appraisal of contractors delay claims.
Receive a Contractor EOT claim. Issue a defensible determination. The forensic back-office your project team doesn't have to hire.
the problem every engineer faces.
the claim arrives 400 pages thick on a Thursday.
Contractually you have a window to determine.
You don't have a forensic delay analyst, a quantum
surveyor, and a contracts lawyer on bench.
your in-house team is built for supervision, not litigation.
Site staff run inspections, RFIs and IRs —
not Time Impact Analyses.
your determination must survive challenge.
A weak determination becomes the employer's
evidence against you.
the employer expects you to defend the answer.
If you over-certify, you carry the professional risk. If you under-certify, the Contractor escalates.
why the appraisal matters
When a Contractor submits a delay claim, the Engineer's response sets the tone for everything that follows. A weak or hastily prepared assessment invites challenge. A thorough one closes the door on dispute before it opens.
CMA's appraisals are built on three pillars: contractual precision, legal authority, and forensic schedule analysis. We don't just react to claims — we dismantle them, validate them, or reshape them into something both parties can accept.
our 3-part appraisal framework
1. time extension — entitlement
Before a single day of extension is considered, entitlement must be established. CMA applies the Conditions of Contract alongside the country’s laws to test every allegation the Contractor makes.
Our entitlement review classifies each allegation into one of three categories:
Admitted — claims supported by contract and fact, accepted on their merits.
Unproven — claims that can neither be confirmed nor refuted on the evidence presented, and which the Contractor must substantiate.
Denied — claims rejected on contractual or legal grounds, accompanied by CMA's reasoned rival explanation for the delay.
The result is a clear, contract-driven position that leaves no ambiguity about where the Employer stands and why.
2. time extension — assessment
Establishing that an event caused delay to a specific activity is not enough. The delay must be shown to affect the completion date of the project as a whole. CMA critically reviews the delay analysis methodology the Contractor has employed — and where it falls short, we conduct our own.
Particular attention is given to concurrentdelays, where Contractor-caused and Employer-caused events overlap. These are among the most contested areas of any claim, and getting the analysis right is essential to a fair and defensible outcome.
3. cost of delay — Quantification
Once causation is established, the question becomes: what did the delay actually cost? CMA's quantification is grounded in a single principle — actual cost incurred at the time the critical delay occurred. We reject the convenient shortcut of averaging daily or weekly costs across the contract duration. Real costs vary, and a credible appraisal reflects that reality.
The result is a quantification the Contractor cannot easily challenge, because it is built on the same evidentiary record they would rely on themselves.
the cma difference
What separates a CMA appraisal from a routine response is the combination of technical rigor and legal grounding. Our assessments are designed to do more than answer a claim — they are designed to withstand challenge, whether across the negotiating table or, if it comes to it, before a tribunal.
When the Contractor receives a CMA appraisal, they understand they are dealing with a position that has been thoroughly reasoned, contractually anchored, and legally defensible. More often than not, that's where the matter ends.
engage cma early
The earlier we are involved, the stronger the Employer's position. Whether you've just received a notice of claim or you're already deep into a contested submission, CMA can help you respond with clarity, authority, and confidence.