As we enter into a new year, I thought it would be appropriate to post a blog on what I consider to be the most important elements and criteria for construction claims and responses.

In my experience, failure to take these matters into account when compiling a claim is the main reason for claims being rejected and failure to deal with them appropriately when preparing a response to a claim is the main reason for contentions or disputes. In summary then:

The 4 Essential Elements

The 4 essential elements to include in a good claim or response are:

1. Cause – What happened?
2. Effect – What effect did the cause have on the project in terms or time/and or money?
3. Entitlement – Does the contract or the law provide entitlement to compensation?
4. Substantiation – Every part of a narrative or calculations needs substantiation.

It may help you to remember the essential elements by way of the acronym CEES (Cause, Effect, Entitlement and Substantiation).

The 4 Key Points

The 4 key points to remember when compiling a claim or response document are:

1. Make the reader’s job as easy and as pleasant as possible
2. Ensure that the submission is a stand-alone document
3. Assume that the reviewer has no prior knowledge of the project or circumstances
4. Irrelevant information should not be included in the document.

If you have a good case and you remember these points when compiling claims or response, you have a good chance of success.

Finally, I would like to wish our blog readers a happy, healthy and prosperous new year and to encourage everyone to contribute to our blog posts in 2015. Let’s start now…

What are the common mistakes you see when reviewing claims? What are the things that you struggle with when writing a claim or response document? What tools and techniques have helped you to write successful claims in the past? Comment below…

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