How to Prepare Effective Construction Claims

“Preparing and making a successful claim depends on the collection of facts and the supporting evidence to prove the delay and the costs incurred.”

The Construction Industry is widely associated with risks.

These risks often give rise to claims.

An increase in both the number and the value of the claims is observed throughout the global markets.

Frequently, those claims lead to disputes.

And, mostly the main causes of expensive and time consuming disputes are the poorly expressed claims.

A well-prepared claim presentation helps all the involved parties in resolution of the issues in early stages, before going to arbitration and litigation, which are expensive and time consuming.

And, a well-prepared and presented claim has an essential role in the economic success of the project.

Without presenting the claim in a professional manner with sufficient details, including the facts and the supporting evidence, calculations and causations, it will not be easy for both parties to reach an agreement in an early stage.

In this document; you will find the key issues and the steps to be followed while preparing effective Construction Claims.

1   Executive Summary

In this section, a summary of the claim is provided.

2   Table of Contents

In this section, an index of general topics regarding the claim is provided.

3   Introduction

In this section, information such as;

➤ What works to be constructed,

➤ Parties of the contract and their advisers,

➤ The main reasons of the claim preparation,

are provided.

4   Contractual Framework

In this section, the Contractual Basis of the Claim is described. The clauses of the contract that entitle the contractor to make a claim are identified.

5   Actual Conditions and Impacts

In this section, the changes in the original conditions and the impacts of these changes are described in detail.

6   Contractual / Legal Entitlement

➤ In this section, the right of the Contractor for receiving a time extension or recovering additional compensation under the contract or law is identified.

➤ This section should meet the procedural requirements such as; notice, timely presentation of the claim, updating CPM, time impact analysis and others.

7  Quantification of Claim

➤ In this section, the cost or delay that is experienced due to the additional work should be valued.

➤ And, all the evaluations, analyses, methods and assumptions regarding the evaluation must be transparent and clearly explained.

8   Formal Statement of Claim

In this section, the formal request should be presented.

9   Appendix

➤ Evaluation Reports and Schedules with Supporting Figures

➤ Contract Programmes

1. Original Programme

2. Updated Programme

➤ Cost Information

1. Calculations, Quantities

2. Schedules

➤ Monthly Progress Reports, Meeting Minutes

➤ Legal Briefs

➤ Photographs

1. Progress Photos

2. Event Specific Photos

➤ Relevant Drawings

➤ Technical Assessments

➤ Engineering Calculations

➤ Lists of the Relevant Notices Given

➤ Geotechnical Report

➤ Requests for Information (RFIs)/ Technical Queries

➤ Detailed Estimates

➤ Delay Analysis and the Methods Used

This information is provided for your convenience and does not constitute any “Legal Advice”. This document is prepared for the general information of the interested persons. This should not be acted upon in any specific situation without appropriate legal advice.

This information may not be reproduced or translated without the prior written permission of eayglobal.com

For further information please contact eay@eayglobal.com