Fractional retainer
A senior scheduler on your team, a few days a month.
Monthly updates, narratives, look-aheads, and owner meetings — without carrying a full-time salary. The most common structure for GCs running two to five projects.
Services
Three disciplines, one integrated practice.
Most schedulers do one of these well. RCK does all three — because schedules without controls drift, baselines without analysis can't defend a claim, and project management without either is just optimism.
01 — Planning & Scheduling
Defensible CPM schedules, built and maintained by a senior planner.
From contractually required baselines to working schedules your superintendents will actually use. Every schedule comes with documented logic, a basis-of-schedule narrative, and a planner who can explain it to your owner.
- Baseline schedule development (Primavera P6 / MS Project)
- Cost- and resource-loaded schedules for pay applications and cash-flow forecasting
- Critical path, near-critical, and float analysis
- Look-ahead schedules and pull plans for field teams
- Monthly schedule updates with narrative, variance, and trend reporting
- Independent schedule review for owners and lenders
Typical scopes
- Contract-required baseline for a new award
- Monthly update and narrative cadence for the life of the project
- Rebuilding a schedule that no longer reflects the field
- Recovery schedule after a delay event
- Schedule specification review during bid or buyout
02 — Project Controls
Cost, schedule, and risk in one reporting layer.
Know where the project actually stands — not at month-end, after the surprise has already cost you. RCK sets up the controls system, runs the cadence, and delivers reporting your executives will read.
- Earned Value Management (EVM): CPI, SPI, EAC, and forecast-to-complete
- Risk register development and quantitative schedule risk analysis
- Budget and cost controls, commitments, and cash-flow forecasting
- Executive dashboards and reporting (Power BI, Smartsheet, or your platform)
- Change and variance tracking tied back to the schedule
- Cost estimating and quantity take-offs to support budgets and change orders
Typical scopes
- Standing up controls on a project that has outgrown its spreadsheet
- Owner-side controls and reporting for a program or portfolio
- Monthly EVM and forecast package for lenders or boards
- Risk workshop and register ahead of a major phase
03 — Delay & Claims Analysis
Forensic schedule analysis that holds up.
Time Impact Analyses, fragnets, and what-if modeling prepared to AACE and industry-recognized standards — whether you are pursuing entitlement, defending against a claim, or trying to recover the schedule before it becomes one.
- Time Impact Analysis (TIA) for change orders and delay events
- Fragnet development and what-if modeling
- Windows analysis and as-planned vs. as-built
- Concurrent delay, float ownership, and acceleration analysis
- Schedule recovery strategy and re-sequencing
- Expert support for claim preparation, negotiation, and mediation
Typical scopes
- TIA package supporting a time-extension request
- Independent review of a contractor's delay claim
- Rebuilding an as-built schedule from daily reports and records
- Recovery plan to protect a substantial-completion date
Engagement models
Fractional, full-time, or one-off — scaled to what the project needs.
Every engagement is senior-led by the same person from kickoff to closeout. Choose the structure that fits your project, and change it as the project changes.
Embedded / full-time
Dedicated planning and controls for a major project.
On-site or hybrid for the duration of a large or complex job: baseline, controls setup, reporting cadence, and claims-ready documentation throughout.
One-off scope
A defined deliverable with a fixed fee.
A baseline, a TIA, a recovery plan, an independent schedule review, or an estimate — priced up front, delivered on a date.
Common questions
Straight answers before the first call.
Do you work remotely or on site?
Both. Baselines, updates, and analysis are typically produced remotely with regular site visits and owner meetings in person. Embedded engagements on larger projects can be on site or hybrid. RCK is based in Greater Los Angeles and supports projects nationwide.
Which scheduling software do you use?
Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project for CPM schedules, with Smartsheet, Excel, and Power BI for controls and reporting. If your contract specifies a platform, that is the platform the schedule is built in.
How quickly can you turn around a baseline?
It depends on scope and how complete the documents are. On the first call we will look at your contract's schedule specification and give you a realistic date — and a fixed fee for it.
Can you support a claim that is already in progress?
Yes. RCK prepares Time Impact Analyses and forensic delay analyses for contractors, subcontractors, and owners, and supports counsel and claims consultants through negotiation and mediation.
Is RCK certified for public work?
RCK Consulting is DBE/SBE certified, which supports participation goals on public and agency-funded projects. Ask about current certifications and registrations for your agency.
Not sure which scope you need?
Send over the contract's schedule specification or a summary of the problem. We'll tell you what it takes and what it costs.