The Problem
Most schedule health assessments check the wrong things. They focus on superficial metrics like total float distribution and critical path length, while ignoring the structural issues that actually predict project failure.
At Faolan Consulting, we have analysed 817 projects containing over 4.4 million activities using the DCMA 14-point methodology. The results are striking: 62.8% of projects fail the BEI (Baseline Execution Index) check, and 50.3% have open finish issues.
What the DCMA 14-Point Check Actually Reveals
The Defence Contract Management Agency (DCMA) developed a 14-point schedule health assessment that goes beyond surface-level metrics...
The Faolan Approach
Our ScheduleIQ platform automates the full DCMA 14-point assessment and benchmarks your project against 817 real-world projects across 9 sectors.
Key findings from our database:
- Median PAI (Performance Assessment Index): 0.731
- BEI failure rate: 62.8% of 694 projects
- Open finishes failure: 50.3%
- Excellent PAI (>= 0.90): only 11% of projects
The data does not lie. Most projects have fundamental scheduling issues that a basic health check misses entirely.
What You Should Do
- Run a proper DCMA 14-point assessment on your active schedules
- Benchmark against industry data (not just internal standards)
- Focus on leading indicators: BEI, logic density, and constraint usage
- Make schedule health a governance metric, not a compliance checkbox
Morne Beeslaar is the founder of Faolan Consulting, specialising in AI-integrated project controls for mining, energy, and infrastructure projects across Africa and the Middle East.