WEB BASED CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OPERATION OF THE PROTOTYPE
Claims are a fact of life for most construction projects. However, the management of claims is not a simple straightforward task. The submission of claims requires some evidence to substantiate, certain details to be included, some procedures to be followed, and needs to be submitted within a specified time frame. This task can be made even more complicated due to the lack of an efficient document management system and competent staff to oversee the whole process, and also the departure of key personnel in the project particularly the one who knows the most about a claim. Without an efficient system for managing claims, disputing parties may find themselves at the losing end, as challenging the claims by an opposing party who is well prepared may prove to be difficult. This paper introduces a prototype Web based construction claims management system acting as a common communication platform for the client, architects, consulting engineers, contractor and sub contractors, through which the architect's instruction can be issued, extension of time (EOT) loss and/or expense (L&E) additional expense, and interim payment claims can be submitted and processed. A mechanism is developed to automatically track the deadlines for the submission of notices and claims, and to respond to others according to the conditions of the contract (i.e. PAM Contract 2006 used in Malaysia) Furthermore, intuitive and contextaware messages are provided on the relevant pages to alert and guide the users on what to do next and what to expect from others. Other than improving the practice of managing claims, the system also helps reduce the number of potential disputes through the higher transparency and the more efficient documentation facilitated.