Delay Analysis Methodology

Time Impact Analysis

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Disclaimer
Information contained within this presentation is for education purposes only.
How a programme or schedule is built, maintained and managed is the
responsibility of the owning organisation. Focus Planning Ltd accepted no
responsibility for changes made to programmes or schedules which are altered
as a result of reading slides contained within this presentation. The
configuration and settings of computer software are the responsibility of the
license holders and Focus Planning Ltd accept no liability for the configuration
used by the license holder.

What is Time Impact Analysis?

Time Impact Analysis is a method of calculating the delay to a project
based on the delay to project completion and was developed by
MDCSystemsLtd. It is normally associated with being a best practice
method for assessing a single delay on the critical path of a project
schedule that is in progress.
The analysis looks to compare the schedule pre-delay to the schedule
with the delay included. It looks to calculate the duration variance
between the two schedules to provide the contractor with a basis for
estimating the delay impact.
Time Impact Analysis is best used to calculate delays looking forward
rather than back, other methods such as As-Built But-For (ABBF) can
be more accurate for calculating retrospective delay. (See
http://www.slideshare.net/AdamGarnham/delay-analysismethodology-asbuilt-butfor-variation-in-p6 )
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Process Steps
In order to successfully identify the delay the following steps should be
followed;

Determine the
baseline schedule

Update delay durations

Determine As-Built
data source

Review results

Decide on the TIA

date

Model delay using

fragnet

Determine delay actuals

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Merge fragnet with

schedule

Communicate

Step 1: Determine the Baseline

Schedule
The first step in completing a TIA is to determine
the correct baseline schedule to judge the delay
against. Most construction contracts will contain
clauses relating to the agreed or confirmed
baseline, although this is often an implied rather
than regimented factor. Whatever contract
mechanics are in place the Contractor should look
to determine the correct baseline to use for the
analysis and to review the baseline to ensure it is
reasonable for the project.
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Step 2: Determine As-Built data source

This would normally be the updated schedule
but again contractually it is important to agree
what schedule version to use. Contracts such as
NEC determine the schedule as the Accepted
Programme. The mechanics of which schedule
to use will be determined usually by the
contract in place.
Once this has been agreed, assign the baseline
from Step 1 to this project in P6.
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Step 3: Decide on the TIA date

This is the date you believe the delays commenced and the start date for your delay
fragnet in the next few steps. This will normally be advised by the parties on site, for
example; a TIA is being produced for the demolition of a building being delayed, the
delay was due to the ball & crane not arriving on site, so the TIA fragnet start date
would be the day the crane was planned to arrive as per the as built data source (from
Step 2)
Once agreed, some planners prefer to add this date as a milestone in the schedule to
help the project stakeholders get a graphical representation of the TIA period as
below.

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Step 4: Model delay using fragnet

At this stage we will look to model the delay according to the logic and
duration decided by the project team. This is the basis for the claim. To do
this create a copy of the schedule and enter the delay as a new activity/s and
logically link to the successors on the critical path according to the build
process. Do not reschedule yet the purpose of the fragnet at this stage is to
confirm the delay logic and relationship to the current programme for
acceptance.

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Step 4: Model delay using fragnet

Once the fragnet has been entered and confirmed by the planner this will
need communicating to the project team to allow them to comment on the
logic and placement of the delay. Once all are in agreement and acceptance
with the fragnet detail this will need to be kept aside ready for Step 5.

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Step 5: Merge fragnet with current

schedule

Now the fragnet has been accepted by the project team it will need
incorporating in to the current schedule.
Going back to the current schedule take a new baseline to record the dates
per-fragnet. This baseline is for records purposes and does not need assigning
at this stage.
Now using the accepted fragnet, enter the delay activities in to the current
programme with the logic as agreed and link to the effected successors in the
schedule.
Now reduce the delay activities durations to zero days and re-schedule the
project. The Project Completion date should still remain the same as the new
activities have zero duration. As we assigned the baseline in Step 2 you can
check this is the case by adding the baseline bars in the Gantt Chart or by
adding the Variance BL Project Finish Date column to the activity table
(value should be zero)
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Step 6: Update Delay Durations

Now the fragnet has been entered it is time to enter the delay durations against the
delay activities.
To do this enter the duration against the activities in the original duration field this
should then be mirrored in the remaining and at completion duration fields.

Re-schedule and you will see the bars from the fragnet increase and the remaining
activities push out moving the project completion date.

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Step 7: Review Results

Note the variance to the Project Completion milestone. This variance is important in
calculating the cost impact when applying for damages, for example; delay causing
another week on site is another week of paying for staff, prelims, road-closure, etc.
The variance is also quantified in the Variance BL Project Finish Date column we added
to the activity table earlier.
It is important at this stage to ensure the impact on project completion is measured
according to the contract terms. For example the contract may specify calendar days in
which case the delay should also be communicated as calendar days and so on.

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Step 8: Enter Delay Actuals

The final step is to enter the Delay actual dates. If this is a calculation of an upcoming
delay there will be no actual dates on the delay activities and the results from Step 7
should be communicated.
If this is an ongoing delay the actual delay start date should come from the last
schedule update. In order to enter these you will need to assess when the successor
to the delay becomes critical. As you will remember from Critical Path Analysis the
activity becomes critical at the late start date, so the delay start date will be the
successor original late start date + 1day. Mark this date as the delay start date and
reschedule.
For
more
information
on
Critical
Path
Analysis
see;
http://www.slideshare.net/AdamGarnham/guide-to-the-critical-path-and-criticalpath-analysis

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Step 9: Communicate the TIA

Now you can communicate the completed TIA to the project and commercial teams
ready for a cost analysis process to take place.
As well as displaying the Gantt Chart, the following columns can also be helpful in
communicating the delays;

BL Project Start the original planned start date for activities

BL Project Finish the original planned finish date for activities
Start the new start date with the delay included
Finish the new finish date with the delay included
Actual Start the actual start date with the delay included
Actual Finish the actual finish date with the delay included
Variance BL Project Finish Date the variance in Finish dates between the original
planned finish and the delay included finish.

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