Construction Claims: The Issues to Catch Before They Escalate

A claim and a dispute are not the same thing

Here, a claim means a request for a contractual remedy, such as additional time or money. A dispute arises when parties disagree over entitlement, responsibility or the amount. A request is not automatically valid, and receiving one does not by itself demonstrate misconduct.

The useful management question is: which unresolved events are accumulating, and what evidence is being retained while they occur?

Situations worth watching

Consider changes requested before their effects are agreed, contradictory documents, unavailable access, late information, unexpected site conditions, disputed quality or obligations understood differently. These are examples of situations to examine, not a ranking of Canadian claim causes.

Several may interact. A late answer can affect sequencing; a different sequence can create additional effort. Naming a delay is only the start of explaining what happened.

Trace the event, effect and response

Build a factual chronology: what was required, what happened, when it was known, what work was affected and what action was taken. Retain relevant versions, instructions, records and correspondence. Follow the notice and decision procedures in the actual contract; do not assume one generic deadline applies to every project.

For a hypothetical access problem, record the planned access, actual availability, affected activities and alternative work considered. A frustrated email is less useful than an understandable record of the event and response.

Documentation should support decisions

Arcadis’ Canadian Contract Solutions page describes documentation, review and action as part of mitigating construction disputes. [1] A growing folder is not enough if nobody addresses the unresolved issue.

Make clear who reviews the request, what information is missing and which decision is due. Acknowledging a concern is different from agreeing to its financial consequences. For candidates, ask who handles change records and claim reviews, and how project managers obtain contractual support. This article is a management overview, not an assessment of entitlement under a particular contract.

Source and why it was chosen

[1] Arcadis — Contract Solutions, Canadian website. Selected for its construction-dispute management context. This is a consultant’s own service description, not independent statistics about all Canadian projects; no prevalence or ranking is inferred from it.
https://www.arcadis.com/en-ca/expertise/contract-solutions