Dispute Review Boards

 

Used in the some of the world's most successful projects such as the Hong Kong Airport, the Boston Central Artery, the Washington DC Subway (WMATA) and the Los Angeles MTA Subway, three-member DRBs solve disagreements before they can delay or disrupt projects.

The Board is a panel of three experienced, respected and impartial reviewers, usually with a construction background instead of a legal background. Organized prior to start of construction, the panel is selected mutually by the project owner and the general contractor and meets regularly to keep abreast of job progress and developments.

When a dispute cannot be solved by the parties, it is referred to the DRB, which meets, considers relevant contract documents, correspondence, documentation and the parties' verbal explanations. The Board then writes a non-binding recommendation for resolution of the issue.

Since 1975, in use in over $28 billion in projects worldwide, DRB Foundation statistics reveal that on 408 construction contracts, of over 570 disputes, all but 13 were resolved by the DRB (ten of these on one unique project). The reasons the parties usually accept the DRB's recommendation are (1) their confidence in the panel's technical expertise and (2) their confidence in the validity and openness of the process. When recommendations are not accepted by a party, they can be referred to mediation or arbitration.

SDC & Associates' Dispute Review Board involvement includes:

• Dispute Review Board Foundation, Corporate Members
• Boston Corridor: Central Artery/Tunnel, Approved DRB Members
• Washington DC Metro (WMATA), DRB Member
• Certification from DRB Foundation and Institute of Construction Management
• Instructors for the Institute of Construction Management; Certification Training in On Site Neutral and DRB Processes
• Instructors in DRB at University of California, ArbitrationWorks® and Associated General Contractors
• Developing Penetrating Cross-Examination Questions
• Crafting Your Closing Statement