Borvorn Israngkura Na Ayudhya

pp. 565 - 573

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the key players in driving the economy, generating both employment and wealth.
However, disputes have frequently been claimed to proliferate in the construction industry. Disputes often result in drawbacks and disharmonizations in the completion of the construction projects with considerable cost. The objectives of this
research were to identify and evaluate the common dispute factors in public work projects. The paper reported on a questionnaire-based research investigation targeting main contractors with a focus on critical dispute problems during the project
construction phase. Identified dispute factors have been evaluated for severity index by selected samples of 390 various
construction practitioners consisting of owners, consultants, and main contractors. The paper presented survey results and
main findings, which indicated that violating the conditions of the contract, insufficient work drawing details, delays in the
progress payments by the owner, poor evaluation of completed works, inaccurate bill of quantities and unrealistic contract
durations were all critical dispute problems during the project construction phase. These findings can be helpful to construction practitioners in understanding the dispute problems in public work projects. This can minimize the risk of cost overruns
associated with disputes and conflicts.