TRAINING.

Overview

PART 1 - Overview of Construction Claims and Disputes

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

• Anticipate and manage changes in construction contracts to minimize claims and disputes.
• Analyze construction claims with a focus on entitlement, causation, and damages.
• Effectively present, analyze, and resolve construction claims, avoiding costly project delays.
• Apply strategies to prevent disputes from escalating through early resolution techniques.
• Assess the financial and operational impacts of claims to make informed project decisions.

Description
This 2-hour webinar discusses the 11 basic types of construction claims included in most standard contracts used throughout the U.S. – AIA, ConsensusDOCS, EJCDC, etc.

This webinar outlines the entitlement and causation elements of each type of claim that the claimant must demonstrate in order to justify their right to prevail. This webinar highlights the following types of construction claims – claims for directed changes; constructive changes, differing site conditions; directed suspensions of work, constructive suspensions, force majeure events, delays; accelerations, constructive accelerations; terminations for convenience; and terminations for default. The webinar also identifies several types of owner claims against contractors. The elements of the burden of proof required of all claimants are presented.

The basic requirements concerning damages are covered. A discussion of claims under various project delivery methods and a summary of an accepted claims preparation and analysis methodology are included in this webinar. This webinar will conclude with an outline of various dispute resolution methodologies.

Course Outline

• Introduction to Construction Claims
• Contractor Claims vs Owners
• Owner Claims vs Contractors
• Burden of Proof
• Damages
• Claims and Project Delivery Methods
• Claims Preparation and Analysis
• Dispute Resolution Methods
• Questions

PART 2 - Common Mistakes Owners and Contractors Make That Cause Claims

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

• Properly handle RFIs, identify issues with design errors, and prevent claims.
• Recognize and manage the risks of giving verbal directions and failing to settle delays promptly.
• Understand the importance of obtaining written change orders and tracking the time and costs of changes separately.
• Create and maintain a well-thought-out baseline schedule with accurate updates to avoid disputes.
• Learn from lessons designed for both owners and contractors to avoid common project mistakes.

Description
When asked about the most common causes of construction claims, owners and contractors typically provide a lengthy list including changes, delays, differing site conditions, lost labor productivity, etc. However, recent global surveys of the top five causes of claims found that contract administration issues are the largest cause of claims.

These surveys document that contract administration issues are not caused solely by one party to the contract but rather are caused by both owners and contractors. The webinar identifies the top ten mistakes owners make that cause claims, as well as the top ten contractor mistakes that give rise to disputes.

With each, the presenter will share practical advice on how to avoid such mistakes.

PART 3 - Reducing Construction Claims Proactively

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

• Implement upfront dispute resolution planning during the design, bidding, and construction phases to prevent disputes at the end of the project.
• Conduct comprehensive reviews of contract documents, including scheduling specifications and payment for changes articles.
• Reduce claims based on large numbers of RFIs through effective document management and preemptive strategies.
• Pre-purchase owner-caused delay and lock in daily delay costs at the time of bidding to minimize disputes.
• Utilize techniques to predict and manage weather impacts on the project to avoid delays and related claims.
• Resolve issues proactively during the project to avoid arbitration or litigation, ensuring smoother project completion.

Description
Construction projects are fertile breeding grounds for construction claims and disputes – unless everything on the project proceeds exactly as planned.

To avoid all claims, there must be no changes, no delays, no shortage of qualified craft labour, no late delivery of equipment and materials, no bad weather, etc. It is highly unlikely that anyone has ever built this project in history. However, claims (requests for additional time or money under the provisions of the contract) do not have to result in disputes. Disputes arise when contractors and owners cannot resolve claims by negotiation and turn unresolved issues over to attorneys to resolve them in the legal arena. This webinar is designed to show owners and their representatives how disputes can be avoided at the end of the project through upfront dispute resolution planning during the design, bidding, and construction phases of a project.

The webinar discusses four types of reviews that should be applied to contract documents: the need for a comprehensive scheduling specification and payment for changes article; how to reduce claims based on large numbers of RFIs; how to pre-purchase owner-caused delay and lock in daily delay costs at the time of bidding; how to predict the weather for the project, and other techniques designed to precludes disputes at the end of the project by resolving issues without going to arbitration or litigation. 

Course Outline

• Introduction
• Purpose of webinar
• Claims mitigation during the design and bid phases
• Claims mitigation during the construction phase
• Claims mitigation during the construction phase
• How to avoid disputes – owner's perspective
• Conclusion

PART 4 - Pricing Contractor Delay Costs

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

• Assess the recoverability of extended field office overhead costs during compensable project delays.
• Utilize various methods for calculating field office overhead, including actual cost, total cost, and jury verdict approaches.
• Recognize which costs should be excluded from a contractor's overhead submissions.
• Implement contract terms that clearly outline methods for managing delay damages and avoiding disputes.
• Address the defense of a contractor's obligation to mitigate damages effectively.

Description
When contractors encounter owner-caused (excusable/compensable) delays they are typically entitled under the contract to recover both the time resulting from the delay as well as delay damages.

Idled equipment/labour and material escalation costs are fairly easily calculated in such situations. Typically, contractors also seek to recover their delay costs (extended field office overhead or general conditions costs). Calculating this cost is more complex than dealing with delayed direct costs. There are, at least, eight methods of calculating extended field office overhead costs.

None of the calculations arrive at the same daily delay cost. This webinar discusses all eight methods – offering commentary on the strong and weak points of each. The paper also offers recommendations on how project owners can resolve this dilemma in advance of delays, thus making the issue less contentious should a contractor encounter an owner-caused delay.

Course Outline

• Types of Delay
• What Are Delay Costs?
• What Are Extended General Conditions Costs?
• How Are Extended General Conditions Costs Calculated?
• Other Issues Related to Extended General Conditions

Who Should Attend

• General contractors and their project managers
• Project owners and their representatives
• Design professionals
• Construction managers
• Construction attorneys

This webinar is designed for construction project owners, contractors, project managers, and contract administrators who are involved in the management and execution of construction projects. It is particularly beneficial for professionals seeking to minimize disputes and claims by improving their understanding of contract administration. Legal advisors, consultants, and other stakeholders who deal with construction contracts, RFIs, change orders, and project scheduling will also find this course highly valuable. The content is tailored to those who want to learn best practices for avoiding common mistakes that lead to construction claims and disputes.

Please note: You can check other time zones here.

Instructor

Jim is the Principal, James Zack Consulting, LLC and Senior Advisor, Ankura Construction Forum™. The Forum strives to be the construction industry’s resource for thought leadership and best practices on avoidance and resolution of construction project disputes globally.

Formerly he was the Executive Director of the Navigant Construction Forum™ and earlier, the Executive Director, Corporate Claims Management Group, Fluor Corporation, one of the world’s largest EPCM contractors. Mr. Zack was previously Vice President of PinnacleOne and the Executive Director of the PinnacleOne Institute and a Senior Construction Claims Consultant for CH2M HILL, Inc.

Mr. Zack has, for more than 53 years, worked on both private and public projects throughout the U.S. and in 39 countries abroad. Mr. Zack is a Fellow of AACE, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Guild of Project Controls and Society of Construction Claims Specialists International. 

In the construction claims field, he is a recognized and published expert in mitigation, analysis and resolution or defense of construction claims and disputes. 

Mr. Zack is a Certified Construction Manager (CCM), a Certified Forensic Claims Consultant (CFCC), an Expert Certified Construction Claims Specialist (ECCCS), an Expert Certified Construction Delay Analyst (ECCDA) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).