Focussing at the client's wishes and behaviour in construction-management: (Re)starting at the front-end of construction process

In the construction industry nowadays there seems to be an increasing influence of the role of conflicts in the construction process. For example: Projects are being slowed down by involved contractors who do not seem to understand their clients; these clients get irritated while they do not recognise their (in several cases “unwritten” and therefore hidden) wishes and demands in the delivered project. Other clients behave particularly with regard to their claiming-attitude. Therefore the rise of critical situations often becomes the source for growing conflicts into construction
projects.
But do for example contractors really understand their clients? Or do clients really want a good collaboration within the project-team? It seems that there is in general a serious mismatch between “unwritten” expectations and “written” contracts, which causes several critical situations. This paper focusses on aspects about these hidden expectations of clients, and their behaviour with contractors in projects. A case-study is being presented, as part of a large research-project into construction industry.
The outcomes mainly deal with the fact that getting the hidden and “unwritten” expectations of clients clear, should improve the delivered process and product quality. This means that (re)starting (and especially rethinking) at the front-end of construction process nowadays is of essential importance for getting the right results again for all parties (a win-win approach). Important issue then is the choice of participants into a construction-team: there should be a strong focus on the match between the client’s scope and profile and for example the contractor’s scope and profile. This, for reducing the risks for an overrun of costs due to claims during and after construction by unsatisfied participants. Otherwise these “procedure-costs” seem to become a serious part of the total construction-costs, including the “psychological costs”, caused by the loss of good-will due to angry clients or other participants of the team.