Cumulative Impact Analysis
The construction experts at Blue Marble Risk Solutions analyze and quantify cumulative or ripple impacts caused by project changes to prepare and evaluate cumulative impact claims as claims consultants; advise dispute resolution strategies as consulting experts; and deliver expert witness testimony for litigation, arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution forums.
On capital projects, changes to the original scope, schedule, and cost of work are common. Project changes occur due to numerous factors, including design errors, design changes, differing site conditions, and scope increases or decreases. Most construction contracts account for project changes by means of a change provision, which provides a mechanism for equitable adjustment to the contract price and duration. In certain circumstances, the rate of project change begins to negatively impact the balance of the project and materially affect the overall cost and schedule. In these situations, the actual cost and schedule impact of changes can be greater than the sum of individual change orders, which often complicates equitable resolution and may lead to construction disputes between owners, contractors, and/or subcontractors.
When multiple changes occur on construction projects, or major changes occur outside the anticipated scope of work (cardinal changes), the result can be an unanticipated loss of construction productivity relative to the unchanged base contract work. This unforeseeable effect is commonly referred to as the cumulative impact or the ripple effect of changes. Without detailed contemporaneous productivity tracking and documentation by contractors and subcontractors, cumulative or ripple impacts can be hard to detect during construction. Further, cumulative impacts can be difficult to quantify and apportion with the degree of precision often desired to facilitate resolution. For these reasons, contract disputes concerning cumulative impacts frequently result in construction claims or formal dispute resolution.
Courts and alternative dispute resolution forums often rely on qualified construction experts to unravel the complexities of cumulative impact claims and quantify and apportion impacts. The construction experts at Blue Marble Risk Solutions have broad experience with cumulative impact claims and labor productivity issues on capital projects, including conducting contemporaneous productivity evaluations for research studies and performing expert analysis for litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Additionally, our construction productivity experts have a thorough understanding of the principles, practices, and standards of care, known as industry best practices, that are applied to facilitate successful project planning and execution. The unique blend of productivity expertise and experience with best practice implementation translates into a proven ability to successfully analyze and resolve disputes concerning cumulative impacts or ripple effects.
Blue Marble Risk Solutions’ construction specialists combine their comprehensive understanding of cumulative impact principles and practices and extensive working experience involving cumulative impact claims with a targeted analytical approach to quickly isolate labor productivity losses due to cumulative impacts. Our methodology allows for clear demonstration of the cause-and-effect relationship between event(s) and impact(s) using project progress as a leading indicator of impacts. For purposes of quantifying or estimating cumulative impacts, Blue Marble uses the following industry-recognized analysis methodologies to quantify or estimate cumulative impacts.
- Project Specific Studies
- Measured Mile Study
- Earned Value Analysis
- Project Comparison Studies
- Comparable Work Study
- Comparable Project Study
- Specialized Industry Studies
- Cost Basis
- Total Unit Cost Method
- Modified Total Labor Cost Method
- Total Labor Cost Method
Through the collective expertise and experience of our construction experts, Blue Marble Risk Solutions evaluates contract requirements, project facts, the nature and context of issues being analyzed, and the extent of available documentation to identify the analysis method best suited to the project. We then use an efficient, targeted strategy for diligent substantiation research using project documents, data, and witness interviews to deliver comprehensive analysis; dispute resolution advice; and expert testimony for litigation, arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution forums.