The average time taken to resolve construction disputes in North America increased to an average of 17.7 months in 2017, an increase of two months from 2016, according to a report released by Arcadis.
Length of disputes in the region far exceeded the global average, the report says. Globally, the length of time to resolve disputes stood at 14.8 months, a one month increase over 2016.
The average value of North American disputes decreased to US $19M in 2017 from $21M in 2016. Globally, the figure stood at US $43.4M, up from $32.5M in 2016.
“Failure to properly administer the contract” remained the most common cause of construction disputes globally, and “errors and/or omissions in the contract documentation” remained the most common cause in North America. With positive economic drivers and larger and more complex projects anticipated this year, there is a critical need to embrace more sophisticated risk management and claims avoidance techniques, including leveraging digitalization, Arcadis says.
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