Dispute Avoidance Procedures ('DAPs') - The Changing Face of Construction Dispute Management

Abstract

Several decades ago the health profession worked out that it is better to spend money trying to get people to quit smoking than to have the significantly greater expense of treating the ever-increasing number of people with smoking related illnesses. The construction industry seems to finally be grasping this concept of prevention being better than cure. We are seeing a growing awareness in the construction industry that proactive rather than reactive measures are the answer, and a consequential readiness to embrace Dispute Avoidance Procedures (“DAPs”). DAPs are providing the construction industry with innovative systems for stopping the conflicts, which inevitably arise during the course of construction projects, from escalating into disputes. They represent a refreshing new way of looking at, and responding to, the underlying causes of disputes, rather than merely trying to improve existing processes. This article provides an analysis of the theoretical and practical aspects of DAPs and concludes with a look at some of the deficiencies in the current models of DAPs, and how these might be addressed in the future in an effort to promote wider utilisation of this proactive conflict management tool.

Keywords: Construction, ADR, DAPs, Disputes, DRB

JEL Classification: K10, K39