Firms told to stay out of trouble

The construction industry needs to avoid entering into unnecessary disputes, with 600 construction-related wrangles running at the current time.

That is the opinion of commercial and contract management construction consultant Blake Newport in response to a recent survey by Pinsent Masons, which revealed that more than half of UK construction firms have faced the threat of court action in the past 12 months (CJ 17 January).

Greg Brownlee, managing director at Blake Newport, said: "While the survey focused on the threat of litigation for employment or health and safety issues, construction is a notoriously dispute-minded industry.

"On average, there are approximately 600 construction related disputes concurrent at any one time, including arbitration, adjudication, and litigation. But companies are failing to consider the impact of this upon time, cost, and moreover reputation."

Brownlee added that with the majority of industry disputes centring around time and cost issues, quantity surveyors can often offer a more cost-effective and appropriate course of action in resolving disputes.

"The problem is all too often an avoidable one, and yet we are still falling into the age-old trap of failing to understand our contractual requirements," he added.

[Contract Journal, 7th Feburary 2007, p 4]