Procurement method as conflict and dispute reduction mechanism for construction industry in Malaysia

Abstract

Conflict and dispute management in construction is generally associated with disputes resolution techniques such as arbitration. Despite the effort to manage dispute have been and continue to be explored and develop, there has been an increased of initiation of arbitration and litigation cases signals. This indicates that the effort to minimize dispute should initiated as early as selecting the project delivery or procurement stage. This paper explores the potential of minimizing the frequency of dispute occurrence in project undertaking. A survey on 150 construction practitioners indicates that traditional method as the most commonly used procurement had the highest dispute rate compared to other innovative procurement methods such as design and build, construction management and partnering. The respondents suggest that the usage of innovative techniques is capable of reducing the frequency of dispute for construction industry. Hence, appropriate measures should be initiated to encourage the maximize utilization of innovative procurement methods in the construction industry