These mega-disrupters each affected 40-50% of the 2,002 projects worldwide in the CRUX analysis, with regional variations:

Contract: Conflicts over the formation or terms of a contract – from administrative shortcomings to spurious claims and tender errors – affected 43.2% of projects worldwide, rising to 51.9% in the Middle East and 68.0% in Africa. While cost inflation may have eased, economic shocks continue reverberating through long-term projects. Under financial pressure, contract administrators may resort to alternative ways of recovering costs, leading to clashes over the interpretation of clauses, alleged variations and unsubstantiated claims.
Behaviors: Half of all projects worldwide (49.7%) had claims and disputes related to individual and team behaviors that permeate every aspect of the construction process. Causes heavily influenced by behaviors peaked at 67.3% in the Middle East and hovered around 60% in Africa, Asia and Oceania. The averages for Europe and the Americas were closer to 40%. Monetary pressures drive unreasonable behaviors, as do ingrained ways of working, especially in an unfamiliar context – whether a country, project type or form of contract.
Speed to build: Affecting 47.6% of all projects worldwide, this design-centric cluster (covering late, incomplete or incorrect design as well as late subcontractor/supplier appointments and unrealistic targets) is driven in large part by the twin imperatives to 'speed the build' and save on up-front time and costs. Rushing or overlapping design development with construction in the hope of achieving the earliest possible completion inevitably leads to more design changes, delays and disputes as projects progress.
Skills: Just under half of all projects (49.7%) worldwide had claims and disputes largely attributable to gaps in skillsets and experience. Aging workforces, lack of investment in human capital, and failure to attract young talent are contributory factors. The effects are evident from design offices to operational performance on-site – and particularly noticeable in Europe (57.8%) and the Americas (51.5%), which suffered from higher levels of poor workmanship. In the UK, such defects were a factor in 26.0% of claims or disputes, compared to 14.8% worldwide.
Environment: Exceptionally adverse weather was to blame for a relatively small proportion of claims and disputes, peaking at 13.3% in the Americas. But other factors with a strong environmental element (such as unforeseen ground conditions) pushed the total to 41.3% worldwide. More projects were impacted in Africa (56.0%), the Middle East (49.0%) and Asia (48.4%). Just as ominous for the industry, diverse environmental risks – from failure to design for resilience and emerging contaminants to concerns over corporate governance and biodiversity – are driving claims and litigation amid increasing scrutiny and regulation.

US and Canada outperform the rest of the world – but skill levels remain a disruptive issue

Survey: Skill and Experience Gaps Costing Distressed North American Construction Industry Millions

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