Construction projects represent investments at risk for Owners and Contractors, who invest massive amounts of money and resources. Although some investors resort to evaluations (e.g., appraisals by mortgage investors), to gain a level of confidence in the outcome, validation processes are not a common practice in construction. There are many advantages in engaging Owners and Contractors in performing a reasonable, rational, and feasible independent Validation of the work plan and planned schedule, as well as periodic Audits of the performance achieved. Planning and scheduling practices have become more complex as they have matured and can produce a greater degree of management and control, but they are vulnerable to incorrect procedures, illogical logic, abuse, misuse, and outright manipulation. Schedule Validation and Audit can be used to minimize the impact of conflicts by detecting issues and anticipating problems. Reasons for implementing Schedule Validation and Audits, benefits, methodology, deliverables, and steps towards a standard practice and procedure are presented herein.
