Article Summary

The Malaysian economy depends majorly on the construction business that has projects in the transport, infrastructure, oil, and gas sectors. However, the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the industry makes it hard for companies to complete a construction project on time. As a result, claims and dispute cases are common because clients complain of overdue completion or substandard work. Similarly, client protests have become a liability to the building business because they have increased significantly in recent years. The ever-increasing disputes indicate that the industry has an inefficient claim management system. This paper focuses on the claim complications that workers go through in construction ventures in Malaysia.

The primary purposes of the research are to determine the glitches in the claim procedure and to develop a technique to improve it. The authors agreed to use questionnaires with four segments to collect all the relevant statistics that could help to attain the objectives. The first section contains personal information of participants such as working experience and the nature of contracts they use. Secondly, the segment also has questions related to the whole procedure such as the most common types of claims. The third part of the questionnaire focuses on the challenges that contractors experience in every stage of a claim process. Finally, the fourth section encourages the respondents to give observations and suggestions that could improve the claim management method.

The authors used 49 consultants and 155 contractors as respondents in the questionnaires, and the information they gathered was enough to get reliable results. The authors claim that the first stage of solving the claim management crisis in Malaysia is to note its causes. Similararguely, this is possible through the introduction of strategy variations at the post-tender phase. The second reason is the implementation of projects without sufficient scheme work, contract credentials, and site exploration. Likewise, the respondents also assert that insufficient contract information causes the number of claims to rise substantially. Therefore, the concerned parties should gather all the relevant information before they embark on a construction project.

Moreover, the research identifies several problems facing the five stages of the claim procedure. The respondents allege that the main issues affecting the identification of claims are unskilled personnel, heavy workload, and poor communication between the central office and site. Likewise, they agree that unclear procedures and improper instructions in the notification stage complicate the situation. The results also show that withholding information and poor record keeping are significant issues in the process of documenting a claim. Additionally, contractors mention that limited time and insufficient evidence to analyze the entitlement are the factors that affect the examination stage. The respondents also agree that scarce documentation and poor communication slow the presentation phase. Lastly, both consultants and contractors decide that poor negotiation techniques, unsatisfactory evidence, and lack of consensus are the main challenges affecting the negotiation stage. Hence, the respondents assert that every step of the management claim method has its glitches.

Conclusion

Malaysia has a very lucrative construction industry that could collapse gradually. According to the findings, the claim procedure has many flaws that affect construction projects. Therefore, the government should encourage the sector to adopt a viable record keeping and documents scheme. Likewise, construction companies should employ proficient workers that could identify a claim easily during project implementation. The whole process should be transparent to enable contractors to follow it and prepare a sustainable edition. Likewise, companies should train employees frequently to allow them to organize and submit a comprehensive application. Therefore, the construction sector should solve its challenges if it wants to thrive.