Imperative Causes of Delays in Construction Projects from Developers’ Outlook

One of the challenges project managers are dealt with is management of delay in construction projects. Organizations particularly pay special attention to the efficient manage-ment of projects and make a lot of efforts to achieve this goal by reducing delay in projects. Analyzing the factors causing delay is essential with the aim of omitting them and timely implementation of these projects. On account of the impor-tance of oil and gas projects, in this research the factors caus-ing delay in oil and gas construction projects are taken in to the consideration. These factors are identified by using fuzzy Delphi method.

The construction industry has a dynamic and complex environment. The successful completion of a construction project depends on various factors. Accordingly, construction delay is observed to happen in construction projects. It is highly affecting the construction sector and the economy of the country too. Although previous research studies identified the causes, effects, and mitigation methods separately, this study adopts a linked approach and directs to identify the effective applicable mitigation methods and their practices on each significant cause of delay in construction projects. Moreover, contractors are noted as one of the main sources of construction delay from the previous studies. Hence, this research aims to develop a framework to determine the applicable mitigation strategies and the practices of each mitigation strategy for each significant cause of contractor’s delays in construction projects in Sri Lanka. A mixed research approach was adopted to generate the research process. A literature review was conducted on construction delays, organizational and project management factors, and professional competency, mitigation strategies in delay management. The significant causes of delays and effective mitigation strategies were ranked through a questionnaire survey using a Likert scale. Project Managers and Quantity Surveyors in the Sri Lankan construction industry were selected in the ratio of 1:3 respectively for the interview as they are mostly engaged with delay management. Also, the respondents were limited to 68 and the collected data were analysed through the Relative Important Index (RII) method, to rank the significant causes and mitigation strategies. Then techniques and possible mitigation strategies were found through interviews and content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that most of the contractor’s delays can be mitigated through applying proper mitigation strategies as effective management approaches in the construction projects such as effective project planning and schedules of construction works, maintain positive financial stability and well qualified and experienced professionals and staff, effective strategic planning, risk analysis, and management, selection of suitable sub-contractor and management and effective site management and supervision. In addition to that, inaccurate planning and scheduling of the project, financial dishonesty, poor procurement of construction materials, ineffective time management of contractors, and incompetence of management professionals and staffs were identified as the most significant contractor’s causes of delays in construction management.
 Keywords: Delays, Significant Causes, Mitigation, Construction Management, Construction Projects.

Nepal, a developing nation with a population of over 29 million, heavily relies on the construction sector for its economic growth and development. However, delays in construction projects have adversely affected the country's national economy. This research aims to identify the main factors that contribute to construction project delays in Nepal and proposes solutions to address these issues. A detailed descriptive analysis was conducted by reviewing six selected journals. The findings indicate that inadequate planning, weak monitoring, poor site conditions, design changes, lack of construction materials, equipment, and manpower, low bidding of contracts, unrealistic contract durations, lack of coordination among team members, variation of quantities during project execution phases, climate change, inflation, natural calamities, rapid changes in government, strikes, holidays, insufficient budget allocation, and political and governmental issues are the primary causes of construction project delays in Nepal. These delays have significant implications for Nepal's economic growth and development. For example, delays in the construction of critical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, can hamper access to essential services, hinder trade and commerce, and result in delayed project delivery, increased project costs, negative impact on the project's reputation or impression on donor agencies, stress among concerned authorities, negative impacts on economy and society, strained relationships, and communication breakdowns. To address these issues, all stakeholders, including the government, contractors, and project owners, must be involved in implementing the recommended solutions. The proposed solutions include improving planning and monitoring, ensuring availability of materials, equipment, and manpower, enhancing coordination among team members, realistic contract bidding and duration, and addressing political and governmental issues. The findings of this study have implications for other developing countries facing similar challenges in the construction sector. By implementing the recommended solutions, Nepal can overcome these obstacles and achieve its infrastructure development goals, promoting economic growth and improving the quality of life for its citizens. In conclusion, this research highlights the need for a coordinated effort by all stakeholders to address construction project delays in Nepal, which is critical for the country's progress and development.

