Avoid and Manage Construction Litigation with Outbuild

Table of contents

• Early Warnings Matter: Avoid Claims with Smarter Scheduling
• The Problem with Standard Tools Like Primavera P6
• Outbuild’s Litigation-Prevention and Support Capabilities
• Outbuild & Primavera P6 Comparison Chart
• Why Construction Schedules Keep Failing—And What We Can Do About It
• Why Choose Outbuild Over P6?
• Take Control of Disputes Before They Begin

The construction industry is no stranger to legal disputes, often fueled by poor documentation and limited project visibility. In fact, according to Benjamin Eiss, Claims Analyst at Arcadis, "unclear, incomplete, and incorrect contract documents—combined with aggressive project schedules—are creating entirely avoidable conflicts."

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Legal claims typically do not pop up randomly; clear warning signs, both obvious and subtle, often precede them. General Contractors face mounting challenges in managing these issues, often relying on outdated tools that exacerbate the problem.

According to the 2024 Arcadis Construction Disputes Report, "Missed milestones, disagreements over scope, and ignored time impact analyses are clear indicators. Ignoring these symptoms allows problems to snowball into costly claims. Leveraging modern digital tools for collaboration and data analysis can help detect these early issues, driving efficiency and preventing disputes before they occur." 

Construction disputes are becoming increasingly common in the industry. These disputes lead to delays and additional costs for projects, which ultimately affects the overall success of a project.

However, leveraging technology is a great way to detect disputes early on. By utilizing advanced scheduling software equipped with data analytics and predictive modeling, we can proactively identify and address potential issues before they escalate into significant legal claims.

That's where Outbuild comes in, a construction scheduling and planning software designed to tackle these challenges head-on. With real-time tracking, collaboration, and advanced analytics, Outbuild helps GCs minimize risks, improve transparency, and avoid costly disputes. This blog explores how Outbuild outperforms traditional tools like Primavera P6, empowering GCs to protect their projects and reputations.

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Primavera P6, while widely used, has notable limitations when it comes to litigation preparation. Many organizations depend on a few specialized schedulers to maintain schedules, often resulting in data inaccuracies and insufficient updates. Here are some primary problems:

• Outdated Schedules: P6 users often struggle to keep timelines updated in real-time. By the time delays or issues surface in reports, there are already major problems.
• Limited Collaboration: Only a few people handle scheduling. This leaves field teams disconnected and slows down problem solving. 
• Complexity in Use: P6 has a steep learning curve. This makes it hard to use in field operations. As a result, real-time documentation and coordination become impractical.
• Data Discrepancies: Misalignment between original schedules and on-site conditions frequently causes discrepancies that construction attorneys can exploit during litigation.

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These challenges mean that when disputes happen, the data from P6 often hurts GCs instead of helping them. Curious about simpler and safer construction scheduling? Let’s dive into how Outbuild can help reduce extra work and also prevent or manage legal claims for you.

Outbuild uses real-time project data, easy-to-use analytics, and simple collaboration tools. This helps connect the field and the office. 

Here’s how Outbuild helps GCs avoid claims and defend their case when disputes escalate:

1. Real-Time Documentation on the Job Site

Litigations often arise from gaps between what was planned and what happened. Outbuild eliminates this gap with real-time updates and documentation from the field.

Outbuild automatically logs every delay, change, or unforeseen condition immediately. For example, when a crew finds an unexpected problem, like a gas line during digging, they can record the event. They can also change the plan and inform stakeholders right away.

The system automatically archives details, including timestamps and user input. This action creates a verified record of what happened, when it occurred, and who was involved.

Real-time records help create a clear project story and serve as evidence in court or during disputes.

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2. Capturing and Tracking Schedule Impacts

Outbuild allows GCs to track schedule impacts with unmatched precision. Every change, whether from design updates or field conditions, is noted in a baseline version for reference.

Outbuild’s schedule impacts functionality provides a clear timeline of events and their ramifications. For example, if a backfilling delay caused cascades across multiple trades, Outbuild automatically captures the downstream effects, such as delayed material deliveries or trade labor reallocations.

This transparency ensures that you have data-backed explanations for delays, which lawyers and arbitrators value when determining fair outcomes.

