Construction Scheduling Consultancy

The schedule,
made clear.

Baseline Development · Schedule Review · Delay Advisory · Claims Support

Owner-side and GC-side CPM expertise that turns complex schedules into clear, defensible insight, from federal courthouses to university campuses.

Baseline rejected?·Update consuming your PM?·Delay forming?
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Peter T. Sheridan, CCM, PSP, JD
Principal Consultant
Scheduling Practice

Clear insight across the project lifecycle.

Practice Overview

Hartwell Consulting provides integrated scheduling, schedule controls, owner-side schedule review, and delay advisory services tailored to federal, higher education, VA, and institutional clients across the project lifecycle.

We combine deep CPM expertise with an owner-side perspective to translate complex schedule information into clear insight, empowering clients to anticipate risk, align teams, and make confident, informed decisions that keep projects moving forward.

Core Scheduling Services

  • Baseline schedule development and review
  • Independent master schedules and milestone frameworks
  • Monthly update analysis and executive reporting
  • Critical path, near-critical, and float analysis
  • Phasing, procurement, and occupied-facility sequencing
  • Time impact analysis and delay advisory
  • Schedule graphics, dashboards, and narratives
15+
Years ExperienceFederal & institutional scheduling
Primavera P6Plus executive reporting
Owner + GC SideDual perspective on every job
Representative Markets

Where the schedule carries the most weight.

Federal

GSA, VA, and courthouse programs held to federal scheduling specifications.

Higher Education

Campus capital programs, housing, and research facilities on occupied campuses.

VA / Institutional

Seismic upgrades, systems renewals, and phased institutional renovations.

K-12

District modernizations sequenced around calendars and live campuses.

Representative Deliverables
Baseline review memoranda Monthly update narratives Independent master schedules Milestone & procurement trackers Recovery evaluations Fragnet / TIA reviews Executive dashboards & graphics
Delay Advisory

When the delay becomes a claim.

Schedules are where entitlement is won or lost. Hartwell reconstructs what actually happened, ties each impact to the contract, and builds analysis clear enough to move a settlement and rigorous enough to survive an opposing expert.

Method

Windows & Time Impact Analysis

Contemporaneous, method-driven analysis, not hindsight storytelling.

Record

As-Planned vs. As-Built

A defensible as-built reconstruction from the project record.

Cause

Causation & Concurrency

Isolating owner, contractor, and excusable delay, including concurrent impacts.

Support

Fragnet & Expert Exhibits

Fragnets, narratives, and graphics built for negotiation, mediation, and court.

0 10 20 30 40 WINDOW 1 WINDOW 2 WINDOW 3 WINDOW 4 +8 CD 0 CD +12 CD +11 CD Cumulative delay (calendar days) Owner-caused Contractor-caused Concurrent
Windows analysis · Sample exhibit · Illustrative data
What You Actually Receive

Deliverables built to be used, not filed.

Every engagement produces documents a project team can act on. Illustrative samples below, real deliverables carry your project's data.

Sample DCMA 14-point schedule health scorecard

Schedule Health Scorecard

Every baseline and update scored against the DCMA 14-point assessment, with each flag explained and a fix identified.

Sample · Illustrative Data
Sample time impact analysis critical path comparison

Delay & Impact Exhibits

As-planned versus as-built comparisons and TIA fragnets that isolate the impact and quantify the days, ready for negotiation.

Sample · Illustrative Data
Sample executive schedule summary dashboard

Executive Schedule Summary

One page that tells a principal what is driving completion, what changed, and what decision is needed, without opening P6.

Sample · Illustrative Data
How Engagements Work

Three ways to bring Hartwell in.

Scoped up front, before anything is billed. Project-based or monthly. No long-term commitment required to start.

01 · One-Time

Independent Schedule Review

A second set of eyes before the schedule goes out, or after it comes back rejected.

  • DCMA 14-point health check with fixes
  • Spec-compliance review (VA / GSA / USACE)
  • Logic, float, and longest-path analysis
  • Written findings memo
Fits: baseline submissions, owner reviews, QC before the claim window closes.
02 · Monthly

Embedded Scheduling Support

Senior-level scheduling capacity without hiring a full-time scheduler.

  • Baseline development or maintenance
  • Monthly updates and variance narratives
  • Executive dashboards and look-aheads
  • Direct support to your PM and super
Fits: overloaded internal schedulers, mid-size GCs, demanding federal specs.
03 · As-Needed

Delay & Claim Support

Analysis rigorous enough to survive an opposing expert, clear enough to move a settlement.

  • Time impact analyses and fragnets
  • As-planned vs. as-built reconstruction
  • Causation and concurrency analysis
  • Recovery schedule development
Fits: contractors, owners, and counsel with time and money on the line.

Not sure which you need? Send the schedule.