Time delay in the construction industry is a global problem and considered as one of the most significant problems worldwide. Libyan construction industry is also no exception to it, and it is known that to consider the project successful is complete on time within predicted costt. As a result of many reasons, this is more noticeably in developing countries as time delay is a normal result of poor project performance. In Libyan construction industry, budget overrun and time extension are the main problems facing all project parties including clients, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. This research aims to determine the main causes that result in construction delays in Libya according to the owners, contractors and consultants participated in the questionnaire. The outcome of this study is that the main significant elements that often lead to time delay in Libyan construction projects are: delay in payment by client, financial difficulties by contractors, corruption, security issues, market inflation and frequent change by client during construction projects implementation.

PurposeConstruction delay always causes massive damage to the advancing construction industries, which is no different in the case of Bangladeshi construction industries. This paper aims to investigate the major delay factors causing construction delays in public-funded, mixed and private-funded construction projects of Bangladesh. Also, it offers preventive suggestions from expert stakeholders to reduce the recurrence of delays.Design/methodology/approachAt first, an extensive literature review was conducted to identify the thirty-seven major delay factors categorized under seven groups. A questionnaire was then developed for survey at ongoing construction projects at a different division of Bangladesh. Next, data from 110 respondents were collected, and the delay factors were ranked based on the Relative Importance Index (RII); lastly, probable solutions were suggested for top-ranked delay factors based on opinions from expert stakeholders in the construction sector of Bangladesh.FindingsThe overall RII ranking of the 37 delay factors showed “Construction mistakes and defective work,” “Contract modifications by the client” and “Adverse weather condition” as the top three factors causing the delay. For public-funded projects, “Construction mistakes and defective work” and “Slow decision making by a consultant” are the top delay factors. For mixed projects, “Slow decision making of the client” and “Construction mistakes and defective work ranked top, and for private-funded projects, “Financial problems and payment delay of the client” and “Adverse weather condition” ranked top. These nuances of ranking in individual project types ascertain that the causes of delay vary in terms of project features.Practical implicationsThe outcome of this project will help identify the significant delay factors based on their severity of effectiveness associated with public-funded, mixed and private-funded projects in Bangladesh. The suggestions regarding preventing these delay factors obtained through the opinions of expert stakeholders can help reduce the effect of these delays in the context of Bangladesh and in countries where the similarity in construction environment prevails.Originality/valuePreviously, studies on construction delays in Bangladesh focused mainly on identifying the delays using qualitative analysis techniques. This study is based on a unique methodology of integrating quantitative research on delay factor identification and qualitative research on preventive measures following the opinions gathered from expert stakeholders in the construction sector.

Purpose- The purpose of this study is to research some of the major problems and challenges in the construction industry that need to be addressed and solved by various stakeholders. Factors influencing technology use in building construction project management Inadequate risk management, lack of structure, poor communication, unrealistic expectations/bad forecasting, delayed cash flow and limited skills. Methodology- The study employs a quantitative study to explore the construction industry for building a competitive advantage. Findings- The analysis reveals that the construction industry faces various challenges that can impact project delivery, productivity, and overall performance. there are some common problems in the construction industry. Construction projects often encounter cost overruns due to factors such as inaccurate initial estimates, changes in project scope, unforeseen site conditions, and fluctuations in material and labor costs. Budgetary constraints can lead to financial strain and project delays. Delays in construction projects can occur due to factors like poor project planning and management, inclement weather, labor shortages, regulatory approvals, and issues with subcontractors or suppliers. These delays can result in increased costs, contractual disputes, and dissatisfaction among project stakeholders. Construction sites are inherently hazardous environments, and ensuring worker safety is a critical concern. Failure to comply with safety regulations, inadequate training, lack of safety protocols, and inadequate risk assessments can lead to accidents, injuries, and even fatalities. Effective communication and collaboration among project teams, including architects, engineers, contractors, and subcontractors, are essential for successful project delivery. Inadequate communication, misinterpretation of project requirements, and lack of coordination can lead to errors, rework, and delays. Maintaining high-quality construction standards is crucial, but the industry often faces challenges in ensuring consistent quality control. Conclusion - based upon the analysis findings it may be concluded that the difficulties can turn to competitive advantage with better strategic planning, risk management, and management of resources. The construction industry has a very important role in many countries for Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth. Keywords: construction industry, competitiveness, opportunities, JEL Codes: M11, M10, O10

On-time completion and conformity with assigned cost of every project are the most important factors in the success of project plans. Cost overruns and time overrun (delays) have been critical problems of many projects around the world in general and in South Africa in particular. The main objectives of this research are to assess the dominant causes of cost and time overruns, identifying possible and practical measures that can minimize overruns in office building construction projects around eThekwini Municipal area of Kwazulu-Natal. These objectives are achieved through the implementation of the research methodologies that are mainly literature review and questionnaire survey conducted to identify and evaluate the significant factors contributing to delay and cost overruns within the projects of interest. A review of literature identified eighty-five variables for delay, grouped in nine major categories and nine variables for cost overruns ranked in their order of importance in three sets based on the responses from the professionals working for the client, consultants and contractors. The agreement among the sets of rankings for delay and cost overruns has also been tested using statistical methods. The result indicates that there is strong agreement on ranking the importance of the individual variables of delay and cost overruns between parties. From each of the three sets of rankings, the twenty most important variables of delay and the three most important variables of cost overrun are identified as critical. Based on overall results, the top five most important causes are contractor’s cash flow problems, delay in progress payments by the client, poor site supervision and management by contractor, inefficient quality control by the contractor during construction leading to rework due to errors, and contractor’s difficulties in financing the project. Out of the 20 most important delay causing variables, three are found to be common between all parties. These are delay in progress payments by the client, delay in delivery and late ordering of material, and insufficient skill of labour. Furthermore, the study reveals that all stakeholders of construction parties are deeply involved in contributing to the causes of the problems. Thus, in order to eliminate or minimize cost and time extension of office construction projects in the eThekwini Municipal area, a joint effort based on teamwork is essential through effective project planning, controlling and monitoring which boils down to putting in place best practice construction project management.

Construction projects run the risk of not conforming to the initial expectations of development. It is very difficult to estimate the time of a project because a project is not repetitive, there are different challenges in each development project. Delay in completing a project will cause waste in the form of overtime and overbudget. This research was conducted using judgment sampling to 5 respondents who were expert contractors. The objectives to be achieved through this research are to identify the dominant factors causing delays in a residental project using the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method and modeling the relationship between the factors that cause delays in residential construction projects using the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method. The result of this research is the existence of 8 levels of sub-factor hierarchical structure which becomes the framework for contractors and project owners to reduce the risk of delays in residential construction projects. The dominant causes of delays in project development are design changes during construction, late delivery of materials, late approval of work drawings, late payments, and inappropriate work methods.

The study investigates the causes of delays in construction projects in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. The objective is to determine the most significant factors from the consultant designer and supervisor’s perspectives. This study is part of a series designed to explore the causes of delays from the perspective of different stakeholders in the construction industry. A comprehensive survey of 69 questions has explored various possible delay factors. All factors are grouped into eight categories based on their relevance and orientation. The factors were recorded and ranked by their relative importance index concerning their impact and frequency. The top three factors in their impacts are found to be (1) difficulties in financing the project, (2) poor management of the site and lack of distribution of tasks (3) low productivity of labor. The first two are delay factors related to the contractor group, and the third is related to the labor group. The highest in frequency relative importance index is (1) delays related to sub-contractor’s work, (2) lack of experience of the owner in the approval of the supervision team and (3) inadequate estimate of task duration and scheduling, inadequate training, and adopting new techniques. In the overall average of the impact index of all groups, the highest was the delays due to the contractor group, followed by delays due to the designer group, and finally, delays related to the labor group. The overall average of the frequency index of the whole group seems relatively low. The study’s novelty lies in the large number of delay factors that have been investigated, by collecting and analyzing actual data, focusing separately on the opinions of all stakeholders, and then comparing them to find objective results related to delays in construction projects in the Makkah region.

A construction project delay can result in financial losses to various parties involved both to the Contractor, Client and Project Management Consultant (PMC). This paper presents the results of a survey questionnaire conducted among Contractors, Clients and PMC. Data was analyzed with statistical tools to rank factors that influenced construction delays. From the results of the analysis there were 58 project delay factors that affected the delay of construction projects based on previous research. The project delay factors ranked so as to produce a project delay ranking sequence. Project delay factors will be grouped based on the perception of the Contractor, Client and PMC. Each project delay factor will be analyzed based on the type of delay factor, namely: Finance; Technical; and Coordination. It is concluded that the type of delay factor "finance" is a problem causing the project delay according to the perception of the "Client". While the type of "Technical" delay factor is the dominant cause of involvement according to the Contractor and PMC. For the type of delay factor "Coordination" is the main consideration for the cause of the project delay for the Contractor.

Construction delays are recurrent worldwide, regardless of the type of work, and can result in severe impacts, such as time and cost overruns and conflicts. This work aims to present a methodology to develop mitigation measures for the causes of Delays in Construction Projects (DCPs). Prior works have explored strategies to develop these measures but systematically failed to consider that the interrelationships among causes affect the significance of the impact of each cause. The methodology proposed combines the Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM) and Matrix Cross Impact Matrix Multiplication (MICMAC) analyses approaches and is grounded on the opinions of construction experts collected during Focus Group Interviews (FGI). First, the critical causes of DCPs are identified. Second, the ISM model is built, representing the interrelationships between the causes and their hierarchy. Third, the MICMAC analysis is performed, revealing the strengths of the relationships among the influencing causes. Fourth, mitigation measures are developed to address the root causes identified in the previous steps, but they are designed to target and mitigate other causes, given their hierarchical relationships, driving power, and levels of dependence. Applying this methodology to the Portuguese context revealed 16 critical causes, which were then hierarchized into six levels of influence. Inadequate bidding and contract award processes and deficient communication between parties were deemed root causes, and 23 measures were put forward to mitigate DCPs. Therefore, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by designing an innovative and practitioner-wise methodology to develop mitigation measures in relation to DCPs and revealing some measures for the Portuguese context.

Construction is prone to disputes similar to other business dealings. Construction delays are the most common causes of disputes in construction projects. Most of the time, construction projects are delayed not only because of a lack of funding, but also because of disputes between the contractor and the client. Blockchain Technologies (BCT) have the potential to make the construction industry more efficient, inexpensive, or completely automated. In this paper, an extensive literature review is conducted to locate authoritative sources about the most common applications of blockchain technology in the construction industry. The study aims to identify the potential, benefits, challenges, and uses of blockchain in the construction industry. Furthermore, this paper explores the roles of BCTs in improving and enhancing the workflow efficiency of construction projects. In addition, this paper identifies the major causes of disputes and delays in the construction industry. These causes were used as the baseline for identifying the most relevant solutions provided by blockchain technologies to develop a matching model to find applicable solutions from the literature cases to resolve the identified causes of disputes and delays. The research findings indicated that the common cases of BCT including administrative purposes, smart contracts for transactions, permanent transaction records, and permanent ownership records contribute to solving the causes of disputes and delays in construction projects. The findings of this paper recommend that both public and private stakeholders in the construction sector adopt blockchain technologies and blockchain-based Building Information Models (BIMs) to improve construction workflows and processes.

