We approach procurement and contracts as the basis for the relationship between parties, and therefore as a valuable management tool to influence behavior and align incentives throughout project execution. We advise clients on settling claims and help them find opportunities to retain value during contract closeout.

Moving from Crisis to Reform. We help our clients design contracts that support project success by establishing terms that direct the project execution. We support clients globally and across industries to get the most out of their contracts along the full lifecycle by shifting the focus toward contracts as active management tools. We help our clients have the strongest possible starting point for their large projects by establishing a tailored procurement strategy, structuring contract-award negotiations to realize early cost savings and building the required management infrastructure. For clients with large portfolios of smaller projects, we evaluate potential bundling strategies and partnership models that help streamline concepts. Well-structured claim and counter-claim strategies have helped our clients achieve average claim settlement rates significantly below the original claimed value.

Multi-Million Dollar Investment Projects—often require once-in-a-lifetime commitments of resources and capital. Yet, sixty percent of projects exceed budgets and schedules. The consequences for both owners and contractors can be disastrous. For owners, overruns not only affect their bottom line, but also lead to squandered business opportunities and compromised credibility. On the other hand, contractors who exceed budgets and schedules erode resources, profits, and perhaps most importantly, client trust. In our experience, carefully planned projects can succeed, if both parties’ objectives and incentives are properly aligned and communicated, and when best practices for simple project delivery are consistently applied.

We help clients plan, execute, and in some cases, rescue multimillion-dollar projects. Supported by our project management teams and our broad network of external experts, our global team of consultants constantly tests and refines its proprietary tools and solutions. To ensure the long-term success, we work closely with clients to build their capabilities at every stage. Our on-the-ground experience and deep knowledge of functional topics, such as organizational effectiveness, critical path method (CPM), risk-management, and earned value management (EVM), uniquely positions us to support both project owners and contractors. We design organizations and team structures that match the scope of a project, the contracting strategy, and the complexity of a client’s portfolio. We also take a holistic look at their existing teams to identify talent gaps and develop actions plans for recruiting or developing talent. In addition, we help put advanced, innovative tools and processes in place to streamline processes and enable a more rigorous approach to decision making.

Public and Private Owners. Successful projects are rooted in and guided by a strong business case. Unfortunately, in our experience, design and construction issues can quickly hijack projects, and decision makers can lose sight of investment goals. Many owners lack the resources and experience to manage contractors and at the same time, protect their broader business objectives. We support owners planning projects by developing business cases aligned with their long-term strategic objectives, by ensuring rapid and effective decision making through our proprietary project management tools, and by performing key analyses to monitor the progress, economics, and risk associated with the project. During execution, we take a hands-on approach to help select and manage contractors, optimize procurement and supply chain strategies, monitor the overall execution of the project, and drive productivity. All the while, we ensure the client’s objective—delivering this project on time and within budget—remains the top priority.

Contractors, Vendors, and Suppliers. Construction projects are inherently complicated. To deliver a project according to an owner’s often-changing requirements is particularly challenging. Other factors, such as shortages of experienced project staff, remoteness and complexity of projects, and deteriorating labor conditions (loss of productivity) can add to the challenge. With owners increasingly pushing to transfer project delivery risks to the contractor, decades-old practices of delivering engineering and construction services are no longer sufficient to ensure profitability and owner satisfaction. Drawing on our experience, we find that applying Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule principles with Earn Value Management (EVM) at every stage of a project can result in significantly higher margins, and improved client loyalty and trust. To ensure long-term success, we focus on building the client’s skills throughout every stage of the project in a sustainable way.

We address schedule disputes at their inception. We understand how to manage initial project discord to secure interim construction productivity while seeking the final resolution of complicated specifications and contract issues in regards to CPM scheduling. After an issue has been identified, we assist clients with schedule assessments and develop a strategic completion analysis to achieve goals in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Our as-built schedule delay-causation analyses typically compares planned versus actual construction performance on a chronological and cumulative basis, measuring the impact of critical schedule delays in the work on a project at various points in time. Through the use of qualitative and quantitative tools, such as data analyses and benchmarks, management interviews, field observations, and expert assessments, we pinpoint the project status and access the project gaps and improvement opportunities. We present our findings in detailed reports that include supporting documents, exhibits and graphics.

Subject-Matter Expert Testimony

Our solutions combine advanced technology, proprietary data, and deep subject-matter expertise to deliver impact to our clients quicker than ever—and sustain it for the long-term. Our consultants work in many roles to solve our client’s toughest issues, whether as a trusted advisor or a hands-on coach. They integrate problem solving, industry and functional expertise, and proprietary tools and capabilities to create change and lasting impact. We bring the latest analytical techniques plus a deep understanding of industry dynamics and corporate functions to help clients create the most value from data. Our research colleagues work alongside our consultants and clients to generate new insights and proprietary knowledge through information gathering, data analysis, and topical expertise.

When a potential dispute arises, we consider the commercial aspects of the situation to help clients determine whether to negotiate a settlement or escalate the dispute. If pursuing a settlement is the best way forward, we represent clients in negotiating an optimum outcome. Our team supports clients facing false-claim investigations, schedule delay claims, disruption disputes, and complex high-stakes litigation. We support our corporate clients and their legal counsel with access to accountants, financial analysts, planners and schedulers, corporate auditors, economists, and statisticians, of whom are grounded in deep industry experience. Working closely with counsel, we have actively participated in document acquisition and organization; preparation and answering of technical interrogatories; development of deposition questions for fact witnesses and experts on the opposing side; and attendance at the depositions of both fact and expert witnesses depositions, and in mediation and arbitration proceedings. Our extensive global network comprises experts with decades of industry experience, strategic consultant practitioners, and formal collaboration agreements with leading law firms.