Dominique Halloran, MConstrLaw, GradDipPM, BEng (Hons), MIEAust
Head of Expert Services, APAC
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Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
What are the most common causes of delay and cost overruns in renewable energy projects?
We have worked on multiple renewable projects over the last 10 years and have seen the challenges change as the market matures. Connection to the grid was often a major cause of delay but parties have now altered their risk profile and expectations around how quickly an asset can be tested and brought online. The other major causes that commonly arise are site ground conditions, earthworks, road upgrades, land access and permits as well as weather, including bushfire and smoke events.
Your experience spans a range of sectors including infrastructure, energy, mining, high-rise and residential projects across Australia. How do the dispute dynamics and evidentiary challenges differ in this sector compared to others you’ve worked in?
Every project and client is different, which means that we are constantly seeing a set of new facts and issues and deploying our skill set to deal with them – the dispute dynamics and evidence requirements are probably the two things that remain the most constant!
How do you advise clients on how to prepare or deal with a claim for disruption?
We often find that the first sign of disruption is when it starts to cause a major cost over runs. To protect against this, there are a number of key items to document at the outset of the project, such as the budget resource hours and costs for personnel and equipment against activities. The next step is to have a process to accurately track these hours against the work achieved so that any disruption can be found and recorded for the purposes of making or responding to a claim.
What is one piece of advice you find yourself giving clients over and over again?
There is a great deal of debate and misunderstanding regarding contract language and the intersection with delay analysis. Issues such as ‘who owns the float’, ‘concurrent delay’ and whether an ‘approved’ program must be used to prove (or disprove) a delay claim are common queries from clients. We are often providing advice on what these terms mean when conducting a delay analysis and assessing delay claims.
Background
Dominique has more than 25 years of experience in the delivery of infrastructure projects in Australia and overseas, from project planning to handover. She has held roles in project planning, engineering, and project delivery for both government and private organizations.
Dominique has prepared advice and expert reports in relation to delay, delay costs, disruption, and disputed variations for a variety of projects for the purposes of arbitration and litigation. She has demonstrated experience in applying sound planning principles to evaluate and report on issues of project performance and extensions of time.
Dominique has provided expert evidence and advice to clients in either preparing or responding to claims for time and cost. She has also presented at the University of Melbourne’s Master of Construction Law program.
Dominique’s international experience includes her role as Capital Works Project Manager for Veolia Water in Indianapolis. She successfully managed the delivery of projects to meet time and budget requirements and developed capital works plans.
Dominique is a Recommended Expert in Lexology Index’s Construction research. Her peers say she is “an excellent programming expert witness” and has “clear and easily understandable oral and written opinions.”
Education and Certifications
- Construction Law, Master: University of Melbourne (2016)
- Project Management, Graduate Diploma: University of South Australia (2001)
- Chemical Engineering, BEng (Hons): University of Monash (1996)