Disputes Potential Index, Version 2.0
Contract disputes and litigation between parties on construction projects should be avoided to minimize the overall costs of construction. Minimizing disputes can be achieved by implementing many of the recommendations and practices promoted by the Construction Industry Institute (CII).
Many of the parties to the design and construction process, however, may not be aware of their need to implement CII recommended practices on a given project in order to prevent disputes from arising. The CII Disputes Prevention and Resolution Research Team, therefore, developed a tool to predict the potential for a construction project to incur contract disputes and claims. This tool, which is based on research that establishes a strong correlation between certain project factors and the occurrence of disputes, is called the Disputes Potential Index (DPI).
The overall goal of this predictive tool is to reduce the incidence of contract disputes that often plague construction projects, resulting in delays, cost overruns and litigation. In order to take effective action to prevent disputes, those responsible for construction projects must first acknowledge the possibility of costly disputes affecting their projects. The research accomplishes this goal by providing statistically-based insight into the factors associated with why disputes occur. The DPI tool provides those responsible for projects with the ability to assess the risk of disputes on any particular project using a quantifiable measure. By using the DPI tool, an overall score is obtained that predicts the likelihood of disputes arising on a given project. Even where the overall risk of disputes is relatively low, the DPI tool may indicate specific aspects of a project that are relatively weak, thus identifying areas for further improvement in overall project success.
Once the risk of disputes is quantified, action can be taken to minimize the risk. The DPI tool assists in this process by assessing eight areas associated with disputes. Strategies and steps for improvement can then be developed and implemented using the extensive work of other CII research teams.
The DPI tool points out problem areas; other CII products provide solutions.
