The Peculiar Construction Industry! Part 2

For the attorney specializing in construction law, the problems are of a somewhat different nature. Because of the experience of the attorney it will usually not be a question of dealing with the dynamic, organizational and performance issues listed previously. It will not typically include schedule events and sequencing, delays and similar concerns but will more often be a need to utilize specialists in more limited but technically complex areas such as cathodic protection, machinery alignment, or noise. Because of the number of technical considerations in the design, procurement and construction of any project, the list again is almost endless. What the practitioner needs in this instance is expert help to provide the technical basis for specific elements of the case. Frequently, help from someone with extensive experience in the particular type of construction is essential to understanding the fine nuances of a particular case. These might include the commercial construction, power, pipeline, school construction, communications, hospital construction, bridge, petroleum refinery, highway, and water supply fields to name a few. So that for a case involving, for example, under strength concrete for a hospital project, a specialist familiar with reactive aggregates, concrete mix design, placing, curing, sampling and testing might well be necessary and if that expert has experience in the hospital or heavy construction field it compliments the required specific technical knowledge. For a case involving rotating machinery in a manufacturing plant, a specialist might be needed for vibration measurement, alignment and balancing and if the expert has manufacturing experience the expertise is strengthened. For a case dealing with subcontractor performance, someone specializing in worker productivity might well be of assistance. Thus if an expert can be found with not only the technical knowledge of the subject but in addition significant experience in the particular industry the impact of the information brought to bear is greatly improved.