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3. Roadblock and Constraint Management

One of the standout features of Outbuild is its roadblock management functionality. It allows GCs to proactively identify and document issues before they become major disputes.

For instance, a subcontractor might flag a delay caused by missing equipment well in advance. Outbuild records this constraint, assigns accountability, and integrates it into updated schedules.

These proactive insights reduce misunderstandings and prevent smaller bottlenecks from snowballing into larger issues that lead to litigation.

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4. Collaboration Across Teams and Trades

Litigation often stems from poor communication and insufficient documentation of changes. Outbuild eliminates these gaps by connecting everyone involved in the project—from schedulers to field teams and trade partners.

• Trades can access plans, update their work progress, and flag delays directly through the platform.
• Collaboration reduces finger-pointing between teams and strengthens documentation for resolving disputes or preventing them in the first place.
• Trade partners can use Outbuild's lookahead functionality to easily view and manage upcoming tasks within the schedule. Any updates they make are visible to the GC right away. The GC can control permissions to ensure only authorized changes happen. This helps keep communication and transparency smooth.
• When legal disputes arise, these collaborative records enable clear accountability attribution.

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5. Analytics for Better Litigation Preparation

Outbuild goes beyond preventing disputes by helping you prepare for litigation when it’s unavoidable. With real-time data tracking, you will always see how your project is doing. The analytics engine gives you strong data insights to improve your case.

Key Metrics Captured by Outbuild:

• Reasons for Variance: Clearly documented causes behind every delay (e.g., weather, design errors, resource shortages).
• Forecast Accuracy: Data showing how well teams anticipated potential issues and accounted for them in timelines.
• Performance Insights: Metrics detailing which teams, trades, or suppliers were responsible for meeting or missing deadlines. This includes percent plan complete, percent roadblocks removed, an s-curve and reasons for variance.

With these analytics in hand, GCs can present statistical evidence and comprehensive reports in dispute negotiations or legal proceedings. They help counter claims made against you and provide clarity that judges and arbitrators appreciate.

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With legacy scheduling, you often see changes made in the schedule retroactively. A Project Manager or Superintendent might let the scheduler know their best guess of what had happened a few days or even weeks prior. Then, without the full picture, they make a small tweak before the next Owner-Architect-Contractor (OAC) meeting. It seems harmless—until it happens over and over again.

Do that a hundred times, and the result is a completely altered schedule with no real record of how it evolved. The version from a month ago might look nothing like today’s, and worse—no one can clearly explain the reasons behind the shifts.

This disconnect can have massive consequences. When schedules become unreliable, disputes follow. Teams can find themselves in court, spending years arguing over timelines. (The dispute resolution process is a doozy!)

One side presents a version of the plan that may have once been accurate, while the other side presents one that relies largely on assumptions. Suddenly, what began as confusion becomes a legal fight over millions or even billions of dollars.

And here's the kicker: the designers never intended the tools used in these battles to make construction go faster. They built them for documentation, not progress. So while managing projects with systems like P6 look accurate on paper, they fail to tell the real story of what’s happening on the ground.

In Outbuild, we remove the guessing game. Change logs are tied to schedules, every adjustment is documented. There is a clear trail of what happened, when, and why.

Outbuild isn’t just a reactive tool; it’s a proactive solution for minimizing disputes altogether. By enabling collaboration, real-time updates, and robust data management, it fosters accountability and reduces misunderstandings.

This is where Outbuild shines, providing a seamless, integrated solution that tracks every change in real time, ensures comprehensive documentation, and eliminates the guesswork that leads to costly disputes.

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To summarize, choosing Outbuild equips your construction projects with:

• Real-time updates that reflect actual conditions.
• Detailed logs of project impacts and changes.
• Comprehensive analytics for informed dispute resolution.
• Seamless collaboration across teams and trades.
• Time and cost savings compared to traditional litigation preparation processes.

Outbuild can match schedules with what happens on-site; the strong documentation features help protect project results and handle disputes.

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Don’t wait until a claim threatens your project. Equip your team with the tools to prevent disputes and defend outcomes from day one. Start leveraging Outbuild’s revolutionary features today and save countless hours, dollars, and headaches on your complex construction projects.

Book a demo or start a free trial to explore all the ways Outbuild can protect your team in and out of court.