Forensic Delay & Claims
Forensic delay analysis, claims preparation and defense, and independent expert opinion, anchored in the contemporaneous record and built to survive cross-examination.
When the date is contested, the record decides.
A late finish rarely stays a scheduling question for long. It becomes a question of liquidated damages, prolongation cost, lender covenants and reputations, and the party that can explain the critical path most credibly usually sets the terms of the outcome. Assertion does not move a tribunal or a counterparty. A defensible account of cause and effect does.
RichardBarkley's forensic practice reconstructs what actually drove the completion date, window by window and fragnet by fragnet, using recognized methodologies applied in plain view. We help contractors demonstrate entitlement, help owners test and answer claims, and give independent expert evidence when matters reach mediation, a dispute board, arbitration or court. The most valuable work, though, is often the quietest: putting the record in order before anyone needs to rely on it.
In a dispute, defensible beats persuasive
Rhetoric fades under scrutiny. An analysis the other side can retrace and still cannot dismantle is what settles matters, and that is the standard we work to from the first document request.
Recognized methods
AACE 29R-03 and the SCL Protocol applied as written, with method choice explained, not assumed.
Record-first
Every date and finding traced to daily reports, minutes, updates and correspondence.
Open workings
Analyses the opposing expert can rebuild step by step and reach the same numbers.
Independence
Opinions that do not shift with the instructing party. That is what makes them worth having.
7 ways we make the record decision-grade
Engage a single service, or the whole practice as an integrated team. Every line is led by a senior practitioner.
Forensic analysis
3 servicesCausation, extent and responsibility for delay, established with a method chosen for the facts, the records and the forum.
2.04.02Time Impact Analysis (TIA)Prospective and contemporaneous TIAs that show, with a clean fragnet and a statused update, exactly what an event does to completion.
2.04.04Forensic SchedulingReconstruction and analysis of as-planned and as-built schedules from the project record, with every finding traceable to its source.
Entitlement & quantum
2 servicesPreparation, assessment and negotiation of extension of time claims under AIA, ConsensusDocs, FIDIC, NEC and bespoke contracts.
2.04.05Claims SupportPreparation, review and defense of delay, disruption, acceleration and change claims, with entitlement, causation and quantum aligned.
Expert evidence & resolution
2 servicesIndependent expert evidence on planning, scheduling, delay, disruption and project controls in arbitration and litigation.
2.04.07Dispute ResolutionSupport through negotiation, mediation, dispute boards, arbitration and litigation, aimed at the fairest outcome at the lowest total cost.
The answer to who delayed the project is usually already in the record. Our job is to find it, test it and set it out so plainly that it is hard to argue with.The Barkley standard
Markets this practice serves
3.11Transportation
Highways, bridges, transit and rail programs funded by the public and watched by it.
3.13Water & Wastewater
Treatment plants, conveyance and resilience programs that protect public health and answer to regulators and funders.
3.03Commercial
Office towers, mixed-use, hospitality and retail, where an opening date sits inside leases, loan covenants and a sales launch.
3.15Oil & Gas
Upstream, midstream and downstream projects, turnarounds and brownfield work in demanding environments.
3.12Aviation
Terminals, airside works, hangars and modernization programs delivered without grounding operations.
3.07Healthcare
Hospitals, medical centers and research facilities, built and renovated around the care they deliver.
3.14Power
Generation, transmission, renewables and storage, where commercial operation dates are written into offtake and financing.
3.16Government
Federal, state and municipal programs that demand transparency, compliance and accountability for every dollar.
Controls Intelligence
Power BI, executive analytics and forecasting that give capital leaders decision-grade foresight.
The Barkley Institute
Practitioner-taught courses and executive education in P6, scheduling, controls and delay analysis.
Planning & Scheduling
Decision-grade CPM schedules, from the first baseline to the final hour of startup.
Command the date you announced.
Book a 45-minute program review with a senior principal. You will leave with an independent read of where your schedule and cost really stand, and the three moves that matter most.