Course Catalogue.

PART 1 - Does Partnering Help?

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize what project partnering is and what it is not.
• Understand the characteristics, drivers, phases, and essential elements for successful partnering in construction projects.
• Identify the obstacles and potential downsides of partnering.
• Be aware of the costs associated with partnering on average projects.
• Learn about the benefits of successful project partnering through case studies.
• Discover “best in class” partnering results.

Description
Project partnering is one of the most effective construction project delivery tools employed to deliver successful projects -- projects that complete on time, in budget, safely, with the specified quality, and have no outstanding disputes at the end of the job. Construction Managers are frequently the leaders in convincing owners to adopt project partnering and must be involved in the entire process if partnering is to be successful.

This webinar provides the results of a study concerning the cost and the success of project partnering with respect to minimizing construction disputes. The webinar identifies the characteristics, drivers, phases, and elements of successful partnering. The obstacles to and potential downsides of successful partnering are discussed along with the benefits realized from successful project partnering. The webinar identifies and discusses eight cases studies across the country to discover whether partnering reduces disputes and illustrate the "best in class" partnering results.

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Short History of Partnering
• What Are the Characteristics of Partnering?
• Drivers of Partnering Implementation
• Phases of the Partnering Process
• Elements of Success
• Obstacle to Partnering
• Collaborative Attributes of Partnering
• Potential Downsides of Partnering
• Benefits of Partnering
• Case Studies
• Best in Class Partnering Results
• Conclusion

PART 2 - Planning, Design and Bidding

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• Understand what owners, designers, and construction managers can do during the planning phase to avoid claims and mitigate disputes.
• Identify actions that owners and their project teams can plan for to help avoid or mitigate claims during the construction phase.
• Explore strategies for the owner's team to avoid claims during the project's bidding phase.
• Review actions bidders can take to mitigate claims during construction and avoid disputes.

Description
Project owners, design professionals, construction managers, and contractors frequently ask for recommendations on how to avoid disputes on future construction projects. They acknowledge that there is no such thing as a "claim-free" project but are seeking ways to close out projects without resorting to arbitration or litigation at the end. This webinar is based on interviews with experienced practitioners in the construction industry.

This webinar factors in their experience, observations, and thinking. It will address the issues of claims mitigation and dispute avoidance issues during a project's planning, design and bidding phases. These three phases all too often lay the groundwork for future claims, claims that do not manifest themselves until construction is underway.

This webinar discusses actions that owners, designers and construction managers can take to help avoid claims during construction or, should they arise, resolve them on the project site and not in arbitration or litigation. This webinar identifies 9 actions owner project teams can take during the planning phase to help avoid claims during construction. The webinar continues with 28 actions owner teams can take during design to mitigate the potential for claims during construction.

The third portion of the webinar identifies 6 actions owners can take and 6 actions bidders can take to avoid later claims.

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Claims Recognition, Mitigation and Dispute Avoidance
  • The Planning Phase
  • The Design Phase
  • The Bidding Phase
  • Conclusion
• Questions

PART 3 - Construction and Claims Management

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• Examine what owners and contractors can do during the project kickoff phase to reduce claims and disputes going forward.
• Be exposed to how owners and contactors can establish project management and contract administration systems and procedures designed to mitigate claims and disputes.
• Explore how the cost, change, and time management systems can aid in reducing the potential for claims and disputes.
• Review how contract risk management procedures on the part of the owner and the contractor can mitigate claims and disputes.
• Consider ways contractors and owners can avoid turning claims into disputes during the claims phase of the project, thus increasing the likelihood of resolving claims on the project.

Description
Project owners, design professionals, construction managers and contractors frequently ask for recommendations on how to avoid disputes on future construction projects. Everyone in the industry acknowledges that there is no such thing as a “claim-free” project but are seeking ways to close out projects without resorting to arbitration or litigation at project completion. This webinar is based on interviews with experienced practitioners in the construction industry.

This webinar incorporates their experience, observations and thinking. The webinar will address claims mitigation and dispute avoidance during a project's construction and claim phases. These two phases typically overlap each other as claims start any time after the Notice to Proceed is issued and even before physical construction starts.

This webinar treats the claim phase of a project separately, not because it takes place at a different point in time, but because the activities involved in preparing, submitting, receiving, reviewing and resolving claims are entirely different from those activities concerning management, construction, and delivery of a project. While the activities in the claim phase overlap and are concurrent with the construction phase activities, they are not the same and, thus are treated separately.

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Claims Recognition, Mitigation and Dispute Avoidance
• The Construction Phase – Owners and Contractors
  • Project Kickoff
  • Project Management and Contract Administration
  • Cost Management
  • Change Management
  • Risk Management
  • Time Management and Scheduling
• The Claims Phase – Owners and Contractors
• Conclusion

PART 4 - Resolution of Construction Disputes With ADR

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• Utilize five pre-dispute resolution methods, including escrow bid documents, authority delegation, dispute resolution ladders, geotechnical design summary reports, and project partnering to reduce claims.
• Implement dispute resolution techniques during the initial claims phase, such as Initial Decision Makers, Standing Neutrals, early neutral evaluations, owner review boards, Dispute Resolution Boards, and adjudication methods.
• Apply advanced ADR techniques beyond mediation, including mini-trials, summary jury trials, and private judging.
• Understand the principles and variations of arbitration.
• Recognize ADR techniques available during litigation, including voluntary settlement conferences, special masters, court-appointed experts, judges pro tem, and trial by reference.

Description
Construction industry disputes are common, and the amounts in dispute are frequently quite high. Such disputes are often complex, making it difficult to present issues clearly to non-technical triers of fact.

Until the late 1980s, the traditional dispute resolution process involved negotiations, possibly mediation, and followed by either arbitration or litigation. While the construction industry is not considered progressive or forward-thinking, with respect to dispute resolution, the industry has developed a number of alternative means of resolving disputes. Numerous ADR techniques have been developed and implemented, all with the end goal of resolving disputes without resorting to traditional, lengthy, and expensive litigation.

This webinar discusses nearly thirty forms of ADR that are being used in the construction industry. While some are merely variations of a theme, all are different, and all have advantages and disadvantages that should be considered prior to selection. The various forms of ADR are presented in logical order following a dispute from the project site to the adjudicative forum.

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Pre-Dispute Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
• Initial Claims and Dispute Phase
• Alternative Dispute Resolution Before Boards of Contract Appeals and Court of Federal Claims
• Alternatives During Litigation
• Conclusion

Who Should Attend

• Owners
• Design professionals
• Construction managers
• Contractors
• Subcontractors
• Construction attorneys