Project Management & Planning FAQs

A project management consultant provides senior, independent expertise to plan, deliver, control and recover construction projects. On NEC, JCT and IChemE projects this includes programme development, contract administration, compensation event management, commercial forecasting and project controls. Projjex is engaged by contractors and clients across the UK water and infrastructure sectors to lead delivery, recover distressed schemes and protect time and cost on projects from £3m to £170m+.

Forensic planning is the structured analysis of a construction programme to establish how, when and why delay occurred and who is responsible. It underpins extension of time and prolongation claims. Recognised methodologies include time impact analysis, baseline versus impacted comparison, as-built versus as-planned, and windows analysis. The right method depends on the available records, the contract and the nature of the dispute. Projjex prepares forensic delay analysis that demonstrates cause and effect and stands up to scrutiny.

Programme recovery is the turnaround of a distressed or delayed project. It typically involves analysing the true current position, rebuilding the programme to a state the client will accept, realigning the critical path, developing an acceleration strategy and re-establishing commercial control. Projjex has rebuilt distressed programmes and recovered 12+ months of delay on major water sector projects, securing client acceptance of revised completion dates.

A compensation event is the NEC mechanism for adjusting the contract price and completion date when an event occurs that is not the contractor's fault - such as a change to the Scope, late access, or unforeseen physical conditions. The contractor must notify within strict time-bars, then submit a quotation based on defined cost plus the programme impact. Compensation events are the only route to additional time and money under NEC, which is why their proper management is essential. Projjex has implemented over £4.6m of compensation events.

Under NEC, a contractor must notify a compensation event within a defined period of becoming aware of it - eight weeks under the standard provisions. If notification is not made in time, entitlement to additional time and money for that event can be lost entirely, regardless of merit. Missed notifications are one of the most common and avoidable ways entitlement is lost on NEC projects. Projjex builds the discipline and systems, including CEMAR administration, that catch and notify events in time.

Projjex works across NEC3 and NEC4 - on both main contracts and subcontracts, as well as Professional Services and Term Service Contracts. We understand the distinct commercial mechanics of priced, target and cost-based arrangements, from activity schedule procedures to defined cost and disallowed cost assessment.

IChemE contracts are the standard forms used across water treatment and infrastructure projects. Water treatment schemes often combine NEC civil works with IChemE elements, and Projjex understands how the two forms interact, where risk transfers and how to administer each correctly.

Yes. Projjex prepares and substantiates extension of time, prolongation and quantum claims, built on robust forensic planning and defined cost evidence. We prepare time and money together - the delay analysis that establishes entitlement to time and the quantum analysis that converts it into recoverable cost. This integrated approach has delivered multi-million pound extension of time claims across the water sector. Andy Keast is ACIArb-qualified.

Yes. Projjex provides construction planning and programming support for specialist subcontractors across the UK - building tender and baseline programmes in Primavera P6 or Asta Powerproject, maintaining progress updates, preparing NEC clause 31/32 compliant programmes for acceptance, and producing delay and extension of time programmes when entitlement needs to be demonstrated. Many subcontractors cannot justify a full-time planner; Projjex gives you senior planning expertise on a flexible, project-by-project basis.

Yes - in two ways. Ordo, our programme assurance tool at ordo.projjex.co.uk, gives you an instant DCMA 14-point and CIOB PP21 review of any P6, Asta or Excel programme, with every finding evidenced to activity level. For higher-stakes situations, Projjex provides a senior planner's manual review - interrogating the logic, critical path, float and constraints of a contractor's or subcontractor's programme before you accept it, rely on it, or build a commercial position on it.

Yes. Projjex develops tender programmes, baseline programmes and target programmes for main contractors and subcontractors - logic-linked, resourced where required, aligned to NEC clause 31 requirements and CIOB Planning Protocol 2021 good practice, and built to withstand scrutiny at acceptance and beyond. A properly constructed baseline is the foundation of every compensation event, delay claim and extension of time that follows.

A construction planner builds and maintains programmes to deliver a project - tender, baseline and progress programmes, look-aheads and reporting. A forensic planner analyses programmes retrospectively to establish what caused delay, when, and who is responsible - using methodologies such as time impact analysis and windows analysis to support extension of time and prolongation claims. Projjex provides both: delivery planning to keep projects on track, and forensic planning when time is disputed.

CEMAR (Compensation Event Management and Resolution) is a contract management platform widely used to administer NEC contracts, particularly across the UK water sector. It is the system of record for NEC communications and compensation events, enforcing the contract's timescales and creating an audit trail. Projjex implements and administers CEMAR rigorously so the contract runs as intended and the record protects our clients.

Projjex is based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands and works on projects across the UK. We have delivered and recovered schemes for clients including United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, Highways England and the States of Jersey, with strong motorway access to projects nationwide.

Both. Projjex can be engaged for a specific issue - a programme rebuild, a compensation event strategy, a delay analysis - or on a retained basis providing ongoing senior project and commercial management. Engagements are structured around what the project needs, with a clear scope and fee agreed in advance. Contact us for a tailored proposal.

Projjex can usually carry out an initial assessment of a distressed or delayed project quickly, and the earlier the involvement the more time and cost can typically be recovered. Delay compounds, entitlement erodes through missed notifications, and positions harden - so early engagement gives the best chance of a controlled, commercially sound outcome. Email Projjex for a confidential discussion.