The best way to avoid any problem is to get ahead of it — not to anticipate it, but rather identify it. Such foresight can be a remarkable asset when your organization is dealing with considerable construction projects. As any business can attest to, the management of any construction project, be it a straightforward building project for a small clinic or a massive commercial development on reclaimed land, can be open to possible disputes that lead to claims and, most likely, litigation.
Both parties involved in the project will be affected. The client may well be exposed to liabilities and suffer project delays while the contractor could experience profit loss. To steer clear of such costly delays to any project, most businesses will need to obtain a claims analysis service from an expert in the industry.
This type of analysis might best serve a project when it is undertaken in the form of periodic reviews, which can identify factors that might delay a project, allowing for immediate resolutions to be formulated. Performing a sound analysis to determine the client or contractor’s exposure to potential liabilities may be averted, or at the very least, create well thought-out strategies to address them.
In the event of a claim being lodged, the claims analyses expert will need to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. This requires looking through a factual record, which means implementing an efficient fact-finding process in order to secure evidence — from getting documentary records by doing an electronic search of significant email correspondences to obtaining first-hand knowledge by visiting the jobsite.
It should be realistic to assume that with the scale of certain construction and even engineering projects, the relevant documents may just take up an entire room or two. A claims analyst would save a lot of time and energy by focusing on documents that have been identified by the project staff and those that have been referred to in other documents, as these might just turn out to be critical evidence that have been overlooked.
Aside from factual record, analysing the claim will also entail knowledge and comprehension of governing laws, the contract language and obligations, and relevant local trade practices.
Disputes. Accidents. Negligence. Certain situations can prove to be very problematic for both parties involved in any project. And the resulting impacts can put the project on hold and cause financial losses for both sides. While there are problems that prove to be unavoidable, the expertise and resources of a claims analyst can help businesses conquer or cope with the effects of submitted claims.
