Common Mistakes Owners and Contractors Make That Cause Claims and Disputes

Why Should You Attend:

When asked about the most common causes of construction claims, owners and contractors will likely cite a lengthy list including changes, delays, site conditions, lost labor productivity, etc. However, a recent global survey of the top five causes of claims found that contract administration issues are the largest cause of claims. The Navigant Construction Forum™ has determined that contract administration issues are not caused solely by one party to the contract but rather are caused by both owners and contractors. This 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 expert presenter will share practical advice on how to avoid such mistakes.

Learning Objectives:

The topics covered in this 90-minute webinar include the legal risk and practical problems that arise:

• Due to the failure to settle delays as they arise
• When RFIs are used to correct errors or redesign the project
• As a result of owners discouraging written notices
• When contractors proceed with changes without written change orders
• When time and cost damages are not tracked separately from base scope time and costs
• When contractors are required to finance owner caused changes

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Owners will learn how to deal with RFIs properly in order to avoid claims.
• Owners will become aware of the risk of giving verbal direction for contractors to proceed with changes without written change orders.
• Owners will understand the risk of waiver when they object to submittal of written notices from contractors.
• Contractors will discover the risk of not tracking time and costs of changes separately.
• Contractors will be aware of the danger of not creating a well thought out baseline schedule and issuing accurate schedule updates.
• Both owners and contractors will be provided with a series of lessons learned designed to help both sides avoid such mistakes.

Who Will Benefit:

• Public and private owners performing capital improvement projects
• Contractors and subcontractors working on such projects
• Legal counsel assisting construction clients
• Design professionals and construction managers involved in both public and private construction contracts

Instructor Profile:

James G. Zack, Jr., CCM, CFCC, FAACE, FFA, FRICS, PMP, is executive director of Navigant Construction Forum™. He was formerly executive director of Corporate Claims Management, Fluor Corporation; vice president, PinnacleOne; and senior construction claims consultant, CH2M HILL, Inc.

For more than 40 years Mr. Zack has worked on both private and public projects. In the construction claims arena, he is a recognized and published expert in mitigation, analysis and resolution or defense of construction claims and disputes. He has worked on claims and disputes throughout the United States and has presented and worked on claims in Canada, Egypt, The People’s Republic of China, Germany, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, The Russian Federation, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Jamaica, Kuwait, South Africa, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Poland, Australia, The Philippines, India, and Trinidad & Tobago.

Mr. Zack has been involved in thousands of claims throughout his career and has been designated as an expert witness in mediation, arbitration and litigation. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering, International (FAACE), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) and a Fellow of Forensic Analysis (FFA) from the International Guild of Project Controls. He is also a member of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). He is a Certified Construction Manager (CCM); a Certified Forensic Claims Consultant (CFCC); and a Project Management Professional (PMP). Mr. Zack is a former President of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering, International (AACE). He is a nationally known author, speaker and trainer concerning the management, mitigation and resolution of construction claims and disputes.

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