Andrew McKenna Construction Delay Expert
Executive Director of Delay & Planning
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Construction Project Management, BTEC Level 7 in Delay Analysis
Expertise: Delay Analysis, Project Planning, Claims Management and Project Management
Andrew is a delay expert who has planned it, built it and defended it.
Andrew is a delay expert who started on site. Before he analysed delay for courts and tribunals, he managed it as a site engineer, site manager and planning manager on projects including Melbourne's Regional Rail Link. He has been engaged on 17 construction and infrastructure disputes across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the UK, and has given evidence in arbitration.
20+ years in construction · 17 expert engagements · 5 regions · 8 sectors
Why lawyers engage Andrew
He reads a programme the way a site team builds one. Years as a planning manager and site manager mean he knows where programmes are fragile, which records matter and how a site actually loses time.
His evidence has been tested. Andrew has given evidence in arbitration, including proceedings before the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, and has prepared expert reports in Australian courts, VCAT, arbitration and security of payment adjudication.
He explains delay plainly. Andrew writes weekly on Australian delay case law and method, so tribunals and clients get analysis that is clear, structured and grounded in the record.
From site to the witness box
Andrew began his career in the UK as a site engineer and surveyor on civil, education, health and mixed-use projects in Manchester, Lancaster and Oldham. After moving to Australia he worked as site manager, project manager and planning manager on major Victorian infrastructure, including the Regional Rail Link (20+ occupation stages around Southern Cross Station), the Western Highway upgrade between Burrumbeet and Trawalla, rail corridor shutdowns and a 70-kilometre regional pipeline.
That delivery experience shapes how he works as an expert. He builds his analysis from contemporaneous records, tests it against how the work was really sequenced, and explains it in terms a site team, a lawyer and a tribunal can all follow.
Expert witness experience
| Matter | Forum | Andrew's role |
|---|---|---|
| Luxury residential development, Dubai | Arbitration (DIAC) | Delay expert, gave evidence |
| Hotel development, Dubai | [Arbitration] | Delay expert, gave evidence |
| Major tunnelling project | Arbitration | Delay expert: prolongation, acceleration and COVID-19 costs |
| Renewable energy and solar farm projects | Arbitration | Delay expert |
| Renewable energy joint venture, Queensland | [Litigation / arbitration] | Delay expert |
| Sewer upgrade and energy projects | Security of payment adjudication | Delay expert |
| Commercial subcontract disputes, Victoria | [Court] | Delay expert |
| Demolition dispute, Victoria | VCAT | Delay expert |
| Residential and commercial building disputes, Victoria | [VCAT / court] | Delay expert |
| Gas storage facility | [Forum] | Delay expert |
Engaged by both claimants and respondents.
Experience
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Engaged as an independent expert in 17 construction and infrastructure matters.
Prepared an expert report for adjudication in a subcontractor dispute on a commercial construction project in Victoria.
Prepared an expert response to a Security of Payment Act claim made by the main contractor on a sewer upgrade project in Victoria.
Assessed culpability in a joint venture dispute concerning a renewable energy project in regional Queensland.
Acted as independent expert on a power distribution project in regional Queensland.
Provided independent analysis of prolongation, acceleration and COVID-19-related costs in an arbitration concerning a major tunnelling project, assisting the parties to settle the claims.
Prepared an expert report responding to a Security of Payment Act claim on an Australian energy project; the claim was rejected.
Provided expert assistance in a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal matter concerning the termination of a demolition subcontractor.
Prepared expert reports concerning a university redevelopment in New South Wales; the matter settled before hearing.
Prepared expert opinion and reports in arbitration proceedings concerning an Australian renewable energy project; the matter settled before hearing.
Provided expert opinion in response to a Security of Payment Act claim on an Australian renewable energy project; the claim was rejected.
Provided expert opinions on multiple Victorian building disputes, each of which settled before hearing.
Prepared expert reports and gave testimony concerning a hotel development in Dubai, UAE.
Prepared expert reports and gave testimony concerning a luxury residential development in Dubai under DIAC proceedings.
Appointed as delay expert in an arbitration concerning a solar farm project, conducting delay analysis to determine the true extent of claimed delays.
Engaged as an expert to assess the impact of an inclement weather event on a gas storage facility in an adjudication.
Appointed as delay expert in a Dubai arbitration concerning a major commercial development, providing analysis of the claimed delays.
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Prepared a main contractor extension of time claim for a power distribution project in regional Queensland.
Prepared an as-built programme for a major subcontractor on a tunnelling project in Victoria, and advised on associated delay and cost overrun issues.
Advised a design consultant on delay and entitlement issues arising from a port development in the Northern Territory.
Prepared an expert report on entitlement and as-built delay analysis for an offshore wind farm project in Vietnam.
Worked as part of the Accura expert claims team managing delay claim matters on a rail project in New Zealand, including issues relating to COVID-19, escalation, design problems and site access constraints.
