It is important to be “very, very careful” when choosing a forensic scheduling methodology because once the choice is made, there may be no going back. The choice that the forensic scheduling analyst makes at the outset may be an irrevocable choice, especially if you’re working on a contract that’s covered by the federal government or one of the state false claims acts. That is because changing the method during the claims analysis, or during the process of a dispute, rather, may lead to different conclusions, and it may cause the owner, if they’re a government agency on the other side, to file a false-claim allegation against your client. This is why it is so important to be very, very careful at the outset of what methodology you pick because once you pick it, you may be forced to live with it.
Next Wednesday, February 25th, James Zack, executive director of the Navigant Construction Forum, will present a 90-minute webinar that will show, among other things, that different forensic scheduling methods may reach different conclusions even though they use the same facts. Forensic scheduling is full of judgment. It is not a mathematical certainty. It’s not a really technical exercise, such as calculating structural stresses and what not, where there are known formulas, and everybody around the world uses the same thing. This is full of human judgment, so the different methodologies, using the same facts and the same project can, in fact, end up with different conclusions.
The choice of forensic scheduling method will depend, in part, on the contract and on the owner. The contract may stipulate what technique has to be used. In the states, we’re starting to see some contract clauses that look like that.
During the webinar, Zack will provide a wide variety of information about forensic schedule analysis, including what forensic schedule analysis is, why forensic scheduling is important, an explanation of the different types of forensic scheduling methods, and factors that should be considered when choosing a method. The webinar is part of a three-part advance schedule delay analysis course, but may be attended individually. To register for the individual session, the series or to purchase an on-demand copy to be available February 26th, click here. For more information on the three-part series, visit the series registration page here.
