Change Order Analysis

The construction experts at Blue Marble Risk Solutions analyze the cause-and-effect relationship of project changes to prepare and evaluate change orders as construction consultants; advise dispute resolution strategies concerning change order disputes as consulting experts; and deliver expert witness testimony for litigation, arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution forums.

Changes to the original scope, schedule, and cost of work are common on capital projects. Project changes occur due to numerous factors, such as design changes or defects, differing site conditions, scope increases or decreases, and suspensions of work. Most construction contracts account for project changes through a change provision, which provides a mechanism for equitable adjustment to the contract price and duration. However, the contract change provision can be a source of construction disputes. Disagreements commonly develop between owners, contractors, and/or subcontractors concerning the validation and/or valuation of project changes.

Resolution of construction change orders often hinges on a party’s ability to establish entitlement and substantiate cost and schedule impacts. Change order analysis generally requires a thorough understanding of construction contracts, industry best practices or standards of care, and advanced knowledge of the analytical techniques for change order quantification. Establishing liability and quantifying impacts can also be a time intensive undertaking. In many cases, the process of comprehensively analyzing complex construction change orders is hindered by either the absence of technical or analytical expertise within an organization or the numerous other critical responsibilities and time constraints imposed upon project management personnel. In these cases, objective analysis by an experienced construction expert is a valuable option to facilitate timely resolution of change orders and change order claims. Similarly, courts and alternative dispute resolution forums often rely on qualified construction experts to analyze causation, entitlement, and quantification issues associated with disputed construction change orders.

Blue Marble Risk Solutions’ consultants represent a blend of executive, field, academic, and consulting experience, which enables us to provide valuable insight tempered by years of practice. Our construction experts have a thorough understanding of construction contracts, change order provisions, estimating principals and practices, standards of care, and industry best practices. We also have extensive experience preparing and evaluating change orders for capital projects, advanced knowledge of the analytical techniques for change order quantification, and practical expertise in construction change management strategies and contract claims. Our expertise translates into a proven ability to efficiently analyze and resolve a myriad of issues concerning construction change orders.

Building on the extensive experience and technical expertise of our construction experts, Blue Marble Risk Solutions analyzes the cause-and-effect relationship of project changes using a three-phase analytical approach: entitlement analysis, schedule impact analysis, and change order quantification.

Our analysis begins with a thorough examination of actual project facts in comparison with the express and implied contract language, the original scope of work, the original project execution plan, and construction industry standards of care to determine the validity of potential change issues and evaluate entitlement to schedule and price adjustment. If a firm basis for entitlement can be established, our scheduling experts use critical path method (CPM) schedule analysis methods or other industry-recognized scheduling analysis techniques to quantify schedule delays or mitigation efforts, identify potential requirements for additional resources, and pinpoint resulting circumstances which could lead to construction inefficiencies. We then quantify the direct and indirect costs associated with project changes using industry-recognized estimating techniques and damage quantification methodologies.

Our construction experts analyze the cause-and-effect relationship of project changes to prepare and evaluate change orders as construction consultants; advise dispute resolution strategies concerning change order disputes as consulting experts; and deliver expert witness testimony for litigation, arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution forums.

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