Investigating the types, causes and severity of claims in construction projects in the UAE

Construction projects are complex and involve thousands of details and complex interrelationships among several parties. In this multidisciplinary environment, claims are immanent and appear to cause delays in delivering projects. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), claims are seen in almost every construction project. In an attempt to prevent/reduce claims, this paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted among construction practitioners in UAE to investigate the types and causes of construction claims and their frequency and severity. The survey data was collected from contractors, designers and owners. Results of data analysis indicated that the ‘changes’ and ‘delay’ types of claims are the most frequent ones while ‘contract ambiguity’ is ranked last. The analysis also showed that ‘change/variation orders’ is the most frequent and severe cause of claims while ‘delay caused by owner’ is ranked second and ‘owner personality’ is ranked last. General recommendations on how to reduce/prevent claims are then presented.