Our services
FORENSIC PLANNING & DELAY ANALYSIS
Delays will inevitably occur on most construction projects, therefore we offers a wide range of high quality forensic planning and delay analysis services on baseline, live or completed programmes aimed at identifying and eliminating issues.
We have developed a strong reputation in this sector and are renowned for our in depth knowledge and skills. Indeed, these skills are at the centre of our service offering and underpin everything we do.
1-Independent reviews and audit trails to ensure that the baseline/last accepted programme can be delivered and to enable the creation of reports on logic and relationships, constraints, critical paths, floats, delays and so on.
2-Extensive familiarity with all aspects of claim preparation, particularly case building and drafting of claims and negotiation strategy.
3-Preparation of defences to counterclaims as well as expert advice regarding retrospective analysis for EoTs, prolongation costs, disruption, programme critiques and delay analysis critiques.
4-Demonstration of entitlement to EoTs, prolongation costs, disruptions, programme critiques and delay analysis critiques.
5-Provision of proof of entitlement to EoTs occurring from delays, disruption and/or loss of efficiency.
6-Analysis of baseline vs. actual production output rate, as well as work cycle analysis to demonstrate EoT entitlement.
7-Extensive knowledge of major scheduling issues, including float, concurrent delay, offsetting delay, acceleration, mitigation and cumulative effect of delays to the contract schedule.
8-Preparation of chronological event delay analysis and its related narrative.
9-Creation of what-if programme simulations and as-built programmes to test specific delay scenarios.
10-Extensive forensic planning services, from a programme audit to a full in depth forensic analysis of schedules to offer assurance and visibility.
11-Calculation of cause and effect analyses of the work directly affected by the delays and/or disruptions, as well as other work indirectly affected.
12-Fact-finding exercises for in depth analysis and of the work both directly and indirectly affected by delays and disruptions.
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
The role of Baseline on a project is to develop, monitor, and maintain the project schedule by addressing any of the items that could influence or impact the schedule. Although Baseline is usually brought in by the owner, developer, or contractor, our philosophy is that we work for the Project. Our goal is to ensure that the project schedule is met, and we do so by monitoring as an independent party. Any items that could affect the schedule are addressed, documented, and monitored until they are resolved.
The actual development of a Project Schedule occurs by using activities and durations provided by the team members that are designing or constructing the project. Our experience shows that team members buy into the schedule more extensively when they participate in the schedule development by providing the data used to build the schedule. Typically, the schedule is developed in a series of meetings that take place when Baseline comes on board. Baseline and the client, whether it is the owner, contractor, or architect, will oversee and confirm the schedule activities, durations, and logic as they are provided and incorporated into the draft of the schedule. After the schedule is completed, it is distributed to the team members for their review and comment. Comments are incorporated, and a working copy of the schedule is issued. Revision to the schedules are made as they become necessary.
Baseline typically conducts Update Meetings on a bi-weekly basis. The Baseline consultant walks the project to evaluate the progress made since the previous meeting. The meeting’s purpose is to review and discuss the planned and actual progress with the project team. Progress is evaluated relative to the Short Term Schedule, which is a seven week window from the Project Schedule. New Short Terms are developed by incorporating updated information. The Short Term Schedule is also used to make minor modifications to the project logic without revising the Project Schedule.
In separate meetings that usually follow the Progress Update Meetings, Baseline reviews the schedule status and Action Items with the owner, architect, general contractor, and other key team members. Depending on the project, these could be specific subcontractors, material suppliers, vendors, and other consultants.
The agenda of the O/A/C Meeting is the Action Item List. This is an ongoing list that is maintained and updated by Baseline. Items that could affect the project schedule in any way are put on the Action Item List and are reviewed in every meeting until the issues are completely resolved.
This monitoring system is open and relies on communication between team members. Action plans are developed and results are tracked with the responsible individuals. Team members are motivated to solve problems in a timely manner to keep from adversely impacting the project. With this system, the status of any issue is known by all parties.
Baseline electronically or traditionally mails progress reports to all team members after meetings. Although an electronically formatted medium distributed via e-mail is preferred, hard copies are made available upon request. These reports include:
Meeting attendees
Detailed summary, focusing on current status relative to the Overall Progress Schedule
Problem identification
Progress photographs
Action Item Lists
Short Term Schedule
Overall Progress Schedule
Baseline Consultants uses their expertise in the field of scheduling, along with information provided by its client, to create CPM schedules that will aid in claim analysis. Accurate and verified schedules from a 3rd partly allow an unbiased opinion to be formed on many aspects of the project. These can include determining the critical path(s) and what items are delaying the schedule. Many parties in the construction process can benefit by having an expert claims analyst; including the owner, general contractor, or sub-contractor.
To aid the general contractor and other team members, BASELINE can develop, upon request, a schedule for the entire project showing the original durations and commitments made by the various contractors performing work. These schedules are used to show the conformity to or disparity between the original and actual durations of activities occurring throughout the project, and can be used for documentation or other purposes.
Cost Managment
R.A. embraces a proactive Cost Management approach centered on achieving excellence and precision. Our commitment to client satisfaction and transparent communication ensures collaborative development of concept cost plans right from the outset, enabling us to deeply comprehend every project.
We provide comprehensive Cost Management services across all stages of development. Starting from pre-concept feasibility, BIM, and benchmarking, we progress through detailed cost planning, value engineering, and final account preparation. Our team’s consistent and budget-conscious Cost Management ensures successful project execution.
With extensive experience in the region, R.A.’s robust Cost Planning team has established reliable benchmarking systems for efficient budget management across projects of varying sizes.
Expertise:
R.A’s profound understanding of our clients and the Middle East development landscape continually enhances the accuracy of our initial benchmarking. We collaborate closely with clients and their teams to shape projects that meet their objectives within manageable costs. Our experienced quantity surveyors and Directors manage budget control adeptly, employing value engineering and management techniques that maximize client returns.
Strong Collaborations:
As projects progress, our specialized sector teams support detailed Cost Planning and procurement. Onsite teams, backed by head office support and led by seasoned Directors or Managing Quantity Surveyors, ensure consistent personnel and service standards throughout the project. From Final Account completion to ongoing development, proactive advice and robust communication forge enduring and excellent working relationships.
Progress Monitoring & Reporting
We are specialized in setting up the custom formats and updating the Progress Reports on Daily, Weekly, and Monthly as per the Project requirements.
We can single-handed work with your team to extract data from their daily, weekly & monthly activities performed and create reports, set up any reporting format as required specifically for the project, and help design the requirements. WE remains available to work with you when you need us to, and our services are tailor made to fit every client’s needs.
Generating reports is considered core area when it comes to monitor the progress & performance and to control the project team to reach the planned goals. This has translated into us doing reports for different types of business over time. Our highly qualified team comprises professionals who are located parts of the world, with over years of experience in Progress Reporting and Custom Report Development.
Outsourcing our services will also prove very cost-effective, given that you will only be required to pay for our help when you contact us for a specific job. This will help your company save funds that can be channeled elsewhere.
Building these reports in-house can be difficult because not everyone is intimately familiar with the different software platforms involved and in some cases all the team members are not well aware of reporting requirements and quality standards, hence complete or part of the essence of progress reporting may get wasted. Professionals in our team at RA Project Managment Services is specially trained in this field and can quickly produce exceptional reports at a faster pace.