Ghada M. Gad

Analytical Framework for the Choice of Dispute Resolution Methods in International Construction Projects Based on Risk Factors

International construction projects provide opportunities for developing countries to advance in the global economy and for international construction and design firms to increase their profit and market share. Despite the attractive opportunities that international construction offers, international contractors are faced with many challenges and difficulties when moving into international markets. Many risks are associated with international construction, whether external or project-specific risks. Those risks affect how contract clauses are written, including the dispute resolution clause. This paper discusses the different dispute resolution methods employed in international construction contracts and develops an analytical framework (DRM-Risk matrix) suggesting the use of specific dispute resolution methods depending on the risks expected in the project. The matrix may eventually help international contractors in the selection of the appropriate dispute resolution method during contract formation depe...

Alternative Technical Concepts for Contract Delivery Methods

Transportation agencies are increasingly allowing design and construction contractors to incorporate alternative technical concepts (ATCs) in their proposals for highway projects. The ATC approach allows proposers to suggest modifications to a contract requirement that would improve a project technically or reduce costs. This synthesis documents various methods by which agencies have successfully implemented the ATC highway contracting process. The report identifies methods that promote transparency and fairness, while at the same time protecting the industry’s right to confidentiality. Information used in this study was gathered through a literature review, a survey of state departments of transportation (DOTs), analyses of DOT solicitation documents, and case examples.

Trust in the Construction Industry: A Literature Review

While tremendous focus in management research is placed on new construction technologies, the social and human factors through which these technologies are implemented are often neglected. An increasing trend in construction management research is seen in soft management aspects such as trust. This basically developed from the fact that construction projects involve individuals and their beliefs. Construction projects are based on collaboration among contracting parties to accomplish project goals. Thus, it is crucial to quickly build teams and establish good communications between team members. Trust has been determined by many studies as an excellent determinant to successful projects and crucial to build integrated project teams. The aim of this paper is to present a literature review of research on trust in construction, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest recommendations for future research. More than 50 peer-reviewed publications were reviewed through which six main lines of research were identified. Research in trust in construction seems to primarily focus on four main areas; trust types, factors affecting trust development, trust effect on project success, and relational contracting, yet there still exists knowledge gap in areas of non-relational agreements, North American construction markets, and project cost, risk, and contracts’ relations to trust.

Alternative Quality Management Systems for Highway Construction

This report is an extension to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Guidebook on Alternative Quality Management Systems for Highway Construction. The research report documents the research process, data collection and analysis used to develop the guidebook. This intent of this research report is to provide more detailed information to individuals conducting future quality management research and state transportation agency (STA) engineers who are charged with implementing alternative quality management systems (QMS). This research has resulted in QMS guidance that will promote efficiency and allow for the transfer of knowledge to continuously improve these systems. This research was conducted in nine tasks as documented in this report. Task 1 established the state of practice regarding alternative QMSs through a comprehensive literature review and online survey. Task 2 developed a consistent coding structure for use with the literature review, survey and case study analysis. Ten case studies were conducted and analyzed in the third task. Task 4 involved a critical analysis of the QMS approaches discovered in Tasks 1-3 to form conclusions on their use and Task 5 compared these QMS approaches to the baseline system. The research team worked closely with the NCHRP panel in Tasks 6 and 7 to outline and develop the guidebook. Task 8 documented incremental improvements to the baseline system through the development of 25 quality management tools relating for pre and post-award functions. The final task involved the development of the guide and research report by the research team and a review and approval of these documents by the NCRHP panel.

Effect of Culture on Selection of Dispute Resolution Methods in International Contracts

International construction projects provide opportunities for developing countries to advance in the global economy and for international firms to increase their profit and market share. Despite the attractive opportunities that international construction offers, there are many challenges and difficulties to moving into international markets. Many risks are associated with international construction, one of which is the risk arising from culture differences, and the way this affects how contract clauses are written. One of the very critical clauses affected by the cultural aspect is the dispute resolution clause. This paper discusses the different dispute resolution methods employed in international construction contracts and develops a model suggesting the use of specific dispute resolution methods depending on the culture characteristics. Finally, the model is used to develop testable propositions of the relationship between the dispute resolution methods and the characteristics of the culture studied. The propositions developed may eventually help in the selection of the appropriate dispute resolution method during contract formation.

