Construction

Our Construction team’s Delay and Quantum experts can provide a clear business strategy to help settle a dispute as early as possible and with the most favourable outcome. When litigation or arbitration is unavoidable, our experts work closely with clients’ legal teams.

We cover the entire lifecycle of dispute and litigation proceedings, from managing parties’ requests for information to carrying out detailed research and analysis during arbitration, mediation and trial. Our services include:

• Fact-finding and document preparation
• Data analysis and management
• Analysis of planning delays
• Analysis of productivity losses and damages
• Analysis of contentious data and key emails
• Production of expert reports
• Expert testimony

Our Construction team’s Delay and Quantum experts work with project owners, operators, project managers and contractors to minimise delays and avoid costly litigation by identifying, allocating and mitigating risks across an entire construction project.

We can review a complete project or specific items such as capital investments or schedules. Risks and obligations can be reviewed during the validation stages of financing, submission of tenders, or the early stages of the actual construction project. All this can be done for either a single project or the whole portfolio. We can also analyse commercial agreements and disputes, reviewing contractual clauses and the parties’ respective obligations.

Our aim is to help clients to maximise their projects’ chances of success and profitability, whether our services are provided in the pre-contractual, investment or performance phase. Services include:

• Consulting on contractual strategy
• Management strategy for business groups
• Drafting, negotiation and implementation of contracts
• CAPEX and investments
• Scheduling and risk reviews
• Programme preparation and management
• Investment planning and budgeting
• Management of calls for tenders and allocation
• Qualification and quantification of risks
• Procurement consultancy
• Contractual and commercial training
• Budget management
• Management of project controls
• Audit and due diligence

Our Construction team’s Delay and Quantum experts often represent project owners, operators, project managers and contractors in dispute settlement procedures relating to complex construction projects. These procedures can relate to either a Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB) or a Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Board (DAAB) as defined by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).

The team’s responsiveness means that these procedures can often be completed quickly, so that decisions can be given and sometimes even enforced during the project’s performance phase. As a result, dealing with a claim does not have to hold up the project.

Our experts draw on detailed knowledge of the relevant mechanisms, especially those prevailing in FIDIC contracts. Construction expert Thierry Linares is FIDIC-certified and on the FIDIC President’s prestigious List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators thanks to his in-depth knowledge. This means he can act as an impartial, independent member of a DAB or DAAB dispute resolution committee, making recommendations or giving decisions to requesting parties.

When one party to a contract has initiated a dispute regarding a time extension and/or additional costs – or wishes to do so – our construction experts verify the robustness of the case presented, supporting the negotiation of an amicable settlement.

Our Delay and Quantum experts analyse the main arguments, merits, entitlements and events highlighted by the parties to make an informed assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities of the case. This assessment makes it possible to form a solid preliminary opinion and then to develop a clear strategy with respect to notifications, submissions or work required to strengthen the case. Our reviews and preliminary evaluations cover the fundamentals of the case, causal links, quantification methodology, delays and damages, and the quality of the evidence provided, among other elements.

Clients appreciate our neutrality and ability to clarify their position for the purposes of evaluation or negotiation, or before embarking on litigation.

For any phase of an investment project, our Construction team’s Delay experts offer a tailored approach to assessing the development and implementation of schedules, and ensuring that the critical path method (CPM) is used effectively. Our experts evaluate schedules at any stage, whether it is bidding, references, start-up, commissioning, acceleration, catch-up or delay mitigation. Where there are complex delays, we produce analyses showing the impact on overall project progress.

Our Delay experts regularly assist project owners, project managers, contractors, investors and multinational companies with complex construction and engineering projects. They are conversant with delay analysis techniques such as those defined by the Society of Construction Law (SCL) in its Delay and Disruption Protocol, and with the Recommended Practices of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE).

Other specialist areas cover management of pre-contractual phases, project risk management, planning/scheduling, construction sequences and interfaces, development of project controls, and progress monitoring during performance. Services include:

• Preparation of CPM schedules
• Technical programme reviews
• Progress evaluation
• Analyses relating to time-related impacts, delays, postponements, suspensions and extensions of deadlines
• Productivity and disruption analysis
• Analysis of scheduling-related risks
• Planning and scheduling

FTI Consulting is an authorised training organisation, and our Construction team’s Delay and Quantum experts provide and support training for academic clients and professionals alike. Clients for our training services include project owners, operators, project managers, contractors, and legal and financial consulting firms.

Our training solutions draw on our thought leadership, including published articles and conference contributions. The content of our courses is customised according to the client’s sector and requirements, in areas including:

• Contract management
• Project management and control (scheduling, cost and interfaces)
• Estimating
• Scheduling
• Drafting and presentation of claims
• Dispute prevention
• Dispute settlement

Our Construction team’s respected Quantum experts work to improve the delivery of construction projects across all industrial sectors, assisting a wide range of clients including project owners, operators, project managers, contractors, construction managers, insurers, lenders and legal advisers. Proven processes and advanced project management technologies are used to promote collaboration between project stakeholders and optimise performance.

Our professionals have extensive experience both in project offices and in the field. They are used to working at all levels of client organisations, including boards of directors, general management, steering committees, project teams and audit committees. Strategic and tactical services offered include:

• Audit and verification of accounting documents
• Budget preparation and management
• Cashflow analysis
• Review of variations and change orders
• Preparation and defence of claims
• Construction cost accounting
• Contract administration
• Cost analysis
• Support in negotiations
• Planning and scheduling
• Assistance with awarding service and works contracts
• Management of calls for tenders and submission of tenders
• Project management
• Implementation and management of project controls
• Progress monitoring and review
• Project evaluation

FTI Consulting’s document database, X-Doc®, was designed by claims processing professionals to streamline the management of project documentation needed for arbitration processes or complex negotiations. X-Doc® can be used to assemble and organise documentation relating to industrial and construction projects that are the subject of a claim or a dispute. The documentation can then be shared securely and efficiently between members of the team and other stakeholders in the process via a shared interface.

FTI Consulting’s own Delay and Quantum experts use X-Doc® to organise and search the evidence used in their appraisals and analyses with maximum efficiency. When we are collaborating with clients and lawyers, X-Doc® prevents unnecessary repetition of tasks, such as extracting email attachments, unzipping and optical character recognition (OCR), enabling processed documents to be shared with all relevant parties.