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Causes of Delay in Various Construction Projects: A Literature Review

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-94199-8_47

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 Causes of Delay in Various Construction
Projects: A Literature Review
Mbuyamba Mbala Jean Paul1,*, Clinton Aigbavboa2 , John Aliu3
1
Springer-Verlag, Computer Science Editorial, Tiergartenstr. 17,
69121 Heidelberg, Germany
{Alfred.Hofmann, Brigitte.Apfel, Ursula.Barth, Christine.Guenther,
Ingrid.Haas, Frank.Holzwarth, Anna.Kramer, Leonie.Kunz,
Nicole.Sator, Erika.Siebert-Cole, Peter.Strasser, LNCS}@Springer.com

Abstract. The construction industry plays a vital role in the establishment of

physical infrastructures to improve the quality of life today. However, one of
the most common problems associated with the industry is the issue of delay in
construction projects. Overtime, this subject has caused a multitude of negative
effects on the project itself as well as the construction professionals. This paper
aims to identify the various causes of construction projects delay and make rec-
ommendations to mitigate this concern. A review of relevant literatures was
conducted from conference articles and journal from databases including
Springer, Emerald, Taylor and Francis online, ASCE, Scopus amongst others.
The distillation of literature through thematic analysis revealed that poor site
management; shortage of skilled labour; unrealistic project scheduling; labour
absenteeism; design changes/ rework due to the construction errors and acci-
dents due to poor site safety are some of the major causes of delay in the timely
delivery of construction projects. This paper therefore recommends that in order
to achieve timely delivery of projects, there is an increased need for teamwork
between the client, contractors and consultants. The results of this study will be
useful to construction professionals (clients, contractors and consultants), and
academicians.

Keywords: Construction activities · Construction industry · Buildings · Con-

struction management · Delay time · Timely delivery

1 Introduction
Delays in construction come at a costly price and achieving timely delivery of pro-
jects is beneficial to the project and construction team. Along with cost and quality,
project schedule is often regarded as a significant aspect of the construction manage-

