APPRAISAL OF CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Construction projects usually have long duration, various uncertainties and complex relationships among the participants. As a result of these characteristics, claims are inevitable in construction projects. The solution to this generic problem is effective management of construction claims. The research, therefore, appraised construction claims management practices in Ondo State with a view to developing a performance improvement framework for managing various types of construction claims in building projects. The study assessed the existing construction claims management practices and the performance indicators needed for successful construction claims management practices. Also the study investigated the problems associated with construction claims management process and evaluated the relationship between the magnitudes of various types of construction claims by contractors and the project contract sums. Primary data were collected through administration of questionnaire on identified construction claim stakeholders namely, clients of public projects, contractors and consultants. Archival data were also collected from 53 projects that had been completed in which claims were involved. Percentile and mean item score were used for ranking of existing construction claims management practices. Pearson's moment correlation coefficient was used to test the relationship between the magnitudes of various types of claims and contract sums, while Kruskal-Wallis tests was employed to examine the differences in sample means of various groups of respondents. A construction claim management framework was developed based on holistic combination of claims management process with problems to be avoided and positive performance indicators needed for successful claim management practices. The structure of the framework specifies the activities of the clients, contractors and consultants. The study revealed two major practices for managing construction claims in the study area namely, the use of construction claim management process and frameworks. The study indicated that the stakeholders use construction claims management process (64%) more than frameworks (21%) while the overall view of the respondents showed that evaluation is the most effective sub-process among the construction claims management processes (MS 3.11). The respondents rated forty-two as positive and two as negative performance indicators. Factor analysis of the performance indicators indicated that nineteen of them were positive while fifteen were negative. It was also observed that the most prominent problems associated with construction claims management process difference in awareness and interpretation of contract terms (MS 3.37). The study also showed that the type of claim with highest magnitude is contract ambiguity claims which were 14% and 11% of the initial contract sum and completion cost respectively. The overall magnitude of the claimed amount is 25% and 21% of initial contract sum and completion cost respectively. The framework developed was strongly recommended for adoption and application by the stakeholders for construction claims management in Nigeria.