Suitability of the role of the engineer to the contract as a mediator to mitigate the disputes in construction projects

Abstract

Disputes are widespread in construction projects. The Engineer to the Contract can avoid most of these disputes. The Engineer is identified as an impartial judicial decision-maker. Howeveralternative dispute resolution is the next step in resolving disputes out of the Engineers controlMediation is the best resolving technique out of other alternative dispute resolution methodsand Mediator is the key person in the Mediation process. Past studies prove that the Engineercan play a Mediator’s role and provide evidence for the industry’s need for a mediator rolefrom Engineer. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the suitability of the Engineers role to the contract asa Mediator to mitigate disputes in construction projects. A qualitative research approach andsemi-structured interviews were selected as the data collection methodology to approach theaim based on the study objectives. Collected empirical data were analysed using manual content analysis. Characteristics of the Engineer and the Mediator, enablers, and barriers werecollected via the literature survey and validated through the expert interview. The intervieweesidentified entire barrier management strategies and disclosed new enablers and barriers. Thestudy recommended forming a standard agreement accepted by all contracting parties whenappointing the Engineer to the contract.