Construction Delay

Critical Path Method, or CPM, scheduling identifies the sequence of activities that controls project completion. In a delay dispute, the expert can trace changes to that sequence through baseline and updated schedules and determine whether an alleged delay affected critical work or only activities with available float. This distinction can be important when the parties disagree about whether an event actually extended the project.

The schedule relationship between project activities is central to that distinction. A critical delay affects work controlling the completion date, while a noncritical delay may affect an activity without extending overall completion. Concurrent delay involves overlapping delay events or causes during the same period. An expert can compare schedule updates, progress records, sequencing, and contemporaneous project events to determine how those conditions relate to the claimed delay.