Change Order Analysis, Preparation & Negotiation

Change Order Analysis, Preparation and Negotiation 

From a contractor’s perspective, owner approval of change order requests can be the difference between financial profit or loss on a project.  With minimal levels of contingency and tight margins, contractors have little room to concede additional project costs for which they are not responsible.   

Owners are often suspicious of contract changes because of the stereotype of contractors to “bid low and make it up on changes orders.”  In addition, owner resistance to changes may be driven by project cost constraints leading to rejection of valid requests.  Therefore, the owner must be presented with simple and compelling evidence of the validity of the need and cost in support of the change. 

SOCOTEC’s Project Advisory services combines the experience of thousands of dispute cases with its hands-on construction experts in the analysis, preparation and/or review of proposed contract changes.  Key to the process, irrespective of the party, is documentation.  Our experience proves that most project disputes arise over the mistrust of one party over the other.  The only way to break this barrier is through credible presentation of the facts.   

In the heat of project execution, contemporaneous documentation, analysis and presentation of change order requests can be viewed as secondary to “getting the project done.”  SOCOTEC’s team of experts are an effective resource to supplement project teams in the analysis of delays, scope changes and other root causes leading to change order requests, allowing the project team to keep its focus on maintaining progress in the field.  Often, our experts are engaged to draft the application and prepare back up documentation to present complex issues in a simple and persuasive format. 

For owners, we use these same experiences and disciplines to opine on the validity of the claim based on the facts presented in the context of the contract documents. 

Irrespective of the size, industry segment or root cause, SOCOTEC’s team of construction experts are your best resource with respect to the validity and cost effectiveness of proposed contract revisions resulting in sound business decisions and avoidance of costly litigation.