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Best Practice: Differing Site Conditions Are an Owner Risk Before They Become a Contractor Claim
I was recently contacted about a site in Philadelphia. The owner had purchased a corner lot at a prominent intersection. The site had clearly been developed before. In its current condition, it had a large concrete pad and two dilapidated buildings connected to each other. The owner’s plan was simple. Demolish what is there and…
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Commentary: Proactive Contract Writing Prevents Construction Problems Before They Become Claims
Over coffee the other morning, I was reading this Lexology article on data centre disputes: “Dispute resolution in data centre projects: Proactive strategies for a high-stakes environment”. It is written from a legal perspective. But the owner-side lesson is broader. Disputes do not usually begin when lawyers get involved. They begin much earlier, when project…
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Commentary – Owner Financing Clauses in Construction Contracts Are Not Boilerplate
Most owners overlook this construction contract risk In a recent contract review, I found a redline that should concern every owner, project manager, and procurement professional. The contractor had taken the owner’s obligation to provide evidence of financial arrangements and turned any breach of that clause into a material breach. That is not a small…
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Commentary: Construction Procurement Is About Managing Risk, Not Savings
I have seen construction procurement fail for reasons that had nothing to do with delivery.The model was wrong from the start. Too often, construction is treated like indirect spend. Leaders want forecasts of spend, dates, and savings based on historical data, as if the work were recurring. Then when predictions miss, delivery teams are blamed…