Delay Analysis In Construction Disputes: 3 Points Every Arbitral Tribunal Considers Before Endorsing An Expert's Method

Parties refer delay claims to arbitration when the project owner's representative (engineer, architect, project manager or contract administrator) has refused to grant an extension of time or additional payment upon the contractor's notification of a delay event.

At the arbitral proceedings, the contractor invites an expert (engineer or quantity surveyor) to help support the contractor's delay claims. The expert will then deploy its preferred delay analysis method ("method") in establishing the delay. The aim is to convince the tribunal that the contractor is entitled to an extension of time and possibly additional payment.

In delay claims, it is common for experts to deploy either of the following methods recommended by the Society of Construction Law Delay Protocol 2017 – Impacted As-Planned Analysis; Time Impact Analysis; Time Slice Windows Analysis; As-Planned versus As-Built Windows Analysis; Retrospective Longest Path Analysis and collapsed As-Built