Assessed contractor delay claims relating to COVID-19 on a commercial project in Victoria.
Acted as consultant planning manager on a Victorian road project comprising a 177-metre bridge, four-lane divided highway, bypass, and on- and off-ramps. The role included resource management, earned value management, claim advice and claim preparation.
Prepared an as-built programme and cause-and-effect time impact analysis for a construct-only rural road upgrade in Western Australia involving bulk earthworks, drainage and pavement works.
Prepared an independent expert report for a main contractor in the GCC on a retail project, assessing key package contractors and identifying each party’s contribution to delay.
Assessed a main contractor delay claim on a refinery project in Tasmania.
Prepared a position paper for the employer responding to a main contractor extension of time claim on a power transmission project in Queensland.
Acted as technical expert on a major time and cost claim against an employer on an oil refinery project in Kuwait, addressing unsuitable ground conditions, SMP design changes and force majeure issues. The analysis identified contractor-culpable events, reduced the claimed delay and supported settlement.
Provided a merits review of three subcontractor extension of time claims on a hospital project in Tasmania, covering MEP, fire services and HVAC works. The review assessed causation, concurrency and programme impacts, supporting the main contractor in rebutting claims and reaching settlement.
Advised Transpower New Zealand on planning and the rebuttal of contractor extension of time claims across several high-voltage construction projects.
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Provided planning expertise for several rail corridor shutdowns in Victoria, working with project teams to develop detailed shutdown programmes and identify efficiencies in work procedures.
Provided front-end construction methodology and planning support for an office refurbishment project in Victoria.
Acted as planning manager for a 70-kilometre pipeline project in regional Victoria.
Provided planning and programming services for the delivery of two new stations and a rail line extension in Melbourne’s north.
Worked as planning manager for the main contractor on the Albury Wodonga Cancer Centre in New South Wales.
Worked as planning manager and internal delay expert for a main contractor on the refurbishment of medical and office facilities for the Department of Justice in Victoria.
Acted as site-based planning manager on a major rail yard upgrade in South Australia, including track renewals, signalling upgrades, and significant civil and structural works. The role included shutdown programming, efficiency reviews and subcontractor extension of time matters.
Provided planning, programming and rail infrastructure delivery expertise for new maintenance facilities and services integration to accommodate new rolling stock in Victoria.
Provided project management, delay analysis, extension of time preparation and planning services for more than 20 occupation and enabling stages on the Regional Rail Link project, including the activation of platforms 13 and 14 at Southern Cross Station.
Acted as planning manager on the Western Highway upgrade between Burrumbeet and Trawalla in Victoria, preparing extension of time material relating to latent conditions, delayed design information and weather events.
Worked as site manager on a mixed-use residential and commercial development in Manchester, UK.
Worked as site engineer and surveyor for Vinci on a university development in Lancaster, UK.
Acted as site manager for Mowlem on a medical centre development in Oldham, UK.
Worked as a site engineer on numerous civil contracting projects in the UK.
Recent writing by Andrew
Andrew writes weekly on delay analysis and Australian case law.
FAQs
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A delay expert works out what delayed a project, by how long, and who was responsible. Andrew analyses programmes and project records, identifies the critical delays, and gives an independent opinion to a court, tribunal or adjudicator.
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As early as possible, ideally before pleadings close. Early advice helps shape the claim, identify the records you need and test whether the case is worth running. Andrew can give a short initial view before a formal engagement.
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There is no single required method. Courts look for an analysis that suits the records available and is applied consistently. Andrew uses the method that fits the evidence, commonly a windows or as-planned versus as-built analysis, and explains why it was chosen.
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Yes. Andrew's duty is to the court or tribunal, not the party paying for the report, and he has been engaged on both sides
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Yes. He has given evidence in arbitration in Dubai, including proceedings before the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, and has prepared expert reports for Australian courts, VCAT, arbitration and adjudication.
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Where a matter needs both time and cost, Andrew works alongside Accura's quantum experts, led by Paul McArd, so the delay and cost evidence line up. Each expert's opinion remains independent.
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Meet the rest of our leadership team
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![A man with short dark hair, glasses, and a beard, smiling in front of a light teal background, wearing a white shirt and a dark blazer.]()
Paul McArd
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, LLM Construction Law and Arbitration, Chartered Quantity Surveyor (FRICS) Fellow of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyor (FAIQS), Certified Quantity Surveyor (CQS), Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), Member of the Academy of Experts (MAE), and Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (FCInstCES)
Expertise: Commercial Management, Claims Consulting, Quantum Expert Services, and testified Expert Witness
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![A middle-aged man with a short gray beard and blue eyes, wearing a blue collared shirt against a solid mint green background.]()
Joe Briers
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, Member of AICD
Expertise: Commercial Management, Claims Consulting, Quantum Expert Services
Examining concurrent delay in construction contracts with guidance on delay expert witness evidence, forensic delay analysis and managing concurrent delay disputes in Australia.