Overall findings
__________________ | The overall volume of disputes increased slightly from last year's results, while the average value of disputes and the time taken to resolve them decreased slightly. As noted in the introduction, this year's report highlights that collaboration between project participants will be a key factor in successfully avoiding, mitigating and resolving disputes. |
__________________ | We define a dispute as a situation where two parties typically differ in the assertion of a contractual right, resulting in a decision being given under the contract, which in turn becomes a formal dispute. The value of a dispute is the additional entitlement to that included in the contract for the additional work or event which is being claimed. The length of a dispute is the period between when it becomes formalized under the contract and the time of settlement or the conclusion of the hearing. |
Among regions surveyed, the buildings sector (education, healthcare, retail/commercial, government) saw the most disputes, the same as 2018.
REGION | AVERAGE DISPUTE VALUE | AVERAGE LENGTH OF DISPUTE | ||||||||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
North America | 25.0 | 21.0 | 19.0 | 16.3 | 18.8 | 13.5 | 15.6 | 17.7 | 15.2 | 17.6 |
United Kingdom | 25.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 17.9 | 17.8 | 10.7 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 12.8 | 9.8 |
Continental Europe | 25.0 | 19.0 | 29.5 | 41.0 | 24.5 | 18.5 | 14.1 | 18.1 | 20.0 | 15.6 |
Middle East | 82.0 | 56.0 | 91.0 | 56.7 | 62.0 | 15.2 | 13.7 | 13.5 | 20.0 | 17.0 |
GLOBAL AVERAGE | 39.3 | 32.5 | 43.4 | 33.0 | 30.7 | 14.5 | 13.9 | 14.8 | 17.0 | 15.0 |
