The Best Defense is a Good Offense:
Keys to Claims Prevention and Mitigation
Anamaria Popescu, Berkeley Research Group
Dara Hendrix, Berkeley Research Group
Even though owners and contractors alike are becoming more and more sophisticated, the "usual suspects" plague every project from a small apartment complex to a large oil and gas mega-project: the inability to resolve claims during the project's life. This workshop will give both owners and contractors some effective methodologies and tools that, if followed, would help ensure the successful resolution of claims during a project instead of allowing them to fester and turn into a litigation nightmare.
Through this workshop, you will:
- Gain an understanding of what Contractual Awareness really means and how to use a contract matrix effectively with the project team to ensure that key elements are not overlooked and the claim is not "null and void based on lack of contractual entitlement. Understand the criticality of notice provisions and contractual completion dates.
- Understand how Effective Record Keeping and Documentation play a critical role on the strength of a claim. Understand how to accurately track issues in both daily reports and typical project correspondence and how to use an issue database to establish a cause and effect relationship in a claim.
- Understand how Change Order Management plays a critical role in managing disputes on a project and avoiding a claim from turning into a dispute by implementing an effective change order management process. The audience will also learn the "do's and dont's" of change order development and submission.
- Schedule Management - Audience will learn how to effectively managing the schedule during the life of a project which will allow for delays to be quickly identified and resolved. Audience will understand how schedule variance analysis will allow for proactive conflict resolution and providing the foundation for submitting a successful delay claim.
- What is needed to put a disruption claim together that will not get thrown out?
About Anamaria
Dr. Anamaria I. Popescu, P.E.,PSP, PMP, is a Managing Director of BRG’s Construction Practice based in Denver, CO. She is a construction arbitrator with the AAA and a licensed Professional Engineer with more than 26 years of experience in project management, construction claims, schedule delay analysis, project controls, and contract management. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Civil Engineering. Her doctoral thesis was on Forensic Schedule Analysis. She is also the Chairman of the Society of Construction Law North American Section. Popescu's project experience includes power generation, natural gas drilling, pipelines, petrochemical and process plants, oil and gas production platforms, mining, water treatment plants, airports, telecommunications, and commercial construction in Australia, Canada, United States, Mexico, South America, South Africa, and China. She provided program/project management and project control services for projects ranging from $500,000 to $50 billion. As an expert witness, she has written numerous expert reports that led to successful settlements as well as testified in international and national arbitration hearings and dispute review board proceedings regarding delay and disruption claims. Popescu has also taught seminars and courses on scheduling, effective project controls, and dispute avoidance in the United States and internationally.
About Dara
Dara Hendrix, PSP, CFLC, LEED AP, is a Managing Director in BRG's Global Construction practice and has over thirty years of experience. She has successfully built, managed, and consulted on a variety of projects for large builders, owners, and developers across the country. Her project experience includes civil infrastructure, transportation, waste water treatment, maritime, public buildings, military, healthcare, data, telecommunications, environmental, commercial, industrial, mixed use, multifamily residential, hospitality, retail, and entertainment. Hendrix has been retained as an expert witness for complex construction matters, authored extensive expert reports, and provided expert testimony in mediation, arbitration, dispute review board hearings, federal and superior court for matters related to construction costs, delay, disruption, standards of care and practice.