Share your XER or PDF and I will give you a 15-minute read on what is actually driving it. No charge, no obligation.

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Selected Experience

Featured Federal Scheduling Assignments

Assignments Peter performed in prior roles, before founding Hartwell Consulting.

Watercolor illustration of a modern federal courthouse

New U.S. Courthouse

  • ClientGSA
  • LocationChattanooga, TN
  • RoleSenior Project Manager / Construction Manager
  • Budget / SizeApprox. $300M · 186,000 SF

Summary. Led project management planning, risk register development, procurement sequencing, design-phase scheduling, and early work package strategy for a complex CM-at-Risk federal courthouse.

Watercolor illustration of a historic courthouse with a modern annex

Charles R. Jonas Federal Courthouse + Annex

  • ClientGSA
  • LocationCharlotte, NC
  • RoleAssistant Project Manager / Project Engineer
  • Budget / Size$165M · 135,000 SF renovation + 198,000 SF annex

Summary. Managed schedule tracking, RFI and submittal workflow, commissioning milestones, and occupied-phasing coordination on a phased courthouse modernization delivered under budget and ahead of schedule.

Watercolor illustration of a mid-century federal building

William Holloway U.S. Courthouse & Post Office

  • ClientGSA
  • LocationOklahoma City, OK
  • RoleConstruction Manager / Scheduler
  • Budget / Size$112M · 458,350 SF

Summary. Created the master schedule, reviewed constructability and phasing, aligned procurement strategy, and supported bid package sequencing and contractor selection.

Watercolor illustration of a land port of entry

U.S. Land Port of Entry

  • ClientGSA
  • LocationMadawaska, ME
  • RoleScheduler / Construction Manager
  • Budget / Size$65M · 83,000 SF

Summary. Performed monthly schedule reviews, maintained an independent master schedule, monitored weather and logistics risk, and evaluated milestone reliability and recovery options.

Selected Experience

Higher Education + Institutional Assignments

Assignments Peter performed in prior roles, before founding Hartwell Consulting.

Watercolor illustration of a college campus building

Gavilan College Capital Program

  • ClientGavilan College
  • LocationGilroy & San Benito, CA
  • RoleProgram Manager / Construction Manager
  • Scale$248M program

Summary. Supported program-level planning, schedule coordination, procurement sequencing, and phased implementation across campus expansion, renovation, the San Benito campus, and the Library & Student Resource Center.

Watercolor illustration of student housing among redwoods

Cal Poly Humboldt New Student Housing

  • ClientCal Poly Humboldt
  • LocationArcata, CA
  • RoleSchedule Controls / Owner Advisor
  • Scale$192M · 964 beds

Summary. Provided owner-side schedule review and controls support, baseline and monthly update analysis, procurement coordination, GMP evaluation support, and commissioning milestone coordination.

Watercolor illustration of a medical center

VA Long Beach Seismic Upgrade Study

  • ClientVA / Leo A Daly
  • LocationLong Beach, CA
  • RoleScheduler
  • ScaleBuildings 1, 2, and 7

Summary. Developed baseline CPM frameworks, phasing concepts by structural option and phase plan, and narratives comparing assumptions, sequencing, and operational constraints.

Watercolor illustration of a historic custom house

U.S. Customs House Chiller / Boiler & Controls Replacement

  • ClientGSA
  • LocationCharleston, SC
  • RoleSenior Project Manager / CMa
  • ScaleMEP systems renewal

Summary. Supported design-phase management, outage planning, MEP coordination, functional testing milestones, and transition into construction for a building systems replacement project.

Additional Scheduling Experience

A deep bench of planning & scheduling work.

Planning + Scheduling Assignments
  • Cal Poly Humboldt Craftsman Student Housing
  • Cal Poly SLO SATRC
  • UCLA CHS B-Level GMP Facility
  • UCLA Powell Library
  • UCLA Public Affairs Seismic Upgrade
  • UCSB Classroom Building
  • UCSD Future College Living and Learning Neighborhood
  • UCSD Viterbi Family Vision Research Center
  • PAUSD El Carmelo ES
  • PAUSD Escondido ES
  • PAUSD Fletcher MS
  • PAUSD GABK
  • PAUSD Palo Verde ES

Adaptive reuse of a historic mill into multifamily housing

Project Manager  |  Buquet & LeBlanc

Strengthened real-world understanding of sequencing, subcontractor coordination, RFIs, change management, and closeout on a complex renovation.

Ground-up and renovation multifamily projects

Superintendent  |  Connelly Builders

Built practical field knowledge in production sequencing, inspections, schedule tracking, and hands-on MEP coordination through punch and closeout.

Clear schedules. Practical advice. Defensible analysis.

