The Rising Cost of Disputes

In their 2023 Construction Disputes Report, global engineering firm Arcadis revealed that the average cost of disputes in North America rose significantly over the past several years. 

“From 2021 to 2022 the average value of disputes in North America increased by 42% and remains at historically high levels compared to 2021 and earlier,” the report reads.

The highest single dispute cost totaled $2 billion dollars. 

Who is most at risk for disputes?

According to Arcadis, the transportation sector reported the most disputes in both 2021 and 2022. 

What are the most common causes?

The most common dispute causes were contract errors and omissions, misunderstandings or violations of contract terms, and poorly drafted or miscommunicated claims. 

Mitigating risk with Raken

The report found that the most effective strategy to combat the rising cost of disputes was risk management. Mitigating risk and avoiding disputes entirely is the best way to protect your business. 

Here’s how Raken fits into your risk management plan and helps your team stay productive while maintaining high quality standards.  

Improved visibility

The more complex a project is, the more chances there are that something will go wrong—whether it’s a miscommunication, safety violation, or quality error.

When all stakeholders have clear visibility of the jobsite, they can catch potential issues early and prevent the types of mistakes that lead to costly litigation.

Raken’s digital daily reports help field crews and subs quickly record progress updates and share them with the office in real time using mobile data capture.  All report data is automatically combined and organized into a shareable PDF format. 

Your crew will also have access to managed safety and quality checklists that can be assigned, completed, and tracked right in the app. Customize a checklist to meet your exact processes and make sure your team always follows the right safety inspection and quality control procedures.   

Better communication

Even with better visibility, mitigating risks in the field requires all hands on deck. 

Empower your crew to proactively report issues with Raken’s observations tool. From the app, they’ll be able to report concerns in detail and tag a fellow team member or collaborator to address them. Stakeholders can also be tagged as an FYI so they can follow the observation’s resolution and intervene if necessary.

Raken also includes camera functionality so your team can capture photo and video documentation that clearly shows what’s happening on the jobsite. All visual data is automatically time and date stamped, and can be attached to daily reports, checklists, and observations.

You can also easily share PDF reports from Raken with customers to keep them aware and engaged.

Detailed production data

The report from Arcadis mentions that one of the most important factors in the early resolution of disputes is creating timely, accurate project schedules.

With Raken’s report dashboards and automated production insights, it’s easy to track project progress at a glance. Track hours worked, materials used, and incidents reported and see how actuals measure against estimates to make schedule adjustments before minor issues lead to major delays.

Use the detailed data Raken provides to gain a better understanding of your team’s capabilities. You’ll plan better bid that accurately reflect past performance.