Investigating common causes for disputes in construction in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to examine the status of the construction industry in Sri Lanka to examine the common cause for disputes in the construction industry and establish a checklist to identify the types of disputes and their causes. This was examined by undertaking a literature review of the Sri Lankan construction industry and the construction industries of the countries of Asia Pacific region together with a questionnaire survey and interviews witp wide cross section of the construction industry personnel in the Sri Lankan construction industry. 30 respondent through questionnaire survey and 15 interviews were carried out to analyze and identify the type of disputes that occurred in their projects or in their professional career.It was found that causes for disputes can be categorized into common and uncommon causes. It was also found that around 70 -75 % of the causes arise due to common causes and balance arises due to uncommon causes. While common causes shows a similarity to the causes perceived by the other countries uncommon causes shows significance to the Sri Lankan Construction industry. Examining the respondents in an analytical format the common causes and uncommon causes of disputes were formed into a check list to be used by the professional specially who are responsible in documentation in the industry. Since information has been obtained for this research from a wide cross section of the construction industry, the results could be generalized without any significant limitation