Baseline reviews Monthly update narratives Master schedules Recovery evaluations TIA / fragnet exhibits Executive dashboards
Insights

Straight answers on scheduling.

Short, practical reads from the desk of Peter T. Sheridan. No fluff, no sales copy.

Federal Scheduling

Why Federal Baselines Get Rejected

The recurring failures behind rejected CPM baselines on GSA, VA, and USACE work, and how to submit one that passes the first time.

Read the article → Schedule Quality

The DCMA Checks That Actually Matter

All 14 points are not created equal. The handful that predict real schedule failure, and the ones that are mostly noise.

Read the article → Delay Analysis

TIA vs. Windows Analysis

Two defensible methods, two very different jobs. How to pick the right delay methodology for your claim before you spend the money.

Read the article →
Common Questions

Before you reach out.

How fast can you turn a schedule review?
A standard health check and findings memo typically turns in 3 to 5 business days from receiving the XER. Compressed submittal deadlines are common on federal work; if you are up against one, say so and we will scope to the date.
How does pricing work?
Project-based for reviews and delay analyses, monthly for embedded scheduling support. Every engagement is scoped in writing before anything is billed, so you know the number before you commit.
Can you work in our P6 environment and templates?
Yes. Work can be done in your P6 instance, to your layouts, activity codes, and WBS conventions, or delivered as XER files ready to import. Deliverables match whatever format your owner requires.
We already have schedulers. Where do you fit?
Most capable contractors do. Hartwell is not a replacement for your team; it is surge capacity and a specialist's eye, an independent QC pass before a submission, a recovery schedule when the team is heads-down building, or a TIA prepared while your scheduler keeps the update cycle running.
Do you support disputes and litigation?
Yes. Forensic schedule analysis, chronologies, TIAs, and exhibits prepared for negotiation, mediation, and litigation support, with the documentation discipline those settings demand. Hartwell is a scheduling consultancy, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice.
What do you need from us to start?
Usually just the current XER (or the baseline and latest update), the scheduling specification, and a short conversation with whoever owns the schedule. For delay work, add the relevant notices and the monthly narratives if they exist.
Peter T. Sheridan, Founder of Hartwell Consulting
Meet the Founder

Built in the field. Fluent in P6. Grounded in the contract.

Peter T. Sheridan · CCM, PSP, JD · Founder & Principal

Most project teams are not short on schedule data. They are short on schedule insight. A P6 file can carry thousands of activities and still not answer the questions that decide a job: what is driving completion, what changed this month, and what happens if this issue is not resolved.

Peter T. Sheridan founded Hartwell Consulting to close that gap. His career was built on federal and institutional construction, developing and reviewing CPM schedules from both the contractor's and the owner's side of the table, on courthouses, healthcare, and higher-education work held to some of the most demanding scheduling specifications in the industry.

Hartwell is the specialist a team calls when the specification is strict, the schedule is complex, or the project starts to slip: senior-level analysis and a straight answer, without the overhead of a national consulting firm.

B.S.
Construction Science & Management
Clemson University
J.D.
Juris Doctor
Multiple CALI Awards
CCM
Certified Construction Manager
CMAA
PSP
Planning & Scheduling Professional
AACE International
A Different Perspective on Scheduling

Four disciplines, read into one schedule.

01

Construction Knowledge

Time in the field and in project management. He reads a schedule for how the work actually gets built, not just whether it clears a metric.

02

CPM & Project Controls

Baselines, updates, recovery schedules, float and longest-path analysis. P6 is the tool; construction logic is the expertise.

03

Contract & Legal Analysis

A law degree brings discipline in causation, entitlement, notice, and the contemporaneous record: the difference between spotting delay and proving it.

04

Clear Communication

Narratives, dashboards, and graphics that turn a thousand-activity schedule into the few things a team actually needs to decide.

“

The best schedule is not the one with the most activities. It is the one that explains how the project will be built, shows what drives completion, and gives the team enough warning to act before a problem becomes a delay.

Experience Across
FederalCourthousesHealthcareHigher EducationMajor RenovationsComplex Capital Programs
Peter's professional experience, developed across his career prior to founding Hartwell, spans programs for the GSA, Department of Veterans Affairs, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and schedules built to strict federal CPM specifications.

Have a schedule you want another set of eyes on?

Discuss a Project
Free Schedule Read

Send the schedule. Get a straight answer.

Share your XER or PDF and what is worrying you. You will get a 15-minute read on what is actually driving the project, no charge, no obligation, no sales pitch.

Talk to Peter directly.

Every engagement is handled by the person doing the analysis. No layers, no runaround, no unnecessary bureaucracy.

peter@hartwellscheduling.com
Peter T. Sheridan, CCM, PSP, JDFounder & Principal Consultant
Replies within one business day.
Prefer email? peter@hartwellscheduling.com