Dispute resolution in construction
This article is all about Dispute resolution in construction.
Stravelles run a course in Adjudication which aims to allow the student to run their own adjudication as the referring or responding party without paying for legal representation.
We support legal representation in more complex cases but we want to encourage especially smaller companies to feel more confident fighting for their contractual rights.
What's in this Article ?
Introduction to Dispute resolution in construction
Disputes are normal in construction projects. Disputes arise due to the occurrence of issues or events during the course of the construction project.
In this article we are going to take a look at the most common issues and events that crop up in construction. We have an article on this here.
And we are going to look at the underlying causes of these issues and events. We have an article on this here.
A list of ways to resolve disputes is also in this article. We have an article on this here.
Why are there disputes in construction ?
Its not that difficult to understand why there are so many disputes in construction. A standard construction project involves a complex series of relationships between many separate stakeholders including:
- The Client
- Clients consultants
- The Main contractor
- Sub-contractor
- Suppliers
- Local planning authority
- Local health and safety authority
- Unions
- The public
With so many interested stakeholders in a construction project of course there will be conflicting interests and opinions.
Also, construction projects tend to last several months at least so there is more time for issues to crop up.
Finally, there are always several unknowns in construction especially in relation to what is in the ground to be excavated. For example, a brownfield or greenfield site could have any sort of secrets including ancient burial grounds, junked asbestos, bad soil conditions and so on. A Client can commission lots of investigative surveys to minimise this risk but there will still be a baseline risk. This risk leads to issues and events cropping up leading to disputes.
What are the most common issues and events that crop up in construction ?
Most issues and events in construction that lead to disputes revolve around the time, cost and quality.
We have an article on this here.
What are the underlying causes of these issues and events?
There are many underlying causes of issues and events in construction. Mostly it comes down to lack of planning and lack of competence.
We have an article on this here.
What is the best way to resolve disputes?
Disputes should be resolved using negotiation first as it cheap and quick.
If a dispute cannot be resolved using negotiation then try the following: