Construction
Volume VIII of the Sector Coverage Series
For general contractor general counsel, developer risk teams, surety companies, construction-defect defense counsel, and independent investigators retained by owners, contractors, and insurers.
Professional Reference Material
These playbooks are professional reference material intended for licensed investigators. They are not legal advice. Investigators are responsible for compliance with the laws of their jurisdiction and the specific requirements of their clients and cases.
The TALON Difference
Every playbook in this platform is built against TALON, the proprietary defensive-operations doctrine developed inside The Investigator's Desk over years of federal investigative practice.
Actor-model analysis
Reverse trace
Artifact mapping
evidence econstruction
“Subscribers receive the playbook; the proprietary model that produced it stays inside the platform.”
Construction, At a Glance
86
Investigative Playbooks
22
Categories
$227
Per Month
within 24-36h
Dispatch
The 86 Construction Playbooks
The full catalog is listed below by category. Each entry is a standalone playbook covering the case type named.
01 · Bid Rigging and Procurement Fraud
Bid rigging ring investigation
Bid rotation and complementary bidding
Public works bid fraud
Design-build proposal fraud
Bid protest defense workup
02 · Change Order Fraud
Change order inflation investigation
Unauthorized change order workup
Cardinal change and scope-creep investigation
Time-and-materials change order fraud
03 · Cost Inflation and Budget Padding
Construction budget padding workup
Self-performed work markup fraud
Owner's contingency abuse
Escalation clause abuse
04 · Kickback and Procurement Fraud (Subcontractors)
Subcontractor kickback investigation
Vendor kickback investigation
PM and superintendent kickback workup
Bid-shopping and post-bid abuse
05 · Payroll and Prevailing Wage Fraud
Davis-Bacon prevailing wage fraud
State prevailing wage fraud
Cash payroll and off-the-books workup
Ghost employee investigation
06 · Materials Substitution and Quality Fraud
Concrete strength and mix fraud
Rebar and steel substitution workup
Non-conforming materials workup
Counterfeit components and materials
07 · Materials Theft and Jobsite Theft
Copper theft investigation
Lumber and materials theft workup
Fuel theft workup (jobsite)
Tool and small equipment theft
08 · Equipment Theft and Vandalism
Heavy equipment theft investigation
Equipment financing fraud
Jobsite vandalism investigation
GPS-tracked equipment misappropriation
09 · Employee Misconduct
Superintendent misconduct investigation
PM expense abuse workup
Field employee time fraud
HR complaint investigation (construction)
10 · Executive Fraud
GC executive expense abuse
Owner/developer self-dealing
Executive conflict of interest workup
11 · Subcontractor Default and Payment
Subcontractor default investigation
Payment application fraud workup
Retainage dispute investigation
Pay-when-paid dispute workup
12 · Mechanics' Lien Fraud
Mechanics' lien fraud investigation
Bond claim fraud investigation
Preliminary notice compliance workup
Stop notice and trust-fund workup
13 · Safety and OSHA Investigation
Fatality investigation (construction)
Serious injury investigation
Fall protection and PPE workup
Crane and rigging incident workup
Silica, lead, and hazardous-exposure workup
14 · Environmental Compliance
SWPPP and stormwater workup
Air-quality and dust-control workup
Contamination and hazardous materials workup
NEPA and environmental review workup
15 · DBE/MBE/WBE Certification Fraud
DBE certification fraud investigation
MBE/WBE certification fraud workup
Front company workup
Set-aside program abuse
16 · Union and Labor Investigation
Union double-breasting investigation
Salting and organizing workup
Union benefits fund audit
17 · Bonding and Surety Investigation
Payment bond claim investigation
Performance bond default workup
Bond fraud (bonding-line abuse) workup
Surety indemnity workup
18 · Warranty and Defect Investigation
Construction defect investigation (multifamily)
Construction defect investigation (single-family)
Warranty callback fraud workup
Latent defect investigation
19 · Insurance Investigation
OCIP/CCIP allocation investigation
Builder's risk claim workup
CGL and additional-insured tender workup
Contractor's E&O claim workup
20 · Wage-and-Hour and Misclassification
Independent contractor misclassification workup
Off-the-clock and unpaid overtime workup
Meal-and-rest break investigation
Class action wage-and-hour defense
21 · Cyber and BEC Investigation (Construction)
BEC and wire fraud investigation (payment redirect)
Ransomware incident response (construction)
Project data breach investigation
22 · Emerging Exposure
Modular and prefab construction fraud
Green building and LEED certification fraud
Drone and jobsite AI/monitoring workup
Where Construction Meets the Rest of the Catalog
Construction investigations regularly cross into adjacent sectors. The volumes listed below carry the framework and playbooks that most often surface alongside a construction matter. Tier 2 subscribers have access to every volume; the cross-references identify where to look first.
Volume V · Mining
Aggregate and materials-supply fraud, quarry-to-jobsite chain-of-custody matters
Volume IX · Manufacturing
Building-materials manufacturing defect claims, fabricator warranty investigations
Volume XI · Transportation and Logistics
Materials-delivery fraud, jobsite-inventory diversion, heavy-equipment theft
Volume XV · Insurance
Builders-risk claims, construction-defect claims, surety-bond claims, wrap-up program investigations
Volume XIX · Real Estate
Developer-project fraud, construction-finance draw disputes, project-completion investigations
Volume XXV · Religious Organizations
Church-construction project matters, faith-based capital-campaign construction disputes
What Ships & How
Two Documents Per Case Request
Operational Playbook
The doctrinal chapter: case overview, business and practice framework, investigative blueprint with step cards covering purpose, actions, output, restrictions, and gates, evidence considerations, interview strategy, report considerations, common mistakes, a tabletop exercise with worked answers, closing take, and the case-specific Client Communication Pack of email templates for every touchpoint from proposal through invoicing.
TALON Brief
The actor model for the case typology, the artifact map, and the reverse-trace sequence. This is the doctrine layer that tells the investigator not just what to do, but why those steps in that order, grounded in how actors in that typology actually operate.
Universal Forms
25 universal forms are provided separately as a one-time subscriber download.
Delivery Framework
Case requests → secure email
Dispatch → within 24–36 hours
Maximum → 3 playbooks / rolling 7 days
Monthly reports → scheduled delivery
Quarterly report → scheduled delivery
On-Demand Reports → separate purchase