Evaluating Causes of Delay in Construction Projects of Pakistan

Abstract

A project takes extra time for completion is called delay. Schedule delay in construction industry is a global phenomenon. Schedule delay is the time overrun either beyond completion date specified in the contract, or beyond the date that the parties agreed upon for the delivery of the project. There are some hurdles causes project delay are called delay causes or factors. The study examines the fifty four delay causes in forty two first class construction firms of Pakistan. Study categorizes these fifty four delay causes in seven groups: (1) Owner related (2) Consultant related (3) Contractor related (4) Material related (5) Labor and equipment related (6) project related and (7) External related. Study use questionnaire for collection of feedback of different professionals. In total sixty questionnaires were sent to forty-two first class firms, out of which forty one responded with sixty nine percent of response rate. Severity index, frequency index, relative importance index and weighted median tools of descriptive statistics uses for analyzing data. From weighted median study conclude that owner related and external related delay groups have maximum impact over project schedule delay. Top five delay causes using severity index were (1) Poor site management and Supervision (2) improper project feasibility study (3) Delay in finance and payments by owner (4) Inadequate experience of consultant and Rework due to errors during construction (5) Difficulties in financing project by contractor, Unqualified workforce and effects of subsurface conditions. Using frequency index top five delay causes were 1) Delay in finance and payments by owner (2) Delay in getting work permit (3) Bureaucracy (4)  Slow decision making and Unrealistic inspection and testing methods proposed in contract (5) Slow permit by government. While according to RII top delay causes were (1) Delay in Finance and Payments by owner (2) poor site management and supervision (3) Delay in getting work permit from local govt authorities (4) Unqualified workforce (5) Slow decision making.

Keywords: Construction delays, types of delays, Disputes, Statistical analysis.