Force majeure in construction: Protecting your projects from unforeseen events by investing.

Force majeure is a French term that means ‘superior force’, denoting an ‘act of God’. Simply, it refers to , unusual, unforeseen events that surpass the practical control of an individual or a group to a contract that prevents a party from fulfilling an obligation or obligations under that contract. Typically, this event is something that a party in a contract could not fairly avoid or reasonably attribute to another party.

In construction, force majeure clauses intend to establish which situations the term applies to alongside on how such circumstances should be handled. Some contracts deem force majeure as a relevant event that may grant the contractor ability to file claims on an extended time

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As force majeures are as defined unforeseen, the best way to deal with them is to prepare for any worst case situation. By being prepared, you also mitigate related issues and prevent disputes that may arise issues that emerge on site can be avoided and the problems they cause can be mitigated through better preparation around:

Construction management 101: The ultimate guide

So how can one prepare for unforeseen events? For example, a strike has halted your construction project because the civil unrest has caused so much traffic that your suppliers failed to deliver your prefabricated elements on time. By having your team communicate in one, central place, you can immediately update your suppliers and your on-site crews which deliveries to expect at what time, and communicate.

Before starting your project, you should communicate with all project stakeholders the general plan and schedule including your preparation plans and clauses dealing with specific situations that may arise. Establish a communication and collaboration protocol that would make it easy for your project.