The Most Expensive Change Order Is Usually Preventable

Nobody likes change orders.

Owners don’t like them because they increase costs. Contractors don’t like the conversations they create. Project teams don’t like the disruption.

Yet on many projects, change orders are treated as if they’re simply part of construction.

Some are.

Many aren’t.

The reality is that a large percentage of change orders don’t appear out of nowhere. They are often the result of information that was incomplete, assumptions that went unchallenged, or coordination issues that weren’t addressed early enough.

The cost shows up later.

Most expensive change orders start as inexpensive conversations that never happened.

Sometimes the issue is scope. A responsibility wasn’t clearly defined, and multiple parties interpreted the documents differently.

Sometimes it’s coordination. A conflict existed in the drawings, but nobody identified it until work was already underway.

Sometimes it’s timing. A decision that should have been made during preconstruction gets pushed into the field, where every solution becomes more expensive.

The pattern is usually the same.

A small issue exists.

Nobody deals with it.

Then everyone pays for it.

Some of the most common drivers of preventable change orders include:

• Scope gaps
• Design coordination issues
• Incomplete project information
• Delayed decisions
• Procurement planning failures
• Existing conditions that were never properly investigated

None of these challenges are particularly unusual.

What makes them expensive is when they’re discovered too late.

That’s why experienced project teams spend so much time asking questions before construction begins. Not because they’re trying to slow the project down.

Because they’re trying to keep it moving later.

A tough conversation during preconstruction is almost always cheaper than a change order during construction.

The best change order isn’t the one you negotiate successfully. It’s the one that never has to be written.

Projects will always have surprises.

The goal is making sure they are the unavoidable ones.