Fragmented contract management systems risk leaving gaps for what one expert calls “project gremlins” on construction projects.
More than four in five projects rely on manual, hybrid or inconsistent approaches to contract management, according to a poll of senior construction professionals.
But the survey – conducted by Sypro, the contract management software arm of procurement body Pagabo – also revealed widespread recognition that digital systems can help to prevent disputes.
Sypro polled tier one contractors, consultants and clients on active jobs using NEC, JCT, FIDIC and bespoke contract forms.
Their survey revealed that just 19 per cent of these contracts are managed consistently through a structured digital system.
More than half of respondents (52 per cent) said they use a mixture of digital systems and manual processes, while about one in six (15 per cent) rely mostly on Excel, email and shared drives.
And 14 per cent could not define a particular method of contract management, saying that it varies significantly by project or team.
Dr Stuart Kings, technical director at Sypro, said the findings highlight issues around data transparency across project teams.
“If data is held across multiple places rather than one central location, it becomes harder to identify learnings from historic data silos, leaving more gaps for project gremlins to sneak in and create a blocker to improving efficiency, processes and overall delivery,” he said.
The poll did highlight an understanding of the benefits of centralised digital systems for contract management, as seven in 10 respondents said these tools would help to prevent issues from escalating.
A similar proportion (72 per cent) cited improved collaboration and reduced downstream disputes as key benefits.
Kings said: “There is a clear recognition across the industry that early intervention and structured contract management reduces risk and improves collaboration.”
But he added that this sentiment has yet to be translated into high levels of digital tool adoption.
Kings said projects still rely too often on “fragmented systems and manual processes, which make it harder to spot issues early and act on them in a consistent manner”.
He added: “The proportion of projects still being managed on manual processes like spreadsheets is most illuminating in the data.
“When considering the sheer scale of development going on across the country, knowing so much of that is relying on processes that can fall victim to the simplest things like miscommunication, multiple file versions or human error is concerning.”
The survey also asked about the value of early warning processes to alert contract managers about potential problems.
Almost six in 10 respondents (59 per cent) described these processes as proactive risk management tools.
But at the opposite end of the spectrum, 7 per cent said they prefer their teams to avoid using early warnings unless it is absolutely necessary.
The remainder regarded early warning processes as either necessary or as an administrative requirement.
Only a third of respondents in the survey said they usually catch problems early enough to be effectively managed, whereas half said contractual issues typically only become visible mid-project.
The rest reported that issues only emerge late in the programme, when costs and delays are already locked in, or once a dispute has arisen.
