New analysis of major capital projects in the UK by risk mitigation and dispute resolution consultancy HKA reveals trends that point to both opportunities and challenges for the construction sector. The CRUX Insight research programme analysed over 400 projects in the UK to determine the main causes of claims and disputes. While the UK picture compares relatively well on the global scale, there are predictable and preventable causes of project distress that as a sector we can reflect and act on to improve project delivery and success rates.

The UK sits broadly in line with the rest of the world when it comes to claims and disputes, both for the average extension of time (EOT) claimed (66% of planned schedules for the UK versus 67% for the rest of the world) and the average cost claimed as a portion of total capital expenditure (capex) (35.2% in the UK versus 33.6% for the rest of the world). The UK is also aligned largely with Europe, where the average EOT is 60.4% and the average cost claimed 36.2%.

…