How to recover delayed construction projects — eleven playbooks for the team in the room

Steps in order

1. 1Run a current schedule risk analysis and compare P50/P80 completion to the contractual date.
2. 2Refresh the EAC from the bottom up — not by extrapolating the current CPI.
3. 3Map every active variation, claim and pending change against the critical path.
4. 4Score the top ten risks by exposure and current treatment status.
5. 5Issue a one-page diagnosis with three options: accept, mitigate, recover.

Steps in order

1. 1Pull contemporaneous data: schedule updates, EVM, daily diaries, RFI ageing, NCR log.
2. 2Run a 5-Whys session with the people who own the work, not a workshop with senior managers only.
3. 3Plot the top three causes on a fishbone across the standard six categories (people, process, materials, equipment, environment, management).
4. 4Validate causes against data — never trust a root cause that has no supporting record.
5. 5Document the cause map. Recovery actions reference the cause map ID, not a personality.

Steps in order

1. 1Re-run CPM on the current schedule and identify the critical and near-critical (≤ 5 days float) paths.
2. 2List every activity on those paths whose duration could plausibly be reduced.
3. 3For each candidate, model the time saved, cost added, and risk introduced.
4. 4Re-baseline only after the recovery plan is signed by both the contractor and the sponsor.
5. 5Track recovery progress against the recovery baseline, not the original baseline.

Steps in order

1. 1Rank critical-path activities by crash cost per day saved (the time-cost trade-off curve).
2. 2Crash the cheapest activity first; re-run CPM after each round because the critical path can shift.
3. 3Stop when marginal crash cost exceeds marginal benefit, or when the critical path moves to an uncrashable activity.
4. 4Document the new baseline durations and resource assumptions.

Steps in order

1. 1Identify every finish-to-start tie on the critical path and challenge whether it is genuinely mandatory.
2. 2Convert eligible ties to start-to-start or finish-to-finish with calibrated lags.
3. 3Quantify the rework probability and add it to the recovery cost estimate.
4. 4Strengthen interface management between overlapped activities — daily, not weekly.

Steps in order

1. 1List the activities driving the current critical path and ask: is this sequence required, preferred or assumed?
2. 2Sequence-test alternatives in the schedule sandbox before discussing them with the sponsor.
3. 3Update the resource histogram — resequencing without checking resource loading often creates new bottlenecks.
4. 4Communicate the new sequence to subcontractors at least two reporting cycles in advance.

Steps in order

1. 1Build a resource-loaded schedule for the recovery period; identify peaks and shortages by trade.
2. 2Engage subcontractors and labour-hire partners early on the recovery resource curve.
3. 3Pre-clear site logistics: lay-down areas, hoists, crane time, welfare, parking.
4. 4Run a daily resource huddle for the duration of the recovery window.

Steps in order

1. 1Cap planned overtime at a defined number of hours per week per crew.
2. 2Pair overtime with a productivity baseline so the inevitable decay is visible.
3. 3Plan a recovery rest period after the overtime burst — productivity rebound matters.
4. 4Track absenteeism and incident rates daily; both rise with sustained overtime.

Steps in order

1. 1Co-locate planner, project controls, commercial, construction manager and quality lead.
2. 2Visible boards: critical path, top ten risks, milestone tracker, daily KPIs, decision log.
3. 3Two short stand-ups per day: morning (plan) and afternoon (variance and decisions).
4. 4Decision log discipline — every decision recorded with owner, date and review trigger.

Steps in order

1. 1Monday: re-baseline check, top ten risk update, weekly look-ahead approved.
2. 2Tuesday–Thursday: war-room operating rhythm, daily KPI publication.
3. 3Friday: variance review, recovery curve update, sponsor briefing pack issued.
4. 4Friday afternoon: lessons-learned micro-session — three things to keep, three to change.

Steps in order

1. 1Recovery SPI — earned value against the recovery baseline.
2. 2Recovery CPI — actual cost against the recovery budget.
3. 3Critical path float trend — should bottom out then climb.
4. 4Top ten risk score — should fall as treatments mature.
5. 5Open variations + claims value — should plateau or fall, not climb.
6. 6Safety + quality leading indicators — recovery never wins by trading safety.