Hamed Arabzadeh, PMP, PSP
Principal Consultant
SERVICES GROUP
LOCATION
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Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
How does investigating delay analysis differ from schedule analysis, and what unique evidence or challenges does each present?
Schedule analysis focuses on the plan and how it was performed, while investigative delay analysis goes further by examining what actually happened in reality and why. Investigative delay analysis emphasizes on contemporaneous evidence such as daily reports, RFIs, weather reports, photos, witness accounts, meeting minutes, progress reports, and various other project records to prove causation.
As someone who trains others in your discipline, what’s the most common mistake you see less experienced investigators make in construction dispute?
The biggest mistake is treating the critical path of a project as if it were static. The critical path is never static as it can, and will, shift when sequencing, constraints, and actual progress evolves. The analysis that locks onto a single as-planned schedule tends to miss how the controlling work changed over time. That alone can undermine the entire delay analysis conclusions.
Construction delay disputes hinge on causation and documentation — what’s the most common gap you find in project records that weakens one side’s case?
The most common gap is that schedule updates often don’t reflect the reality of the project. Instead of accurately recording and documenting progress, they may be used to support a preferred narrative or obscure emerging issues. When the schedule no longer mirrors actual progress and the realistic path to completion, causation becomes hard to determine and delays hard to quantify.
Background
Mr. Hamed Arabzadeh holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Construction Project Management. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) with over 15 years of experience in construction, project controls, forensic scheduling, construction claims, and dispute resolution.
As a Principal Consultant, Mr. Arabzadeh specializes in the analysis of complex construction claims involving schedule delays, disruption, productivity loss, and cost overruns. He develops objective, evidence-based analyses to establish causation, entitlement, and quantum for owners, contractors, insurers, construction managers, and legal counsel on major public and private projects.
Mr. Arabzadeh has extensive experience performing forensic schedule analyses using industry-recognized methodologies consistent with AACE International Recommended Practices, including Time Impact Analysis (TIA), Contemporaneous Period Analysis (CPA), Half-Step Analysis, As-Planned vs. As-Built, and Collapsed As-Built Analysis. He also provides project controls, claims avoidance, risk management, and dispute resolution consulting and regularly supports litigation, arbitration, mediation, and expert witness engagements through technical analyses, schedule evaluations, and project documentation review.
Prior to joining his current role, Mr. Arabzadeh served as a Schedule Analyst with an international project management and construction claims consultancy, where he developed expertise in forensic scheduling, CPM schedule analysis, and project controls for large-scale construction projects. Mr. Arabzadeh is a published author and conference speaker with AACE International, where he has contributed technical publications and presentations on construction claims, project controls, and forensic schedule analysis. He is recognized for delivering clear, technically sound, and defensible analyses that support the successful resolution of complex construction disputes.
Education and Certifications
- Construction Project Management, M.Sc. (2015)
- Civil Engineering, B.Sc. (2012)
- Certified AACE International Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP)
- Certified PMI Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Certified Construction Management in Training (CMIT)
Publications
- AACE International, Claims and Dispute Resolution Technical Paper, CDR-4675 “Enhancing As-Built Data Reliability for Forensic Delay Analyses”.
- AACE International, Claims and Dispute Resolution Technical Paper, CDR-3491 “Determining Time Extensions for Quantity Overruns in Unit-Price Contracts”.