Experts Involved in Claims and Disputes Resolution: Mapping and Classification of Engagement Possibilities

Abstract

The resolution of claims and disputes requires the typical involvement of professionals belonging to the various entities participating in the project construction process, including owners, contract engineers, project managers, contractors, and subcontractors. Depending on the availability of expertise within such organizations, it is common to see the engagement of outside experts being sought to help throughout the phases of claims and disputes evolution. The objective of this research is to highlight the roles played by such experts and map these roles along the internationally recognized standard claim and dispute administration timeline by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). The followed methodology included (1) reviewing the relevant literature and case law on the subject, (2) highlighting the possible spectrum of expert roles while being informed by those numerous roles played by the first author on several project cases over three decades, (3) mapping the encountered expert roles onto a standard claim and dispute resolution timeline through conceptualizing the possible engagement scenarios in each of the concerned phases, and (4) synthesizing the classes of such played expert roles. The findings revealed a spectrum of roles that can be asked of experts by way of providing guidance, advice, substantiation, facts assertion, testimony, and/or assessment. The work outcome is of importance both to construction professionals who seek the appointments of experts and to those who act as experts in the resolution of construction claims and disputes.