Construction claims are most likely to occur in construction projects. They play a significant role in the progress of the project. Dealing the claims with wisdom and intellect is very important to minimize the number of disputes and conflicts.
Construction claims stop the project’s progress, which will result in many problems in the future. Experts are now in the field to help the contractors and the clients to deal with construction claims.
Different construction claims types you need to avoid
The construction claims have various types; below are some of the most common types of claims that you might face in the construction industry.
1. Delay claims
Delay claims come from the client or owner’s side. When the contractors fail to complete the construction project on the given time; and deviates from the terms about time constraints listed in the contract. The owner or the client makes delay claims asking for the reason behind the delay and how this delay will affect the cost of the project.
Both the contractor and the client ask for a delay expert’s help to resolve such disputes and conflicts.
2. Budget claims
There are possibilities that the project will cost more amount than the amount that was mentioned in the contract by the contractor. There may be several reasons due to which a project will exceed its budget limit. Budget claims ask for justification on the budget usage with proper documentation that may contain the product pricing and other material costs necessary for the project. For Heavy-lifting job there is need for a solid piece of reliable equipment to get the job done and purchasing heavy machinery like a crane may not be worth it because it will surely increase your budget, that is why you can take them on rent from a crane rental agency, that will ultimately save money, time and worries.
3. Defects claims
Defect claims are from the client side when completing the project fails to satisfy the client in terms of quality. The defect claims may occur due to cracks in the walls, pipe leakages, poor construction material usage, design and other failures. The contractor must keep the quality of the products and material used in the construction project in mind. Low-quality material may be cheap, but they are not long-lasting.
4. Injury claims
Injury claims have two scenarios. One is the injuries that occur to the workers or the people due to the negligence of safety measures and not following the precautionary measures.
The second is when the constructed building provides harm to the residents of the building. Falling or tripping of the building because of poor-quality material harms the people inside and near the building premises.
5. Payment claims
More often, the client delays the payments to the contractors, resulting in disputes and conflicts. If the client fails to pay the full amount to the contractors after successfully completing the project, payment claims are more likely to occur.
6. Extra workload claims
When the client deviates from the contract terms that describe the contractors’ work and worker’s work claims occur. The client may add more workload after starting the project and keep changing the objectives. This client’s behavior will make the workers stop the progress of the work until the claims are not justified.
What are the tips to avoid construction claims?
It is really important for the construction project’s progress that there should be no claims and conflicts. Below are some of the ways to avoid construction claims.
1). Contract and their understandability
Both the workers and the client need to understand and review the contract terms. Conduct meetings to understand the contract terms, resolve any misunderstandings, to not face any difficulties once you start working on the project.
2). Proper documentation
Do proper documentation of the project and make reports on the product pricing, money spent on the resources, other expenses. Documentation of the project will help both the contractor and the client keep track of the project with proofs and shreds of evidence. Proper documentation will help to face any allegations and will minimize the number of claims.
3). Communicate
Communicate with the workers and clients. This will help in understanding any problem that is in the path of project completion and progress.
4). Clear objectives and goals
The clients must clarify their objectives regarding the project. And the contractor must understand what the client’s demands and objectives are. Once you have a better understanding of the goals and the purpose, start the project to avoid any claim issues.
5). Complete work ahead of the completion date
To avoid claim issues, contractors must work ahead of the project completion date that is given to the client. Because natural factors are not in human control, resulting in project delay, always stay one step ahead to avoid delay claims.
6). Check and improve
To avoid claims like defect claims, the contractor must look at the work progress from time to time and do the quality check. If there is an issue, try to resolve it immediately, don’t leave it to deal with later. You cannot fix the defects in foundations once you are done with building the project. Keep consulting construction claim consultants in Dubai to know how to avoid delays in the future and deal with any project delays.