Rethinking Trust in Construction Contract Formation: Dispute Resolution Method Selection

AbstractLow trust negatively affects the efficiency, schedule performance, and administrative cost functions of construction project team. However, trust is seldom taken into consideration during contract formation; in particular, in the dispute resolution method (DRM) clauses. The objective of this paper is to investigate how trust influences contract terms and conditions related to the DRM clauses. Data from 27 construction projects were collected and 11 DRM experts participated in the study. The results show that although experts recommend the choice of DRMs based on the trust level between parties, the DRM actually used on construction projects is not affected by the trust level between partners. Negotiation was the most recommended DRM for high-trust projects, but was the least used DRM in practice on such projects. The conclusion of this research is an incremental step to rethink social factors that are overlooked in construction management and that proved influential on how contracts are drafted.

Geotechnical Requirements in the Design-Build Selection Process

Geotechnical uncertainty is always high before a comprehensive site investigation is completed. In many design–build (DB) projects, the contract is awarded with the geotechnical investigation included as part of the required design deliverables. To ensure the necessary geotechnical design and construction quality, the agency must include appropriate factors in the best-value (BV) selection process. This paper describes an investigation of specific design–builder selection decisions involved in the procurement phase of a DB project and the ways in which the geotechnical requirements are incorporated into the selection decision in state departments of transportation (DOTs). The results are presented from the study of four independent sources of information, which were obtained through a review of the literature on geotechnical requirements in procurement documents, a survey of 42 state DOTs, a content analysis of procurement documents from 26 states, and the findings from 11 structured interviews with design–builders whose markets encompassed more than 30 states. The study results led to the conclusion that geotechnical designer qualifications and the experience of companies with geotechnical projects were key in achieving quality in DB projects. The weight of geotechnical factors in requests for qualifications and requests for proposals (RFPs) should be assigned proportionately with respect to the other factors that define DB project success. Experienced DOTs were seen to tailor the amount of geotechnical information that they included in the DB RFP to the specific requirements of a given project. Interactivity during the proposal preparation period offered an agency the opportunity to understand how competing design–builders perceived the geotechnical risk and to adjust the procurement plan accordingly. Alternative technical concepts also were presented as a viable approach to reduce perceived geotechnical risks.

Culture-Risk-Trust Model for Dispute-Resolution Method Selection in International Construction Contracts

AbstractDespite the attractive opportunities that international construction offers, companies need to account for risks of moving into international markets, including major contractual and cultur...

Policies and Procedures for Successful Implementation of Alternative Technical Concepts

Transportation agencies increasingly allow design–build teams and construction contractors to incorporate alternative technical concepts (ATCs) into proposals for highway projects. The ATC approach allows proposers to suggest modifications to a contract requirement that would result in the project being equal to or better than the design in the solicitation. This paper investigates current procurement policies and pre-submittal procedures followed by state transportation agencies in the implementation of ATCs in transportation projects. The paper reports survey results of state departments of transportation (DOTs) that generated responses from 42 state DOTs. These results were compared with a content analysis of solicitation documents of 65 ATC projects from 24 DOTs. The results showed that although ATC usage was most common in design–build projects, ATCs have been successfully implemented in nearly all project delivery methods. The study showed that incorporation of ATCs into the procurement process allowed for clarification of solicitation documents in a confidential manner. The most important factors for the success of the ATC procurement process are the ability to safeguard ATCs that contain proprietary content and the guarantee of ATC confidentiality. During proposal presubmittal, the agency will need to determine procedural issues involved in confidential meetings and the confidentiality of preproposal communications.

Submittal and Evaluation Procedures for Alternative Technical Concepts

Alternative technical concepts (ATCs) have yielded innovative solutions to complicated design issues in a wide range of highway projects. Through ATCs, proposers are allowed to suggest modifications to a contract requirement to provide a project design equal to or better than the one described in the solicitation. However, the realization of such benefits requires a well-structured ATC mechanism, and the projects solicitation documents need to be drafted in a manner that clearly communicates the owners project goals and ensures fairness and confidentiality to competing contractors. This paper describes the submittal, evaluation, approval, and review procedures currently followed by state transportation agencies to implement ATCs. The study employed a survey that was sent to all state departments of transportation (42 of which responded), in addition to a content analysis of the solicitation documents of 65 ATC projects from 24 agencies. The paper finds that care must be taken to ensure that competing contractors are not discouraged from pursuing ATCs as a result of onerous documentation requirements for ATC submittals. The results also show that the ATC submittal procedures should provide detailed guidance on the conduct and character of one-on-one meetings with competitors, the content of a responsive ATC submittal, and the procedures for the rectification of errors, omissions, and ambiguities. The document should also be clear about what constitutes an ATC and describe the ATC evaluation and review process, as well as the process for presenting proposed ATCs. The ATC evaluation criteria should be known when the solicitation is first published.