

The Role of Schedule Comparison Software

Gone are the days of manually reviewing schedule updates line by line. Schedule comparison software — such as Change Inspector — automates this process, allowing teams to efficiently identify what changed between two schedule updates.

Key benefits include:

  • Change Detection: Highlighting added, deleted, or modified activities.
  • Logic Tracking: Identifying shifts in relationships, constraints, and float paths.
  • Critical Path Analysis: Detecting how critical and near-critical paths evolve over time.
  • Data Visualization: Generating easy-to-read reports and graphics for presentations and management briefings.

These tools not only enhance efficiency but also ensure accuracy — a crucial factor in both project management and forensic schedule analysis.

Integrating Reviews and Technology for Better Outcomes

The most effective construction teams combine regular human review with analytical software support. A knowledgeable scheduler or consultant can interpret the technical findings, evaluate their impact on overall project performance, and recommend corrective actions. This integration of insight and technology leads to improved schedule reliability, fewer surprises, and a stronger evidentiary foundation in the event of disputes.

In summary: Monthly schedule reviews, supported by robust comparison software, are essential for maintaining control over project timelines, costs, and risks. They empower teams to stay proactive rather than reactive — protecting both the project’s success and the company’s bottom line.

Benefits of Using Change Inspector

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Additional work and change orders can result in delays to the project.  It is important to create a schedule comparison report with every change and schedule update to identify the impacts. A schedule comparison report can be created as a part of the routine monthly report and serves multiple purposes. It serves to document the basis of the delay analysis as well as being a full auditable record of the project schedule. Claim Digger used to be the “go-to” third-party software for comparing Primavera P3 files. Claim digger was acquired by Primavera and subsequently became part of Oracle Primavera P6. A brief timeline of Claim Digger is as follows:

  • 2004 – P3 e/c is renamed to P3 Engineering & Construction (Version 4.0 and 4.1) and Claim Digger was first added to the software as a java application.
  • 2008 – Claim Digger for P3 is no longer available for sale.
  • April, 2013 – P6 Pro and EPPM Version 8.3 added Visualizer tool.
  • October, 2014 – P6 Release 8.4 Patch Set 1 (8.4.1) P6 Pro stand-alone now installs SQLite database manager instead of the server options. SQLite version does not support Claim Digger.
  • April, 2016 – P6 Version 16.1.0 Schedule Comparison (Claim Digger) is available in P6 Visualizer. The Scheduler Comparison in the same location (Tools) as Claim Digger but clicking on it will launch the Visualizer program.

Claim Digger has its shortcomings. Change Inspector is a schedule comparison tool that addresses these short-comings.

Claim digger produces a lengthy HTML report that could be hundreds of pages long.  Navigating the Claim Digger reports can be cumbersome and time consuming. The scheduler has to scroll up and down through hundreds of pages. On the other hand, Change Inspector creates reports in Excel format organized by worksheets.  Not only that it is easier to review and navigate, it is also easier to create and format custom reports.

Claim Digger reports are difficult to use without clean up and reformatting. The schedule review and documentation of the changes require a streamlined approach. Change Inspector creates streamlined reports. For example, duration changes and description changes should be summarized in one report because both a description and original duration change may indicate an activity scope change.

Change Inspector

 

 

On the other hand, Claim Digger shows this information in 2 separate sections. Furthermore, the scheduler cannot see the float values on the same report. As a result, in the Claim Digger report, it is not possible to tell whether the duration changes result in negative float.

Claim Digger

 

It is important to see the added activities with their duration and float values on one report so that the scheduler can easily check if the activities were added to the critical path.

Change Inspector

 

Claim Digger only shows the added activities.  It is not possible to see the effects of the added activities in one streamlined report.

Claim Digger

Change Inspector produces additional reports such project dashboard.

Change Inspector

Change Inspector works with XER files or can directly connect to the Primavera  database. Change Inspector does not need to have P6 installed. To run Claim Digger, users need to have a P6 license. Claim Digger does not compare XER files.  Change Inspector can compare XER files.  As an added bonus, Change Inspector can also compare MS Project files.

These are only a few examples of Change Inspector’s benefits.   You  can download a 30 day trial version of Change Inspector  ( http://www.changeinspector.com/download.html ) and experience the benefits firsthand.  Change Inspector saves you time and money.