NYCSCA H.S. Q472 Project – Scheduling Success and Financial Protection
Project Overview
The NYCSCA H.S. Q472 project involved the construction of a new 6-story school building at 51-30 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY. With a budget of $179 million and a critical completion deadline of April 11, 2025, the project was a high-stakes endeavor for the contractor, Turner Construction Company (TCCO). Early in the project, unforeseen underground obstructions—specifically, boulders—hindered the installation of foundation piles, causing significant delays that threatened the project’s timeline and budget.
Challenges Faced
The underground obstructions delayed the installation of foundation piles, which in turn impacted subsequent critical activities such as underground utilities, grade beams, and structural steel erection. These delays jeopardized the project’s ability to meet its substantial completion date, putting TCCO at risk of liquidated damages. Additionally, the contractor faced the challenge of accelerating work to recover lost time while ensuring the costs of these efforts were justified and approved by NYCSCA.
MDCD Corporation’s Role
MDCD Corporation was engaged to provide expert Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling and delay analysis services. Using Oracle Primavera P6, we developed a detailed baseline schedule and performed regular monthly updates to track progress and identify deviations. When delays occurred, we conducted Time Impact Analyses (TIAs) to assess their effect on the project timeline and determine whether they were excusable.
Time Impact Analysis (TIA) #01: Our analysis revealed that the underground obstructions caused a 57-day excusable delay to the substantial completion date. We also identified 73 days of acceleration efforts by TCCO to mitigate the impact of these delays.
Delay Mitigation: Through precise scheduling, we demonstrated that the delays were beyond TCCO’s control, protecting the contractor from liquidated damages. Our data-driven approach provided clear evidence that the delays were due to unforeseen site conditions, not contractor inefficiencies.
Acceleration and Cost Recovery
To keep the project on track, MDCD Corporation developed a construction schedule recovery plan that included targeted acceleration measures, such as:
Increasing manpower for structural steel erection, reducing activity durations from 4 days to 1 day per area.
Optimizing crew allocation and resequencing work to maximize efficiency.
These acceleration efforts were estimated to cost an additional $2.5 million. Using our detailed scheduling analysis, we prepared a comprehensive justification linking these costs directly to the delay mitigation efforts. This documentation was critical in securing NYCSCA’s approval for the acceleration change orders, ensuring TCCO was compensated for the additional resources deployed.
Results
MDCD Corporation’s expertise in CPM scheduling and delay analysis delivered measurable results for the H.S. Q472 project:
On-Time Completion: Through our recovery scheduling efforts, we achieved a total float of +0, ensuring the project met its original substantial completion date of April 11, 2025.
Avoided Liquidated Damages: By proving the delays were excusable, we protected TCCO from financial penalties.
Secured Compensation: Our analysis justified and secured $2.5 million in acceleration costs, safeguarding the project’s profitability.
These outcomes not only protected TCCO’s interests but also contributed to the successful delivery of a critical infrastructure project for NYCSCA.