07 Conflict Avoidance

Question 1

What is contract dispute?

Answer 1

• Contractual disputes in construction site from arguments, disagreements and finally end up as disputes
• These disputes are like all other disputes between humans
• However, several factors make them different from nature of the other dispute. These factors are the terms of the condition of contracts, the technological complexity, the character of the project and project personnel, the amount of time and money available, the client’s expectations, the environmental factors, the legal basis of the argument and the magnitude of the uncertainty
• Disputes are different than conflicts. Disputes arise when a conflict becomes a confrontation due to pride or ignorance Hughes, Champion and Murdoch

Question 2

What causes conflicts/disputes in construction?

Answer 2

• Errors in the management of contracts
• Failure by an employer or contractor to comply with detailed contractual obligations, e.g. late payment
• Submission of poorly drafted, flawed or unfounded claims
• Contradictory priorities of parties
• Poor communication

Question 3

Effects of disputes

Answer 3

damaged business relationship/loss money/time

Question 4

How to avoid conflicts?

Answer 4

• Good projects management/construction/design/payment practice/effective communication
• Clear contracts docs with balanced allocation of risks
• Partnering and alliancing
• Good client management
• Good constructor management
• Good design team management
• Good payment practice
• Effective communication
• Record keeping
• Regular reporting and proactivity

Question 5

Alternative dispute resolution?

Answer 5

• The complexity of disputes in building and construction has certainly increased the expense and delay in litigation and arbitration
• Alternatively, parties who are in a dispute to reach a conclusion of their dispute without litigation or and arbitration from the concept of ADR with the help of a neutral third person or just the parties alone
• ADR is confidential, faster and cheaper than the traditional court trial, in several countries the uses of ADR helping reduce the case load in the national court systems Bartlett et al (2011,p.23)

Question 6

Spectrum of dispute resolution techniques:

Answer 6

• Negotiation/Mediation and Adjudication:

Question 7

Hierarchy of dispute resolution

Answer 7

• Prevention
• Negotiation
• Standing neutral-dispute review board/dispute review adviser
• Non-binding resolution -mediation, mini trial, adjudication
• Binding resolution-arbitration
• Litigation-Judge

Question 8

what is dispute board

Answer 8

1. dispute review boards make recommendations
2. dispute adjudication boards make a binding decision
3. dispute resolution adviser is a single person dispute board
4. a DB is appointed at the outset of the project. It will comprise three individuals: employers’, contractor’s and they agree to appoint a chairperson
5. the benefit of appointing a DB at the outset of the project is that its members can read some of key documentation, such as contract and they attend the regular meetings on site