What issues exist with public works? – © Georgios Ardavanis, Ph.D.

Delivering The Highest Quality Fabrics

Delay always breeds danger. A Design and Build project is almost always affected by delays. The word “delay” can be defined in a number of ways, including making something happen later than anticipated, causing something to be accomplished later than scheduled, or failing to act promptly. The main topic of this article is construction delays, which are defined as when a project is completed after the contract’s set completion date or after the parties’ agreed-upon project delivery date.

Let’s examine each of these causes in more detail.

1.     General issues

a.       Inadequate project descriptions, years-long objections from potential contractors, issues with process openness, corruption, and a lack of oversight and control over project implementation are some of the issues that arise with tenders.

b.       Procurement and anything that necessitates the execution of a contract between the government and a private organization face comparable issues.

c.       While taxpayers fund public improvements, private contractors invariably advance their own interests.

d.       Inaccurate pricing by contractors has a major impact on project budgets, and consequently, the construction companies’ ability to implement them, as well as timetable adherence.

e.       Infrastructure services are understaffed as a result of the public sector’s lack of experienced engineers.

f.        Every large-scale project has years of delays, significant cost overruns, and occasionally technical or other problems.

g.       A project’s degree of complexity naturally rises as it is divided into separate sub-projects, each of which has a different method of tendering (some are tendered with a project tender, while others are concessions).

h.       Subcontractors typically ask for an extension to finish a project throughout the awarding process.

i.         The client modifies the project’s form while it is underway.

j.         Both the customer and the contractor are in breach of the contract when they fail to meet the terms of the agreement during the project.

 

2.     Owner caused delays – Change orders towered above all other causes of delay that owners were responsible for. It was not surprising to see that poor design quality, inadequate drawings, and delayed design information release were also some of the more important causes of delay, considering the accelerated construction process used in many contemporary building projects. Specifically:

a.       The entire organizational structure is inappropriate. (Occurrence 21%)

b.       Contract durations that are unrealistic. (Occurrence 21%)

c.       Making decisions slowly. (Occurrence 39%)

d.       Insufficient communication. (Occurrence 27%)

e.       Inadequate supervision of the design team. (Occurrence 8%)

f.        Coordination deficiencies. (Occurrence 27%)

g.       Design quality/Incomplete drawings. (Occurrence 51%)

h.       Handing over of the site. (Occurrence 11%)

i.         The information flow is slow. (Occurrence 21%)

j.         Inadequate design team. (Occurrence 16%)

k.       Long waiting time for approval. (Occurrence 51%)

l.         Design information delays. (Occurrence 39%)

m.     Change orders. (Occurrence 64%)

n.       Inaccurate estimates. (Occurrence 8%)

o.       Insufficient funding. (Occurrence 46%)

 

3.     Contractor caused delays – The main reasons for contractor delays were site management/supervision concerns, which were followed by labor availability in general. Scheduling and planning issues were yet another major reason for the delay. Specifically:

a.       Inadequate experience as a contractor. (Occurrence 25%)

b.       Delays of subcontractors’ work. (Occurrence 31%)

c.       Interference with other trades. (Occurrence 8%)

d.       Productivity/Work-rate. (Occurrence 31%)

e.       Slow mobilization of human resources. (Occurrence 16%)

f.        Inadequate site inspection by contractors. (Occurrence 6%)

g.       Financial challenges faced by contractors. (Occurrence 38%)

h.       Lack of equipment. (Occurrence 38%)

i.         Lack of materials. (Occurrence 19%)

j.         Issues with equipment allocation. (Occurrence 19%)

k.       Planning and scheduling issues. (Occurrence 43%)

l.         Materials management issues. (Occurrence 26%)

m.     Bad quality of the design and build of a project. Rework. (Occurrence 26%)

n.       Safety Issues. Accidents. (Occurrence 12%)

o.       Site management supervisions. (Occurrence 62%)

p.       Insufficient labor. (Occurrence 50%)

 

4.     External factors caused delays – This category included delays that were beyond the owner’s or contractor’s control. The most common source of delays was a lack of construction materials, while many of these projects were also impacted by unanticipated site conditions and bad weather. Construction progress was also significantly impacted by the influence of the organizations who issued construction permits. Specifically:

a.       Increase in material cost. (Occurrence 15%)

b.       Civil disturbances. (Occurrence 11%)

c.       Labor disputes and strikes. (Occurrence 11%)

d.       Acts of God. (Occurrence 11%)

e.       Inclement weather. (Occurrence 28%)

f.        Government regulations. (Occurrence 13%)

g.       Slow permits by agencies. (Occurrence 28%)

h.       Problems with neighbors. (Occurrence 12%)

i.         Economic conditions. (Occurrence 8%)

j.         Disputes/Conflicts. (Occurrence 15%)

k.       Unforeseen site conditions. (Occurrence 27%)

l.         Price fluctuations. (Occurrence 21%)

m.     Shortage of construction materials. (Occurrence 58%)

 

Tags :
Share This :

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *