I often assist contractors with their schedule development and updates. This also includes preparing the “fragnets” for Time Impact Analysis, (TIA) or change orders. I get the impression from many owners that they do not trust the fragnet or analysis supporting the time extension request.
I worked many years on the “owner’s side” of projects. I understand the concerns most owners have. It only takes being lied to once to create a skeptic…
How do we, as professional planning and schedule consultants overcome the widespread distrust owners have, specifically when it comes to developing and supporting fragnets, TIA’s, or change orders?
I find the majority of contractors I work with to be honest & above board. They act with integrity and genuinely want to provide the best product and service they believe the owner has contracted for.
I find the majority of owners I work with believe they have provided the contractor with a good set of contract documents to work with and really do want the contractor to be successful on their project.
I believe the most important thing we can do, as professional planning and schedule consultants, is educate our clients by teaching them how the time impact “plugs” into the schedule; how the various calendars with non-work days affect the scheduled dates and total float downstream of the fragnet; how to properly manage the schedule updates and revisions to use the correct schedule to base the impact on.
If we could teach our clients the basics of change management for schedules, they might have a better understanding of what is prepared and presented, which would perhaps help in making the “negotiation” of the time impact go smoothly.
Who knows? It just might help build a little trust on the project…
What other methods have you found to help with this issue?
I’d love to hear what you think!
Please visit https://conschmanservices.com to learn more about Construction and Schedule Management Services, LLC
Please visit my LinkedIn account to learn more about me.
Please visit my “The Blue Book” ProView.
Paul Epperson CCM, PMP, PSP, PMI-SP