A joint initiative by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Institution of Civil Engineers and other major professional bodies in the built environment, the CAP aims to use early intervention techniques throughout the supply chain to try and resolve differences of opinion before they escalate into disputes.

By signing up, organisations vow to work proactively to avoid conflict, facilitate early resolution of potential disputes and promote collaborative working.

Alan Wilson, Forum chair and managing director of SELECT, said: “We are delighted to sign the Pledge and add the Forum’s name to its signatories page.

“Disputes in the construction industry cost billions of pounds, causes immeasurable harm to business relationships and reputations, and are extremely slow and difficult to resolve.

“Such problems mean that projects are frequently delivered behind schedule and over budget, which adds further strain to an already stressful industry.

“By joining others to encourage collaborative working and the use of early intervention techniques, we can help the construction industry perform better when restart eventually happens.”

The Forum joins a host of leading UK construction and engineering bodies who have pledged to reduce the cost of conflict and deliver major infrastructure and property development projects on time and on budget.

The collaboration aims to promote greater understanding and use of conflict avoidance techniques, which help contracting parties deal with differences of opinion early and amicably, and avoid costly, slow and potentially damaging litigation.

The CAP is also developing initiatives to inform high-level decision-makers about the added value of these techniques and how to access and use them.

In addition, the Conflict Avoidance Coalition Steering Group has developed a toolkit which offers a guide to best practice, tips for implementation and other tools to effectively apply the Pledge within an organisation.

Shaped by feedback from industry partners to ensure it meets the needs of users, the toolkit aims to educate people working across the industry about the lifecycle of conflict avoidance and early intervention to prevent disputes.