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Industry Watch – The CRUX Report Confirms What Good Contracts Have Been Telling Us All Along
One of the things I love most about construction is the process itself. When a project is working the way it should, owners, designers, contractors, and consultants are all moving in the same direction. The work is demanding, but it is also collaborative. It is disciplined. It is creative. It is deeply rewarding. When the…
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Industry Watch: Why Owners Must Treat Prompt Payment and Holdback Reforms as Strategic Risks — Not Just Legal Mandates
On a recent capital program call, an owner asked — “Are prompt payment laws really going to affect us?”The short answer: not just if you’re in Canada — but soon enough if you manage cross-border capital projects. Recent Canadian reforms aren’t isolated legal quirks. They reflect a global shift toward shorter payment timelines, stricter holdback…
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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…
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Industry Watch: Rethinking Contract Risk, Beyond Schedule-Based Liquidated Damages
I have reviewed many construction contracts over the years.Most of them focus on dates and delay.Very few speak to the risks that cause the greatest harm to owners. Problem and Context A recent Lexology article on data center construction risk offers a strong introduction to liquidated damages, force majeure, and indemnity. It is a useful…
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Industry Watch: AI in Construction Disputes Is Only the Beginning
The construction industry rarely moves first with new technology. It waits.It watches.Then it adopts, carefully, and usually late. That’s why a recent announcement from the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) deserves attention. Not for what it solves today, but for what it signals next. AI is no longer staying on the…
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Industry Watch: Employment Compliance Is Becoming a Procurement Risk — Not Just an HR Issue
Employment compliance has quietly moved from the back office to the jobsite. Owners are starting to feel it.Contractors are starting to worry about it.And procurement teams are increasingly being asked to manage the consequences. New employment verification requirements, combined with heightened enforcement activity, are changing how commercial construction projects should assess risk before contracts are…
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Industry Watch: How CCDC 5B-2025 Signals a More Modern and Collaborative Construction Contract
I’ve spent years treating pre-construction as its own phase of work. On many projects, that simple distinction improved clarity, reduced friction, and strengthened owner–contractor relationships. So when I reviewed the 2025 update to CCDC 5B, I recognized familiar territory. Many of the contract revisions reflect practices I’ve used for a long time. They aren’t perfect,…
