Claims Consulting & Dispute Resolution

In a claim or dispute situation, every project is unique, requiring specifically tailored consulting services to ensure a cost effective and efficient resolution. Whether working with a construction attorney, surety, contractor or owner, Plani  will make certain that our planned approach is in accordance with your needs. We make communication a priority, and will touch base with you regularly to ensure that you always know where we are in both progress and budget. We have never failed to complete an assignment within the agreed budget, and our pledge to you is that we will make your job easier with us than without us.

Having a top-notch consultant on your team gives you a tremendous advantage for success. The Plani construction claims group consists of a team of experts who have contributed to the successful resolution of complex disputes throughout the country. We are well recognized for our expertise in all aspects of claim & dispute resolution, including:

• Entitlement analysis & quantification
• Damage analysis & quantification
• Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) Claim Analysis
• Analysis of Design Errors and/or Omissions
• Document & e-document database retrieval & management
• Labor productivity analysis
• Facilitated negotiations
• Expert Report Preparation
• Trial ready graphics & demonstrative evidence
• Mediation/Arbitration/Litigation support

In addition to the above, our team can assist you in drafting answers to technical interrogatories, analyzing depositions, determining facts necessary to challenge opposing expert testimony, and delivering expert reports which establish the requisite cause-and-effect relationships. Our experience and technical proficiency in the area of CPM scheduling is unsurpassed, and leads to the clear and concise unraveling of concurrency issues to effectively demonstrate each party’s entitlement to damages.

The Plani team is experienced in providing expert testimony through its highly qualified professional staff, and through its extensive network of construction industry contacts. Expert witnesses are selected with both the individual qualifications and the presentation skills that will meet the needs of your counsel.

CPM Scheduling & Delay Analysis

Time is money and lost time equates to lost profits. Whether it be for a small contractor or the largest owner/developer, our seamless integration of expert scheduling and claims analysis techniques will maximize your chance for success, and limit your exposure when you find yourself involved in that inevitable unforeseen condition.

You will work with Nautilus schedulers and claims analysts that have been certified as experts in their field, bringing a level of credibility to your project that is unsurpassed. We will perform at a level of proficiency and efficiency that makes us the most cost effective source of scheduling expertise available in the industry today.

Properly managed, a well developed schedule will minimize the potential for claims, while providing a mechanism for speedy resolution should they arise. A poorly managed schedule is analogous to a time bomb that may or may not explode. By tracking time, resources, and costs, we can help you to know exactly where the project stands at any given point in time and address change orders and delays before they become unmanageable.

We are expert at all of the popular construction scheduling software systems in use today, including Primavera P3, P6, Suretrak and Microsoft Project. Let Nautilus help you ensure that you have done everything possible to protect your interests.

• Master Planning Strategy
• CPM schedule development and/or review
• 4D Scheduling
• Schedule monitoring & updating
• Preparation of recovery schedules
• Evaluation of schedule impacts
• Prepare or review of time extension requests
• Cash flow reporting
• Payment requisitions

Litigation Support

Data discovery and management is one of the most critical aspects of successful dispute resolution. Whether it is for mediation, arbitration or litigation, Nautilus is fully experienced and ready to utilize state-of-the-art litigation support software to build the case. When properly implemented, this software can lead to an expert report and demonstrative presentations that are almost impossible for the opposing counsel to overcome. The Nautilus team has the requisite knowledge and experience to deliver this type of service, on-time and within budget.

Our staff has extensive experience in document and e-document discovery and database management, having worked on many disputes throughout the country, some with hundreds of thousands of documents. We can work with the attorney, providing mobile access to all case information enabling the attorney/consultant team to work from virtually anywhere, at anytime. We can manage the effort from cradle to grave, including document identification, scanning, database set-up and maintenance, issue coding, issue analysis, expert report and expert testimony. Our team has provided this service time and time again on projects of varying size and complexity.

Surety Consulting

There can be a number of reasons why work on a construction project is troubled to the point where the surety must become involved. If there is a work stoppage due to default or dispute, it is essential that the project be evaluated and, if necessary reorganized, as quickly as possible. If there has not yet been a default, the circumstances of the project may merit monitoring. When the surety becomes aware of any of these situations, the diversity of the Plani team can be invaluable in the recognition and avoidance of problems before they occur, and quickly resolving claims when they do occur to protect the interests of the surety and minimize financial loss.

