Category Archives: Construction Law

For the best infrastructure in the nation.  Wait, what? CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business ranked Indiana’s infrastructure as No. 1 in the country. The rankings were put together using data from the Census Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The condition of each state’s roads, bridges, railways, waterways and ports, airports and other utilities were considered, along with how much of the country’s population is within a day’s drive of the state.  Four major interstates criss-cross the Crossroads of America. Kentucky was ranked No. 2, just ahead of No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 Ohio.  Tennessee and Georgia tied for No. 5. The data indicated that Indiana’s bridges are in good condition (just 6.2% in poor condition).  That combined with Ohio River and Lake Michigan ports earned big point in the rankings. And in news that may surprise some Indianapolis drivers, just 9.4% of roads were listed as in unacceptable condition. Our first thought is if Indiana’s infrastructure is the best in the country, we’d like to see the worst.  They are, in order: Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine and Alaska. CNBC rankings of overall business climate ranked Indiana No. 11 nationwide, with good rankings across the board but room for improvement in quality of life.

According to the 2018 Global Construction Disputes Report, which found that contractual errors and omissions, poor contract administration and contractual misunderstandings are the leading causes of conflict. The report further found that such disputes take, on average, 18 months to resolve — an increase over 2016. Read the full article here

No. 1 Cause of Construction Disputes?   The survey says: Errors and Omissions in contract documentation, due in part to poor design management Poor contract administration Owner/Contractor/Subcontractor failure to understand their contract E&O in contract documentation was the most common cause of disputes in North America for the fourth year running.  The annual survey by Arcadis, the multi-billion global dollar consulting firm, documented their findings in a recent report:  “Global Construction Disputes Report 2018”. The most common methods to resolve disputes were: Party to Party Negotiation Mediation Arbitration The average time to resolve a dispute took nearly18 months, an increase over 2016.  The good news is that early resolution techniques, including mediation, resulted in an 82% success rate before trial. The lesson is that early communication with the project team, including your claim professionals and attorneys, can successfully resolve disputes without the need for trial. Arcadis’ complete report can be found here

Nope, not Superman or Supergirl, just a drone. And there are more at work with architect and engineering firms, according to a recent study by Blue Research  http://go.skyward.io/rs/902-SIU-382/images/2018%20State%20of%20Drones.pdf Bottom line:  35% of large construction and engineering firms now use drones.  They save time, money and capture more information.  One big obstacle is getting employees to embrace the new technology.  The other is the red tape and “overly stringent” regulations of the FAA. Compliance with ever-changing laws and regulations, both local and Federal, can be a challenge.  Your attorney can be a good resource to control the risk of violating these regulations and help you keep your drones flying.  Saving time and money, and being your own Superhero.

According to Arcadis, the average construction dispute that ends up in mediation or arbitration takes 14 months to resolve at an average value of $21 million.  The source of these disputes most commonly involves errors and omissions and unsubstantiated claims. Building Information Management (BIM) models are transforming how buildings are designed and constructed. This recent report indicated that BIM (Building Information Management) had been used more and more to avoid the time and costs of resolving these disputes.  BIM can forensically verify whether the completed work matches the contract’s scope of work and when things went off the rails.  BIM then permits owners to accurately assess potential claims arising from alleged construction defects or design errors and omissions, using real data.  Because BIM keeps a record the progress of a project’s construction over time, change orders, etc., BIM can run models to verify delay claims, for instance, or the impact of design changes, as well as their true cost in time or money.  Of course, this only works if the model is kept up to date during construction with detailed, accurate information, which is often a criticism. For design professionals, BIM can also be used to during design to rectify design conflicts or design errors before final plans are approved or a notice to proceed is ever issued.  This reduces the chances of disputes with owners and contractors during construction, along with the attendant costs and headaches of dispute resolution. BIM is still a work in progress for most design professionals and contractors.  But it can…