Aims: This study aims to identify the major causes of delays in construction projects in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. It investigates the opinions of different stakeholders separately to ensure partiality and objectivity. Background: Saudi Arabia's construction industry is experiencing rapid expansion, with no shortage of contracts in any sector, either from housing or utilities to transport infrastructure. Public spending is driving the contracting industry forward [Oxford]. The construction industry contributed between 30% to 40% of the non-oil productive sectors at the end of each National Development Plan from 1980 to 2000. Makkah receives around two million pilgrims during the annual Hajj and more than 20 million visitors for performing Umrah (Al-Emad). Substantial public funds have been spent on construction projects to develop Makkah during recent years. Real estate, infrastructure, hospitals, and retail sectors are among those most likely to benefit. Most of these projects suffered delays and their consequences. The Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) and the Ministry of Transportation acknowledged public construction project delays. They reported that approximately 75% of them exceeded their scheduled time. This is one of the main reasons to conduct this study. Methods: In this study, a comprehensive questionnaire has been developed, consisting of seventy-three causes of delay. The questionnaire was organized in the form of an importance scale. Respondents were asked to indicate their responses by ticking a column of the impact and frequency of each of the causes and construction delay in terms of 5 = very important, 4 = important, 3 = somewhat important, 2 = less important, and 1 = not important. A hundred fifty questionnaires were distributed by hand to the contractor, the consultant, and the owner in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. Ninety-seven forms were filled, received, and processed. The survey data were grouped into eight significant categories: owner, consultant designer, supervisor, contractor, material, labor, site, and external factors. A ninth group is left for the participants to add whatever they think of furtherer causes of delay. Results: The evaluation of the three separate surveys conducted on the responses of the owner, the contractors, and the consultant supervisor, show that the contractor is mainly responsible for the delay. Around 47% of the top ten delay factors fall in the contractor delay factors followed by laborers and owners. Three categories have not been mentioned in the top ten as delay category, including supervisors, materials, and external factors. Only one delay factor was found to be shared among the three-survey group, which is related to the labor category, that is, low productivity of labor. Conclusion: Three separate surveys have been conducted to investigate the delay in the construction industry in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. The surveys contain a questionnaire of seventy-three possible delay factors investigating the opinions of the three main stakeholders in the construction industry: the owners, the contractors, and the consultants. The evaluation of the survey impacts shows that the contractor is mainly responsible for the delay, followed by laborers and then the owners. One common delay factor was found among the three surveyed groups related to the labor category; that is, low productivity of labor. In frequency, the contractor category also occupied the highest percentage of the total delay contributors. Another common delay factor was found among the three surveyed groups, also related to the contractor category, that being the lack of risk evaluation by the contractor.

Cost saving and time performance are usually essential to all parties who are involved in a construction project, i.e. owner, contractor, subcontractor, etc. The main causes of disputes in construction projects involve delay and failure to complete the work in the specified cost and time frame. The delivery time of a project is a key factor for the owner in terms of cost as much as it is for the contractor. Unexpected increase in cost and delays in construction projects is caused by owner, contractor and environments. In which several types of risk factors may occur concurrently. The effect of cost overrun and schedule overrun do not only influence the construction industry, but the overall economy as well. Even though construction project increasing in cost and schedule have received extensive attention of researchers, but because of continuous changes and development in the field, the study considered of increasing demand to the construction industry, in addition to risk strategy and plan analysis. In order to meet the deadline of a project and due to the complex nature of construction projects, cost and scheduling should be flexible enough to accommodate changes without negatively affecting the overall project cost and duration. As such, the objectives of the presented research in this paper are to identify, study, and assess the effect of the factors that affect cost and time contingency. Data are collected from the biggest sixteen construction companies in Egypt. The collected data, output charts and analysis spreadsheets will be used for development of computerized built model with the identification abbreviation “Risk Impact Assessment Model”; RIAM.

The success factors of project was completing the project without time delay and cost overrun. Time delay and cost overrun were arised due to uncertainty activity during the life cycle project. This may lead the problems to the project. The research aim was analysing cost overrun and time delay in construction project. Data were collected using questionnaire to 36 respondent. 15 factors have been identified in this research i.e land acquisition delay, location of site, support or protest from the local for the project, changes in design specifications, rework, subcontractors and vendors performance, delay in works approval, inaccurate budgeting and resource planning, price escalation of materials, rules and regulations of the government, owners additional required, inflation, payment delay, weak cash flow and bad weather. The result findings, owners and contractors have differences and similarty perception. In cost overrun factors, owner agreed the topmost factor causing was owner additional required while according to the contractors was rework. In delay factors, owner agreed the topmost factor causing delay was inaccurate budgeting and resource planning while according to the contractors was land acquisition delay. Nevertheless, both parties agreed the inflation has a least influent to construction project delay.