Service

    Delay Expert Witness and Forensic Delay Analysis

    Independent, programme-based evidence on what delayed a project, by how much and who bears the risk — for arbitration across the GCC and proceedings in the DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, QICDRC and BICC.

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    • DIAC
    • arbitrateAD
    • SCCA
    • QICCA
    • BCDR
    • DIFC Courts
    • ADGM Courts
    • QICDRC
    • BICC

    Almost every major construction dispute in the region involves delay. Late design, late access, changes, unforeseen conditions, slow approvals and the contractor's own problems all compete to explain why a project finished months or years late. The question for the tribunal is which events actually drove completion, and for how long.

    Forensic delay analysis answers that question using the project's programmes and progress records. Done well, it gives the tribunal a clear, transparent account of the critical path and the effect of each event on it. Done badly — with an unsuitable method, an unreliable baseline or selective use of the records — it can be dismissed entirely.

    We give independent delay evidence built on careful method selection, rigorous use of the contemporaneous records and clear presentation. We act on building, infrastructure, rail, aviation and energy projects across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

    What a delay expert witness does

    A delay expert is a construction planning specialist who gives independent opinion evidence on the causes and extent of delay. That means:

    • Assessing the programmes — the reliability of the baseline and updated programmes, and what they can and cannot be used for.
    • Choosing the method — selecting the delay analysis method best suited to the records, the contract and the questions asked.
    • Identifying the critical path — establishing which activities drove completion over the life of the project.
    • Measuring the effect of events — quantifying the delay caused by each event, and identifying concurrent delay.
    • Linking to entitlement — giving the factual and programming basis for extension of time, prolongation and liquidated damages arguments.
    • Explaining it clearly — presenting complex programme analysis in a form the tribunal can follow and test.
    “Our overriding duty is to the tribunal or court, not to the party who appoints us.”

    Delay issues we advise on

    Extension of time

    Programme analysis supporting or testing a contractor's entitlement to additional time for employer risk events.

    Delay analysis methods

    Selection and application of recognised methods — as-planned versus as-built, impacted as-planned, time impact analysis, windows and time-slice analysis, and collapsed as-built — and critique of the method used by the other side.

    Concurrent delay

    Identification and analysis of concurrent delay, where employer and contractor delays affect completion at the same time.

    Programme quality and baselines

    Review of baseline programmes, logic, constraints and updates, and their suitability for delay analysis.

    Liquidated damages

    The programme evidence on whether, and for how long, the contractor was in culpable delay.

    Prolongation periods

    Establishing the periods of compensable delay used to value prolongation costs.

    Acceleration

    Whether the contractor accelerated, whether acceleration was instructed or constructive, and what time it recovered.

    Float and its ownership

    How float was used, consumed and claimed over the course of the project.

    Prospective time impact analysis on live projects

    Contemporaneous assessment of delay events on live projects, so entitlement is resolved before it becomes a dispute.

    Delay and quantum: working together

    Delay analysis establishes the periods and causes of delay. Quantum experts value them. If the quantum expert values a period the delay expert does not support, or ignores concurrency the delay expert has found, the claim is exposed.

    We work closely with quantum and disruption experts so that time-related costs are tied to the correct periods and the tribunal can follow the link from event, to delay, to cost.

    RelatedQuantum Expert Witness →Disruption Expert Witness →Delay & Disruption Quantum Guide →

    How an engagement works

    1. 1

      Conflict check and initial call

      A short, confidential conversation about the project, the delay and the timetable. We complete a conflict check before receiving any documents.

    2. 2

      Scope and letter of instruction

      We agree the questions to be answered, the programme files and records required, and the programme and fee basis.

    3. 3

      Programme and records review

      We review the native programme files, progress records, correspondence and reports, and assess which analysis methods the records will support.

    4. 4

      Analysis

      Delay analysis using the method best suited to the case, with clear identification of the critical path and the effect of each event.

    5. 5

      Expert report

      An independent report setting out the method, the critical path, the delay caused by each event and any concurrency — with alternatives where facts are in dispute.

    6. 6

      Joint meetings and the hearing

      Meetings with the opposing delay expert, a joint statement of agreed and disagreed issues, and oral evidence at the hearing, including expert conferencing where directed.

    Independence and professional standards

    Our evidence is prepared to meet the expectations tribunals and courts place on experts in the region, including:

    • the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (2020), where adopted;
    • the CIArb Protocol for the Use of Party-Appointed Expert Witnesses in International Arbitration;
    • the procedural rules of the relevant arbitral institution, such as the DIAC 2022 Arbitration Rules;
    • the expert evidence requirements of the DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, QICDRC and BICC; and
    • recognised delay analysis guidance, including the Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol and AACE International Recommended Practice 29R-03 (Forensic Schedule Analysis), where relevant.

    Every report includes a declaration of independence and a statement of the expert's duty to the tribunal or court.

    Where we act

    Arbitration

    Institutional and ad hoc arbitrations across the GCC, including DIAC (Dubai), arbitrateAD (Abu Dhabi), SCCA (Saudi Arabia), QICCA (Qatar), BCDR (Bahrain), KCAC (Kuwait) and OAC (Oman), as well as ICC and other international rules with a GCC seat or GCC project.

    Offshore courts

    DIFC Courts (including the Technology and Construction Division), ADGM Courts, the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre, and the Bahrain International Commercial Court.

    Where we act: independent expert witness services in arbitration across the GCC and in the DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts, QICDRC and BICC. We do not provide expert evidence in onshore court proceedings.

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    Sectors

    • Building and real estate
    • Infrastructure and transport
    • Rail and metro
    • Aviation
    • Energy and utilities
    • Renewable energy
    • Water and wastewater
    • Oil and gas
    • Industrial and process

    Who we work with

    Delay evidence often decides the case on time-related entitlement and liquidated damages. We advise early on method and records, test the opposing analysis, and give evidence that maps to the pleaded case and the contract's time provisions.

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    What you receive

    • An early, candid view of the delay case and the records available
    • A recommendation on the most suitable analysis method
    • A clear, independent expert report with transparent method and alternatives
    • Analysis of concurrency and periods of compensable and culpable delay
    • A joint statement with the opposing expert that narrows the issues
    • Clear, consistent oral evidence under cross-examination

    Frequently asked questions

    Need a delay expert witness?

    Tell us about the project, the delay, the forum and the timetable. We'll complete a conflict check and come back to you promptly.

    Discuss an instruction

    Please do not send confidential documents until a conflict check has been completed.

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