Claims management on Masaka - Bukakata Road Project

Abstract

Claims, being endemic in nature, have the ability to define the success of a project. This research study was therefore conducted to analyze claims, their root causes and devise effective management techniques to counter the effects of claims on projects. A case study approach was used to study claims management approaches on the Masaka - Bukakata Road Project which was executed by the Government of Uganda through the Uganda National Roads Authority which is responsible for managing, maintaining, and developing the national road network across Uganda. The project runs from Nyendo in Masaka District to Bukakata landing site with a spur to Lambu landing site. The project consisted of upgrading the then gravel road to a class II Bituminous standard road with Galander Engineering Consultants in association with KKATT Consults Ltd as the Design Review Consultants of the Masaka-Bukakata Road, Engineering Design of the Lambu Spur and Construction Supervision. Arab Contractors (U) Ltd was the Contractor. A claim refers to a formal request by one party (usually the contractor or the owner) for compensation or other relief due to change in circumstances that arose during work or after the parties entered into a contract. The main objective of the study was to analyze the nature of claims and develop strategies for their effective management. Specific objectives were To Analyze types and root causes of claims on the project, Assessing the contractual basis of the claims, To examine the claims management approaches on the project and Identify claims mitigation strategies that have been implemented on the project. A comprehensive literature review was done to identify the types and root causes of claims on the project from published literature and the conditions of contract. The methodology involved a thorough study of project documents as well as conducting interviews with the project personnel who were involved on the management of claims on the project. the project documents included the contract, the conditions of contract, correspondences between the parties to the contract, claims submitted by the concerned parties and the Engineer's determinations. Data was collected from the archived project records and data analysis of this collected data was conducted. Key findings on the project were that contractor claims were more dominant than the client's claims with claims for Extension of Time being more prevalent than other forms of claims. The study highlighted the need for proper project documentation as they form basis for supporting documentation for claims and the high level of knowledge both parties to the contract had about the contract and provisions of the contract. Being knowledgeable is power to the party with the knowledge.