The construction contract is the instrument that attempts to assign responsibility for each project risk. Those risks, which are not expressly assigned to the owner or contractor, fall into the category of shared risks. Shared risks are most often where contractors and owners find they have a dispute on the extent of their responsibility. The AACE International Recommended Practice for Forensic Schedule Analysis is called upon to provide a proper process in the analysis of a contractor's delay claim with an impact to the critical path. This paper finds that many owners do not require realistic baseline schedules be submitted for the owner's approval. When the contract language causes the contractor to submit a baseline schedule that is unrealistic, its use in the recommended forensic process is seriously impacted. If the contractor is not required to maintain a contemporaneous schedule, the forensic analysis may be dealt a death blow. Both owners and contractors need to understand the risks they share when contract language does not require realistic and executable schedules.
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