7th international Project and Construction Management Conference (IPCMC2022), İstanbul, Turkey, 20 - 22 October 2022, pp.1490-1495
Construction
contracts play a significant role in the success of a project. Multiple interpretation
of contract clauses in construction contracts may cause adverse outcomes
between contracting parties. Therefore, an analysis of risks influencing
readability of construction contracts is essential. In this study, fuzzy
technique for order of preference by the similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is
proposed to assess the readability risks judged by construction professionals
who have experience in the construction sector. The findings indicated that
unnecessary complexity in noun phrases and improper use of referents, lack of
visual representations, and unnecessary length in the clauses, sentences, and
words were the most significant risks; while inclusion of matters which are
more effectively covered in the technical specification, paraphrasing existing
law, and lack of flowcharts between clauses were the least significant risks. The findings are expected to help construction professionals improve readability of construction contracts,
aiding to reduce conflicts.