Best Practices Construction Law : Construction Lawyer & Attorney : Matthew DeVries : Stites & Harbison Law Firm : Green Building & LEED Litigation

Thanks for all inquiries and well wishes for our family.  Yesterday, my wife was released from the hospital after a prolonged two-week stay.  She has been ordered on bed rest for the near future, but we are on the road to recovery. 

All the emails and phone calls from my friends and colleagues ("Matt, what's going on?"  "Yo! Why have you not responded?"  "I hope your family is okay.")  illustrate a good lesson for construction projects:

Facts are important.

More appropriately, facts are really important!  I have found that a construction dispute with good facts and bad law can, nonetheless, result in a good outcome. Rarely, however, do you find that bad facts and good law will result in a good outcome. 

Since facts are so important, what can you do to develop and preserve the facts necessary to help you win your case?  Here are some tips:

1. Keep written records.  Although conditions in the field may constantly change, make sure you have a process in place to reduce to writing all pertinent facts that affect construction.  This may be a changed condition, interference by another party, unusually severe weather conditions, a change in material price, etc.  If you have a pertinent conversation by phone or in person, make sure you follow-up the conversation in writing.  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, "Well, they agreed to the change order on the phone."
2. Record just the facts.  If you take the time to record the facts in writing, make sure you leave out all the informal language and other information that will make a good exhibit in litigation.  There is no need to tell the owner's representative that he is an idiot (...even if he is...) in a request for information.  There is no need to tell the contractor's project manager that he is incompetent (...even if he is...) in an email responding to the RFI.  Stick to the facts.
3. Organize your information.  Whether you keep hard-copy documents or you have incorporated the paperless project, make sure you take the time to use a folder structure system that organizes the information in a chronological manner.  This will help you (and your attorney) in the event a dispute arises.

Although this is my own personal opinion, remember that 90% of disputes are fact-driven ... which means that you need to get the facts right, reduce them to writing, and keep them organized.

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Seems like I have been doing a lot of out-of-town speaking lately.  Fortunately, my next gig will be in my own office, in front of a computer, with a headset attached.  You should consider joining me on October 13, 2010, at 1:00 to 2:30pm (Eastern) for what will be an exciting webinar:

From Paper to Paperless:

Controlling Construction Documentation,

Improving Record Management, and

Identifying Risk in an Electronic Age

The event is hosted by It is sponsored by WPL Publishing Co., Inc., the publishers of Construction Claims Advisor, Construction Project Controls & BIM Report and Green Building Insider. Some of the exciting topics include:

• “Putting it in writing” rule – what should you record? What is the hearsay rule?
• Why are proper records so essential for claims and disputes?
• Critical project documentation – what you absolutely need to document; and non-critical documentation – what you don’t need to document
• How to use project management software and Web-based capabilities to move towards a paperless project, establish good audit trail and consolidate project documentation
• Are electronic documents subject to the same discovery rules as paper documents? Is a written instruction via e-mail the same as a change order?
• How do social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace) affect your project? Do you need a social media policy for your employees?
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

If you have any great construction "war stories" that you would like to share, please send me an email.

UPDATED: If you are a regular follower of the blog and want a huge discount to the webinar, please click here for registration.  Make sure the link has "BLOGGER'S DISCOUNT".

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A headline from the Wall Street Journal caught my attention this morning: "When People Come and Go: Project teams often have different workers at different times. And that can create problems." Imagine the potential problems that exist in an industry where project team members change regularly such as in the construction industry.

What does history report on labor in the construction industry?  According to the U.S. Department of Labor | Bureau of Labor Statistics, the "contract construction field is very competitive" and the "rate of business turnover is high" in the managerial occupations.   While the career guide contains some outstanding historical data on the industry as a whole, recent trends contradict the some of the growth forecasts by the BLS. 

Does turnover affect your project management teams?  According to the WSJ article, you should be asking yourself the following questions:

1. Are you constantly shuffling people on and off your teams?
2. Do new team members take a long time to get up to speed?
3. Are long term team members dissatisfied with training new team members?
4. Is your group performing as well as they should?

If you answered "Yes" to any of the above questions, then you have an opportunity to make some changes within your project management structure.  Here are some suggestions from the WSJ article:

• Create cohesion by teaming responsibilities.  It is hard to build a sense of identification with a team if turnover is high.  However, workers identify with other employees and managers who perform the same type of work. 
• Strengthen commitment by building motivation.  "Team members who spend only a short time in the group often lack commitment to the task and the group," writes Gervase Bushe, professor of leadership and organization development.  Providing clearer communication, targeting job satisfaction, increasing job responsibility are more than buzz phrases ... they can often make the difference in employee commitment.
• Foster a mindset of shared thinking. Over time, effective project management teams develop a common way of thinking about a project, including ways about approaching the work or communicating with employees.  With turnover, it is hard to develop and maintain a shared approach.  Consider creating a "Best Practices Protocol" for each particular team.

Question: What project management tips do you recommend to deal with turnover?

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