While shopping for a birthday gift I was once told, “The 16-ounce Estwing Hammer is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give someone. It feels great to hold and it just works.”
I’ll be honest with you, it’s true. As time goes on, new types of materials and tools have entered the market, but the 16-ounce Estwing Hammer remains. This isn’t because it’s better than anything else, but rather that its purpose is so fundamental that it is a necessity to the completion of many projects. It feels good to use and it gets the job done. After buying my first home and undergoing many a project, there has yet to be one where my hammer stays in the garage.
The construction industry has had a bevy of new digital tools enter its domain over the past decade that have both tremendously aided in, as well as stunted, the ability to efficiently track data and complete deliverables. If the findings of the 2024 Arcadis Construction Disputes Report have shown anything clearly, it’s that these tools function best in conjunction with the fundamental principles of good project management. Principles that I endeavor to think of as “the hammer” in the proverbial toolbelt.
The good, the bad, and the result
The good: data gathered for the report shows that progress is being made in the efficiency of how disputes are resolved. This is most likely due to powerful digital tools that have sped up the analysis and settlement process.
The bad: projects are getting more and more complex with each passing year. The installation of technological marvels into the everyday structures that we’re so accustomed to often requires bespoke designing and manufacturing on levels heretofore unseen.
The result: over the past year, a negative trend has emerged in the quality and transparency of contracts, specifications and designs. Projects are getting underway with a very aggressive schedule; all the while, the contract documents of these projects are unclear, incorrect and/or have pieces missing entirely. Due to these factors, disputes are arising in response to entirely avoidable circumstances.
There has never been as much data in the construction industry as there is right now, and yet, the disputes are fundamental in nature and are perhaps inherently linked to this growing thirst for data collection. Not an inherently bad thing, but proper allowances of time must be given at the planning stage of a project to correctly introduce data tracking protocols and create highly accurate and meaningful contract documents to accommodate the complexity of each respective project.
When disputes do arise…
Interestingly, when conflict arises in project delivery, it is the union of data tracking advancements and fundamental principles that are most effective in successful mitigation and resolution. Accessing real-time data, the creation of 3D visuals and the digital filing of project correspondence have been game changers in the accurate reporting of what exactly transpired over a project’s years-long timeline. At the same time, those fundamental project management principles are key in implementing that data into meaningful mitigation strategies and swift dispute resolutions.
Gone are the days of bankers’ boxes filled with years-old documents (hopefully). Instead, one might receive a set of login credentials to a database where hundreds of thousands of documents are stored. Now, if those documents are not well coded then it can actually be more difficult than loose paper to organize and understand. The value of these new digital tools is found not merely in their implementation, but in their successful use throughout the course of the project. Which brings me to my final point…
Start well to finish well
Just as mistakes in any craft early on can come back to haunt you down the road, so too can early issues rear their ugly heads years later on a project. In this ever-growing industry trying to support an ever-growing population, projects are more crunched for time than ever, and it can be easy to cut corners and just upload something to a database early on without properly checking boxes and adding tags. However, when a dispute arises early on, and the paper trail for a certain decision needs to be found, careless filing and the improper use of new tools will make resolution that much more difficult. It should be clear that I am not eschewing recent technological breakthroughs; in fact, I used an AI tool to help me generate ideas for this blog. I simply want to call attention to a troubling trend I have seen through the findings of the 2024 Arcadis Construction Disputes Report and my recent projects: with great and powerful tools comes a responsibility to utilize them correctly. Ultimately, even in the newest and shiniest toolbox, you’re always going to want a hammer.
