Informa Professional

The Dictionary of Construction Terms offers clear and concise explanations of the most commonly encountered legal and technical terms, phrases and abbreviations used by anybody in construction law or the construction industry. It will save valuable time when searching for an authoritative explanation of a frequently used term and will become a practical reference source for construction lawyers, particularly those at a junior level, practitioners and students, as well as those in related industries such as insurance.

A modern construction method whereby the building is constructed using prefabricated or pre-assembled building sections or modules. The three-dimensional building sections are typically fabricated and assembled in an enclosed factory environment and then delivered to site, ready for installation. Modular construction is aimed at minimising construction time by standardising design components, providing consistent quality and allowing site preparation and building activities to commence concurrently with the construction of the factory-made modules.

The process of formally inspecting the construction works to identify any incomplete works or defects in completed works. A snagging list (or ‘punch list’) is a schedule of defects resulting from this inspection. These items typically need to be rectified prior to the issuing of a completion certificate or handing-over of the works although in some cases a completion certificate will be issued with a snagging list attached.