Robert C. Gardner, Jr.
Principal Consultant
Get to know the expert
Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
What kinds of cases or matters do you most often work on, and what makes you the right person to handle them?
I specialize in Aerospace and Defense, Construction, and Business Insurance contract advisory and dispute matters in both the public and private sectors. My more than 36 years of experience working with clients ranging from subcontractors, prime contractors, the government (“owner”) as well as for both policyholders and insurers / reinsurers on a variety of fixed-price and cost-plus contract arrangements provides me with a multitude of perspectives that I believe is unique.
Why do I believe Rimkus is such an advantageous choice for clients needing quantum and delay services on large and complex projects with contract disputes involving numerous technical issues, schedule delays, lost productivity, and cost overruns?
We have schedule and delay analysis experts and as-needed forensic engineering experts under the same roof.
What questions should clients be asking when they’re vetting an expert in your field — and what answers should they be looking for?
Clients need an expert that has in-depth experience relevant to the dispute’s facts and circumstances, e.g.: on-point industry / projects along with contract type, and issues involved, e.g. much of my experience has involved: delay, changed work, business interruptions, lost productivity, terminations, untimely / defective buyer-furnished equipment / information, customer-caused interference, misinterpretation of specs, etc. on state-of-the-art aerospace & defense and construction projects.
How does one assess, quantify and accurately apportion lost productivity when there is no measured mile baseline and most importantly, both parties in the contract dispute are simultaneously responsible for issues contributing to the reduction in as-planned productivity?
One first must establish a baseline for as-planned productivity e.g. typically found in budget documentation as well as the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) – actual cost of work performed (ACWP) reported in the earned value management system (EVMS). In my opinion, the loss can only be objectively measured and apportioned accurately by conducting Time and Motion Studies of actual Production time at various stages of Production. Rimkus Human Factors experts specialize in such studies.
Background
Mr. Robert Gardner has more than 35 years of experience in government contracts, business insurance, and construction contracting. His experience, in both the public and private sectors, providing contract advisory expertise pertaining to contract and subcontract management and administration, project management and commercial oversight, change management and negotiation, contract compliance and performance reviews, incurred-cost audits, as well as contract disputes, claims, and business insurance matters in the aerospace and defense and construction industries at the federal, state, and local levels is extensive.
Mr. Gardner often assists in developing requests for equitable adjustment (REAs) and affirmative claims as well as in analyzing and assisting in the defense of claims pertaining to delay and disruption, acceleration, changed work, business interruption and various insurance losses, loss of efficiency, terminations, untimely-delivered and/or defective buyer-furnished equipment and buyer-furnished information, customer-caused interference, misinterpretation of specifications, and other cost and schedule growth issues.
Much of Mr. Gardner’s work has pertained to directed and/or constructive changes to a contract’s Statement of Work and/or Specification and the resultant cost and schedule growth typically experienced with developmental designs and the advancement of state-of-the-art technologies as they evolve and mature, leading to high engineering design change activity concurrent with production and construction.
Mr. Gardner has in-depth experience performing contract performance audits comparing contractually required and as-planned metrics to those metrics as actually performed, contract compliance reviews and incurred-cost audits in collaboratively determining whether costs incurred under a contract were “allowable” (i.e., per the Federal Acquisition Regulations, are documented, allocable, reasonable, properly charged and consistent with the contract’s and/or insurance policy’s terms and conditions).
Mr. Gardner has worked extensively with numerous project control systems and scheduling programs and methodologies, cost and schedule control systems criteria and earned value management (EVM) systems, cost accounting systems, and cost estimating models to analyze cost and schedule performance data. He has worked for public agencies in performing incurred-cost and estimate-to-complete reviews, as well as in recovering contracted and internal costs, resulting from forensic investigations into evidence of pre-procurement authorization, adherence to proper procurement standards, contract management and oversight, and invoice review and payment controls.
Mr. Gardner has worked for subcontractors, prime contractors, the government (owner), as well as for both policyholders and insurers and reinsurers on a variety of fixed-price and cost-plus contract arrangements related to engineering, procurement, construction, and construction management; full-scale engineering and development; production; refurbishment; modernization; and leader-follower programs.
Mr. Gardner’s forensic analysis of actual cost, productivity, and schedule performance metrics in comparison with “as-planned” contractual terms and conditions generally requires working extensively with the majority of a client’s functional organizations such as estimating, budgeting, proposals, contracts, subcontracts, procurement, long lead materials, engineering, project controls, EVMS, planning, scheduling, manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, production, testing, quality, finance, program office, and legal in analyzing correspondence and performance data and determining the root causes responsible for cost and schedule growth.
Education and Certifications
- Aerospace Engineering, B.S.: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (cum laude, 1988)
Publications
- Webinar Co-Presenter, “REAs and Pricing to Avoid False Claim Allegations,” September 4, 2020.
- Co-Author, “The Owner Wants to Audit Us…What Next?” ABA Forum on Construction, 2016 Mid-Winter Meeting, January 2016.