A Conflict Avoidance Pledge has been launched by six professional institutions and two transport and infrastructure firms according to a statement from RICS. The pledge aims to reduce the number of disputes on construction and engineering projects.
The pledge was created by the Conflict Avoidance Coalition Steering Group (CACSG), which works to help the industry reduce the cost of conflict and ensure infrastructure and property developments are delivered on time and within budget. The pledge is a voluntary commitment and is open to any firm or organisation regardless of size and location.
The statement pointed out that many projects end up costing between 30-to-40% more than the contract target price, which leads to stakeholders getting into disputes regarding the unforeseen costs and delays. The disputes are said to distract parties away from final project delivery.
“Too often, employers encourage contractors to submit compliant bids for the best price, while contractors, on the other hand, apply a commercial strategy to win the bid. Both sides then seek to manage contracts to their terms. The result is a recipe for disputes, which is built into contracts before they even start. It is only when the industry unites to tackle these all too common issues that we can deliver real change. We look forward to more organisations and companies joining our campaign by signing up to the pledge and making the running of construction and engineering projects, hopefully across the world, more streamline,” commented John Fletcher, RICS Product group director ADR.
The pledge is said to be the key focus of a wider campaign created by the CACSG to drive behavior changes in the way relationships and disputes are managed throughout the construction and engineering sector. The group is aiming to reduce the financial costs associated with disputes by promoting cooperation between contracting parties.
RICS and DIFC’s Dispute Resolution Authority (DRA) are also keen on providing conflict avoidance services for regional businesses, particularly in the construction and infrastructure sectors. Operating within the DRA, the DIFC Courts are said to be well established in the world of litigation and are engaged in the development of other modes of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in 2018.
Over 50 industry bodies have signed the pledge to date and the CACSG’s focus going forward is to encourage more organisations to join the coalition.
For more information about the Conflict Avoidance Pledge visit: www.rics.org/capledge.