Understanding and preventing construction conflict, claims and disputes: a critical in-depth study into their causes and recommendations to control in the United Arab Emirates

Construction claims are considered by many project participants as one of the most disruptive and unpleasant events of a project (Ho & Liu, 2004). Researchers like Kumaraswamy (1996) argue that claims managers should focus not merely on the significant claims categories but also on the avoidable ones, to minimize the damaging effects on a given project. It becomes apparent that the causes underlying different claims categories have to be identified so that controllability and avoidability may be established. This research examines the issues by looking at the construction industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the second largest single industry after oil and gas sector, where claims and disputes are a major problem in the country. 51 leading construction participants including clients, consultants and contractors alike in the UAE were sampled for the study. The analytical results of the survey were further examined, compared and validated via the analysis of the data collected from 45 construction projects. The main findings of the first phase of study lead to the establishment of an index system called Claim Focus Index (CFI) that further establishes the finding of the 16 most significant types of claims and disputes in the UAE. The study continues to examine the underlying causes of the most significant types of claims and disputes and has identified unique sets of the root causes specific to each significant type of claims and disputes. These shall establish the basis to formulate strategies to focus on avoidability and minimization of claims and disputes.