06/03/2023
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Conflicts seem to be very common in construction projects and giving the impressions of problems which include increasing project cost, project delays, reduce productivity, loss of profit or damage in business relationships. A conflict refers to controversy, unacceptable behavior or misunderstanding. In the construction industry conflicts originate from behavioral problems, contractual problems and technical problems. These problems have become a widespread feature of the construction industry, if these are not resolved quickly, they can worsen causing delays in schedule which results to claims that needs lawsuit measures to resolve them, loss of money and time. Therefore it is very important to manage them for better and efficient completion of the projects.
SOURCES OF CONFLICTS IN CONSTRUCTION
Contractual problems- participation of different parties in a project is governed by a contract which defines the exchange of construction materials and services for money. A contract is a promise or the set of promises for the breach of which the law gives a remedy or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty. Contractual disputes include definition, interpretation and clarification of the contract. In project operation, standard contract documents are guided by industry organization, codes and regulations. Owners, contractors, designers, and everyone involved in construction readily recognize and are quick to admit publicly the very obvious fact that a perfect set of contract documents simply does not exist. All drawings in the contract documents somewhere have mechanical drafting errors or lack a needed dimension or detail. Many have errors which stem from the human nature of the designer and draftsman.
Not only are human errors, but changes always occurring as projects undergo the design and construction process. There are changes in space usage to accommodate revised owner’s needs, something unforeseen occurs, the documents and work scopes must be adjusted. The more complex the project, the more complications a change has. The shorter the period allowed for design, the more provisions that are required, and the more the opportunity for errors. No one man may know or remember every place a certain detail was shown. The larger the project, the more the people, the drawings, the thoughts, and the ideas consequently, the larger the project the more errors they are. Document errors become the fault of the owner when they cost the contractor un-bid or unforeseeable amount of money.
Technical problems-technical disputes due to uncertainty are considered as the most common issues in project operations. Uncertainty is the difference between the amount of information required to do the task and the amount of information already processed by the company or contractor. The amount of information needed depends on the task complexity that is the number of different factors that have to be coordinated or performance requirements such as time or budget constraints.
The amount of information processed depends on the effectiveness of planning that is the collection and interpretation of information before the task, for example carrying out feasibility studies (environmental, economic and legal feasibility). The uncertainty may lead to unrealistic client expectation such as unrealistic contract duration, late instructions or information from architect or engineer, overdesign, inadequate site or soil investigation report, error and incomplete technical specifications.
Contractors like to get the job done and get over with. They fancy themselves builders; claims take long to hold their interest. Disputes arise when the job does not come out well, and too often the reason for this is the failure initially to figure the cost accurate. The failure to count the cost initially is not confined to just the contractor. It applies to the owner who set out unrealistically to build a building, as well as the designer who sets out the design it for less than it will really cost either in design or construction. The hardest part is that the dollar has to be collected after all the delays and difficulties involved in retain age, back charges, punch lists, and the like are resolved. Thus, to the contractor boxed in with retain-age and other cash flow problems there is no room to absorb cost overruns.
Behavioral problems: they include human interaction, personality, cultures and professional background among project team. Construction disputes and confrontations arise because the people involved have needs. From the contractor‘s side the needs are usually money or profit related. The designer has the ideas, his building or design which might be his monument to himself, his reputation, his artistic temperament, his money, his insurance premium, and similar needs.
The owners have needs as well; political careers, corporate careers, the need to have the space for a certain day. When something unanticipated or not properly recognized interferes with the fulfilment process, goals and security is put at risk, communications become strained, and strains seem always to be followed by demands, refusals, other more intense strains, hard, then harder positions, and money losses.
WAYS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Negotiation: is one of the most common forms of alternative dispute resolution and most cost effective and most reliable form of dispute resolution. It is a private, voluntary and consensual process whereby parties attempt to resolve their differences personally by agreement. The process can be between two parties or many parties. For example, in terms of time frame when the project was delayed by unforeseen events such as bad weather and complicated site conditions, the owner and the contractor can negotiate and reach to a consensus in terms of payments since the planned budget will be affected.
Litigation: highest levels of misunderstanding among the involved parties (owners, contractors, engineers, architects) can involve a case, controversy, or lawsuit being brought to the court. Conflicts which may be brought to courts usually originate from poor workmanship or poor quality of work done as compared to the inputs which were invested by the owner.
Fraudulence also contributes to case filing in the lawsuits between the owner and the contractor. The contractor can commit funds meant for the development project to his personal use. This may result in total failure to complete the project or poor quality which is not specified in the contract. However, if this method is applied, it can be expensive and time consuming to both parties (owner and contractor).
Therefore, conflict management is important in construction projects because it helps to improve project’s time, quality and cost. Failure to manage them will result in unsuccessful projects which may affect the company reputation as well.
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