Sequencing and Operational Variations of Standard Claim and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms

Construction contract conditions play a critical role in the administration and resolution of claims and disputes. In practice, such relevant conditions, including those of the widely adopted standard conditions, are found to offer a variety of multistep mechanisms that can be prompted for that purpose. The objective of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of the various claim and dispute administration and resolution steps stipulated under these standard conditions. The analysis is specifically concerned with the investigation of (1) the steps stipulated under each set, (2) the sequence with which these steps can be triggered, and (3) the resulting spectrum of the steps’ operational variations that exist across all the examined mechanisms. The methodology involved examining the claim and dispute resolution provisions, developing the claim and dispute progression timelines, extracting the detailed factors governing the operations of each stage within the discussed timelines, and designing matrices that illustrate the operational variations at each stage. The work findings revealed the full continuum of the multiple steps—and their sequence—that contributes to the construction of an all-encompassing mechanism. Such a holistic mechanism, along with the deduced differing operational variations for each of its steps, can guide project owners in custom tailoring the preferred claim and disputes tracking and resolution mechanisms.