Construction delay analysis techniques

Construction projects continue to suffer delays. Things go wrong and the project's completion date gets pushed back, with someone to be blamed for it. In practice, attempts are made to identify the causes of delays and schedules are modified to incorporate revised duration and new project time. The analysis itself is usually complex and can be aided by a computerized approach. This paper discusses different delay analysis techniques that are currently used by practitioners in the construction industry. It also discusses a proposed new delay analysis technique called the Isolated Delay Type (IDT). These techniques were tested against a case example and their strengths and weaknesses highlighted. The new technique can be used as a standalone module for delay analysis or could be incorporated within a computer system for construction delay analysis and claims preparation called Computerized Delay Claims Analysis (CDCA) that integrates different software including an expert system and management software such as scheduling and a database or spreadsheet.