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%)