Dispute Avoidance and Resolution for Consulting Engineers

Abstract

In his book, Dispute Avoidance and Resolution for Consulting Engineers, Richard K. Allen points out that the vast majority of disputes involving engineers arise from failures to adhere to the fundamentals of good engineering and business practices. Since few disputes come from the misunderstanding of misapplication of scientific principles, Mr. Allen addresses the larger framework of the practice of engineering by discussing the design and construction administration services provided by consulting engineers. He focuses on the fundamentals of a consulting engineer's practice and ways to avoid and resolve disputes. In order to do this, Mr. Allen explores such topics as: Quality control; service performance; dispute analysis; adversarial dispute resolution; negotiation; and alternative dispute resolution. Finally, Richard Allen reminds the reader that while the best dispute is the avoided dispute, when a dispute is unavoidable, the engineer should consider realistic settlement that focuses on the business realities of the situation.