Identifying Project Delay Factors in the Australian Construction Industry

Authors: Syed Sohaib Bin Hasib, Hiyam Al-Kilidar

Abstract:

Meeting project deadlines is a major challenge for most construction projects. In this study, perceptions of contractors, clients, and consultants are compared relative to a list of factors derived from the review of the extant literature on project delay. 59 causes (categorized into 8 groups) of project delays were identified from the literature. A survey was devised to get insights and ranking of these factors from clients, consultants & contractors in the Australian construction industry. Findings showed that project delays in the Australian construction industry are mainly the result of skill shortages, interference in execution, and poor coordination and communication between the project stakeholders.

Keywords: Construction, delay factors, time delay, Australian construction industry.

References:

[1] A. D. Azar, C. Militaru, and C. P. Mattar, “Time, Cost and Quality Management Trilogy and its Impact on Lebanese Construction Projects Success”. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 834, 217-222. 2016. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.834.217.
[2] P. F. Kaming, P. O Olomolaiye, G. D. Holt, F. C. and Harris, “Factors influencing construction time and cost overruns on high-rise projects in Indonesia”. Construction Management and Economics, vol. 15 (1), pp. 83-94. 2010. doi:10.1080/014461997373132.
[3] T. Gebrehiwet, and H. Luo, “Analysis of Delay Impact on Construction Project Based on RII and Correlation Coefficient: Empirical Study”. Procedia Engineering, vol. 196, 366-374. 2017. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.212.
[4] A. Senouci, A. Ismail, and N. Eldin, “Time Delay and Cost Overrun in Qatari Public Construction Projects”. Procedia Engineering, vol. 164, pp. 368-375. 2016. doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2016.11.632.
[5] M. Sambasivan, and Y. W. Soon, “Causes and effects of delays in Malaysian construction industry.” International Journal of Project Management, vol. 25(5), pp. 517-526. 2007. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.11.007.
[6] B. Trigunarsyah, “Constructability Practices among Construction Contractors in Indonesia”. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, vol. 130(5), pp. 656-669. 2004. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(2004)130:5(656).
[7] Z. Shehu, I.R. Endut, and A. Akintoye, “Factors contributing to project time and hence cost overrun in the Malaysian construction industry”. Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, vol. 19(1), pp. 55-75. 2014. doi:10.1108/jfmpc-04-2013-0009.
[8] H. Ayman, and Al-Momani, “Construction delay: a quantitative analysis”. International Journal of Project Management, vol. 18(1), pp. 51-59. 2000
[9] W. Daniel, M. Chan, M. Mohan, and M. Kumaraswamy, “A comparative study of causes of time overruns in Hong Kong construction projects”, International journal of project management, vol .15(1), pp. 55-63. 1997.
[10] A. Adam, P.E.B. Josephson, and G. Lindahl, “Aggregation of factors causing cost overruns and time delays in large public construction projects”. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 24(3), pp.393-406. 2017. doi:10.1108/ecam-09-2015-0135.
[11] S. U. R. Toor, and S. Ogunlana, “Problems causing delays in major construction projects in Thailand”. Construction Management and Economics, vol. 26(4), pp. 395-408. 2008. doi:10.1080/01446190801905406.
[12] W. Kenny, and V. Vanissorn, “A study of the factors affecting construction time in Western Australia”. Scientific Research and Essays, vol. 7(40), pp. 3390-3398. 2012. doi:10.5897/sre12.138.
[13] M. M Marzouk, and T. I. El-Rasas, “Analyzing delay causes in Egyptian construction projects”. J Adv Res, vol. 5(1), pp. 49-55. 2014. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.jare. 11.005.
[14] R. F. Aziz, “Ranking of delay factors in construction projects after Egyptian revolution”. Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 52(3), pp. 387-406. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.aej.2013.03.002
[15] N. Mansfield, O. Ugwu, and T Doran, “Causes of delay and cost overruns in Nigerian construction projects.” International Journal of Project Management, vol. 12(1), pp. 254-260. 1994.
[16] S. Famiyeh, C.T. Amoatey, E. Adaku, and C.S. Agbenohevi, “Major causes of construction time and cost overruns”. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 15(2), pp. 181-198. 2017. doi:10.1108/jedt-11-2015-0075
[17] P. Shahsavand, A. Marefat, and M. Parchamijalal, “Causes of delays in construction industry and comparative delay analysis techniques with SCL protocol”. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 25(4), pp. 497-533. 2018. doi:10.1108/ecam-10-2016-0220
[18] A. Sadi, M. Assaf, M. AI-Khalil and M. AI-Hazma. “Causes of delay in large building projects”. Journal of Management Engineering, vol. 11(2) pp. 45-50. 1995.
[19] N. Hamzah, M. A. Khoiry, I. Arshad, N.M. Tawil, and A.I. Che Ani, “Cause of Construction Delay - Theoretical Framework”. Procedia Engineering, vol. 20, pp. 490-495. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.11.192
[20] Building Minister Forum, “Improving the effectiveness of compliance and enforcement systems for the building and construction industry across Australia”, viewed 19th June 2020 2018
[21] R. Perreira, D. Garnett, S. Farrell, and D. Booyens, “The effect of client interference on construction projects in South Africa”. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 3rd Virtual Multidisciplinary Conference. 2015
[22] I. Sila, “Examining the effects of contextual factors on TQM and performance through the lens of organizational theories: An empirical study”. Journal of Operations Management, vol 25(1), pp. 83-109. 2007. doi:10.1016/j.jom.2006.02.003