We work closely with the surety’s claims team and its legal counsel throughout the process, and offer a broad range of services beginning with the initial case analysis or project assessment through litigation support. We will move quickly to assess and evaluate the options available to the surety, including the identification and factual case development of possible surety defenses. The menu of services that we can offer to a troubled project scenario includes the following:

• Cost to complete estimates
• Completion schedule development
• Payment bond claim analysis
• Change order analysis & negotiation
• Earned value analysis
• Reconciliation of project funds
• Ratification of subcontractor agreements
• Assist in procurement of replacement contractor(s)
• Project monitoring
• Affirmative claim preparation & review
• Expert witness testimony
• Litigation support

The Plani team is comprised of consultants having active project skills – some of which include cost estimating, project management, CPM scheduling, cost accounting and cost control, project start-up, and project closeout. This enables us to provide real practical construction talent to your troubled project, the result of which will be the mitigation of damage to the surety.

Cost Estimating

It is well documented within the construction industry that poor cost estimating and scheduling are two of the root causes of project failure. The interrelationship between time and money is always of major importance to both the owner and contractor. Plani specializes in construction and engineering cost estimating. Our cost estimates provide our clients with detailed quantity takeoffs and pricing from the conception phase through project closeout.

With its team of Certified Cost Engineers and Consultants, Plani is equipped to prepare estimates and/or verify proposed construction costs at various stages throughout the construction process. This enables us to assists our clients in the following areas:

• Conceptual Project Budget
• Construction Bid Estimates
• Cost Impact due to Design Errors & Omissions
• Project Labor Agreement Due Diligence Studies
• Contract Cost Review
• Value Engineering Cost Estimates
• Life Cycle Costing
• Change Order Evaluations
• Project Closeout Costs
• Claims Pricing and Evaluation

During the construction period, Plani can interface with the project team on change order negotiations and management. This can be of particular value to an owner in that Plani can provide independent verification that the costs being proposed by the contractor or its subcontractors are reasonable, as well as confirm that the intended scope of the change order is complete and meets our clients’ expectations.

The timely negotiation and resolution of change orders, both with regard to time and money, is one of the best and most cost effective ways of ensuring that you minimize your chance of related claims down the road. Let Plani help you ensure that you have done everything possible to protect your interests and achieve project success.

Project Advisory Services

Plani provides full-scope project advisory services for all phases of a project including the oversight responsibility for multiple projects, independent management of large company construction programs, complex multi-phased expansions, and complex multi-phased renovations.

We provide project advisory services on projects that use a variety of project delivery methods. Initially, Plani prefers to assist clients in choosing the appropriate delivery method for a defined project. Next, Plani will work with the client to better define the advisory services to be provided. Whatever the project delivery method, whether expedited or not, Plani will play an important role in delivering the project successfully through the application of proven techniques.

Plani approaches a project with the attitude that: to get our job done efficiently, effectively, and timely we need the cooperation of all the project parties, yet we understand that to get that cooperation, Plani must provide both the leadership and set the example.

During the design phase, we seek to work side-by-side with the architects and engineers providing supplemental input on:

• Constructibility and Value Engineering
• Site Logistics
• Project Procedures
• Project Labor Agreement Due Diligence Studies
• Scheduling & Cost Estimating
• Bid Packaging
• Contractor Selection

During the construction phase, Plani also offers a full compliment of construction phase services:

•  CPM Scheduling
•  Estimating & Cost Control
•  Document Control
•  Progress Reporting
•  Change Order Evaluation
•  Project Risk Management
•  Troubled Project Turnaround

Property Loss & Builders Risk Insurance Claims

Nautilus provides technical assistance to Property Owners, Insurers, and Attorneys for Property Loss and Builders Risk claims resulting from events such as adverse weather and/or fire.  Our experience includes virtually every building type including residential, commercial, hospitality, educational, industrial, institutional, high-rise, infrastructure, energy and special/unique structures.  Our staff has extensive experience in property damage assessment, preparation of loss scope, estimating the cost of repair/reconstruction, and planning & CPM scheduling of the work.  Many of our senior experts have testified in arbitration and trial to support our findings.

• Loss Assessment & Scopes of Work
• Pre-existing Conditions Identification and Estimates
• Repair Cost Estimates and Cost Negotiations
• Construction CPM Scheduling and Delay Impact Analysis
• Analysis of Construction Acceleration vs Cost of Business Interruption
• Construction Oversight & Project Monitoring
• Litigation Support and Expert Testimony