Front-end specifications and construction claims

A survey of 150 construction professionals in the United States of America documented that commonly encountered front-end specifications (also known as general conditions) lead to construction claims and disputes as frequently as defective drawings, deficient technical specifications and jurisdictional disputes. Claims and disputes from scheduling, co-ordination and scope of work have the greatest potential impact to a project. Although this result was not unexpected, what proved surprising was how these individuals viewed the complexity of those same specifications. Implications and suggestions for utilising the results of this study are provided as well as additional research possibilities.