COVID-19 will likely impact construction projects in terms of the delivery and cost of local and international resources of material, labor and equipment, and will therefore present unprecedented challenges to the construction industry and its supply chain participants.
In light of the challenges, it will be imperative to produce well-written, concise and logical claims based on facts and evidence. The collection and identification of evidence will depend on keeping complete and accurate records, which must be considered a contract administration best practice. Notwithstanding the above, we have recently seen various parties in the construction sector attempting to collaborate and work together towards minimizing risks on the entire supply chain through collaborative risks registers, combined mitigation strategies and contracts based on project alliancing or partnering.
Strategizing and forming such types of collaborative alliances requires the involvement of carefully selected professionals in the construction industry who have a diverse set of skills including but not limited to: a deep understanding of construction risks and rewards, precise contract interpretation and its impact, an excellent grasp of project construction cost breakdowns, structured logic and a lengthy exposure to various types of claims and disputes for which such alliancing or collaboration mechanism is designed to minimize or prevent.
Moving forward, especially in light of COVID-19, now is the time for construction project parties and the related supply chain to collaborate and work together to minimize the impact of the new economic challenges on all the participants combined.