* Please note that the LNCS Editorial assumes that all authors have used the western
naming convention, with given names preceding surnames (first name then last name).
This determines the structure of the names in the running heads and the author index.
No academic titles or descriptions of academic positions should be included in the addresses.
The affiliations should consist of the author’s institution, town, and country.
ment life cycle, as well as one of the drivers for project success (Durdyev et al.,
2017). Despite its importance, most construction projects (both in developed and de-
veloping nations) face project delays, which makes it a severe problem (Kaliba et al.,
2009; Doloi et al., 2012). Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify the vari-
ous causes of project delays to significantly reduce corresponding expenses
Various researchers have provided several definitions of construction delay for
decades. Assaf and Al-Hejji (2006) defines construction delay as time overrun beyond
the completion date specified in the binding contract agreed by both parties for the
project delivery. Zack (2003) defined it as an event or act which prolongs stipulated
time to complete a project of the contract itself as additional days of work. Delays in
construction can also be defined as the execution of a project at a later date other than
the projected date.
Construction delays have been discussed by various researchers in numerous man-
ners. Some discussed the various causes of delay in various regions of the world and
different project forms while other studies elucidated on the various ways to mitigate
it. Sambasivan and Soon (2007) highlighted the most significant causes of project
delays in the Malaysian construction industry. They include: poor site management,
improper planning, labour supply, inadequate finance of the client and payments for
completed work, problems related to subcontractors, inadequate, experience of the
contractor, material shortage, availability and failure of construction equipment, lack
of communication between parties and errors during the construction stage. Likewise,
Al-Kharashi and Skitmore (2009) conducted a questionnaire survey to identify lead-
ing causes of construction project delays in Saudi Arabia. The most two significant
causes of project delay were found to be lack of finance to achieve work completion
and delay in progress payments by the client. In Pakistan, Haseeb et al. (2011) con-
ducted a similar study and the following were reported to be the most significant:
financial and payment problems, improper planning, natural disaster, poor site man-
agement, shortage of materials and equipment and insufficient experience of contrac-
tors.
Doloi et al. (2012) conducted a similar study in India through the use of factor
analysis. The most influential factors were: inefficient site management, lack of
commitment, improper planning, poor site coordination, lack of clarity in project
scope; substandard contract and lack of communication. In Denmark, Lindhard and
Wandahl (2014) investigated causes of delays through the Last Planner System theo-
ry. They include: change in work plans, dynamics of workforce, external conditions,
material and construction design. More so, Faridi and El- Sayegh (2006) investigated
more factors causing delay in construction projects based in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE). They include delay in the approval of construction drawings, poor-pre-
planning and a poor and slow decision making process. Similarly, Sweis et al (2007),
investigated the factors causing delay in construction projects based in Jordan and
found that: equipment availability and failure; lack of communication between par-
ties; errors during the construction stage; financial difficulties faced by the contractor
and alterations to design by client.
These above researches identify various causes of project delays that hinders the
timely delivery of construction projects. From various literatures, Table 1 was devel-
oped.
2 Research Methodology
This paper was conducted with reference to extant literature published in conference
papers, government reports and journals articles in order to highlight the various
causes of delays in construction projects. Specifically, majority of the relevant litera-
ture were extracted from Scopus. Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database
of peer reviewed literature: it is also the widest interdisciplinary database for science,
technology, engineering and medicine, and it includes over 16,000+ peer-reviewed
journals from over 4000 publishers and searches over 430 million scientific web re-
sources and 23 million patents. Compared to other databases, it allows for more fo-
cused multiple search options such as SpringerLink, Ebsco and Web of Science. This
study used Scopus to collate relevant literature based on the search criteria that in-
cluded the following combinations of keywords: ‘Construction AND activities’,
‘Construction AND industry’, ‘Buildings’; ‘Construction AND management’; ‘Delay
AND time’; ‘Timely AND delivery’. The searches were restricted to keyword combi-
nations in the title, abstract and/or keywords of the retrieved articles. From the 87
shortlisted articles, the works of: Assaf and Al-Hejji (2006); Sambasivan and Soon
(2007); Haseeb et al. (2011); Orangi et al., (2011); Kazaz, et al., (2012); Ogunlana et
al. (1996); Sunjka and Jacob (2013); Santoso and Soeng (2016); Lindhard and Wan-
dahl (2014); and Doloi et al. (2012) were considered.
Table 1: Causes of project delays
S/ No Delay Causes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Total Rank
1 Poor site management/Project complexities X X X X X X X X X X 10 1
2 Shortage of skilled labour X X X X X X X X X X 10 1
3 Unrealistic project scheduling X X X X X X X X X X 10 1
4 Labour absenteeism X X X X X X X - X X 9 2
5 Design changes/ Rework due to the construction errors X X X - X X X X X X 9 2
6 Accidents due to poor site safety X X X X - X X X X X 9 2
7 Subcontractor delays X X X X X X X X X - 9 2
8 Shortage of materials on site X X X X X X X X - X 9 2
9 Late delivery of construction materials X X - - - - - X X X 5 3
10 Effects of bad weather on construction activities - - X - X X - X - X 5 4
11 Price fluctuations X - X - - - - - X X 4 4
12 Late payment by the owner for the completed work X - X - X X - - - - 4 4
13 Lack of labour supervision X - X - X X - - - - 4 4
14 Project size X - - - - - - - X X 3 5
15 Price fluctuations X - X - - - - X - - 3 5
16 Poor communication and coordination - - - - X X X - - - 3 5
17 Frequent breakdowns of construction plant and equipment - X - - - X - X - - 3 5
18 Personal conflicts among labours X - X - - - X - - - 3 5
19 Legal disputes - - - - - - - - - - 0 6
20 Project complexities/ construction method - - - - - - - - - - 0 6
Total
Authors: (1) - Assaf and Al-Hejji (2006); (2) – Sambasivan and Soon (2007); (3) - Haseeb et al. (2011); (4) – Orangi et al., (2011); (5) - Kazaz, et al.,
(2012); (6) - Ogunlana et al. (1996); (7) - Sunjka and Jacob (2013); (8) - Santoso and Soeng (2016); (9) - Lindhard and Wandahl (2014); (10) - Doloi et
al. (2012).
3 Findings and Discussions
As seen from the rankings on Table 1, The most ten influential delay factors are: poor
site management; shortage of skilled labour; unrealistic project scheduling; labour
absenteeism; design changes/ rework due to the construction errors; accidents due to
poor site safety; subcontractor delays; shortage of materials on site; late delivery of
construction materials and effects of bad weather on construction activities.
With a perfect score, poor site management/project complexities are ranked the
most significant cause of project delays according to Table 1. This results corroborate
the findings of Miterev and Nedelcu (2011), which asserts that project complexities
can be responsible for project delays. The complexity of a project can be defined in
terms of design specifications and project size. It is well known that construction pro-
jects with a certain level of complexity usually have more detailed and complex plans
and schedule. This increase the need for construction professionals to be adequately
skilled, and anything less can ultimately lead to project delay. To mitigate the effect
of project delay due to this factor, careful planning should be carried out to cover
every significant aspect of the project scope. This can be achieved through the use of
program schedules and project reports to track the success of the constriction project.
Also ranked with a perfect score is the shortage of skilled labour. Though, the con-
struction industry has been influenced by technological driven ideas, the industry
continues to be labor-intensive which remains a vital cog in the success of a project.
Improving the quality of labor or workforce, will definitely lead to construction pro-
ject success. Unrealistic project scheduling is also ranked highly as one of the signifi-
cant factors responsible for construction project delays. This factor stems from the
acceleration in the project schedule as a result of delays in activities and may cause
frequent disruptions in site management due to the delays in tools, equipment and
material supply. This result agrees with the findings of (Frimpong et al., 2003; Ren et
al., 2008). This can also be remedied through the use of realistic program schedules
which can improve output and deliver projects timely. Labour absenteeism was also
ranked as a significant factor. This result is tenable as the absence of workforce on the
construction site will of course lead to delays and low performance, which will affect
the expected completion time. Design changes and rework due to the construction
errors were ranked fifth as factors that can hinder the progress of construction pro-
jects. These factors occur after the award of a contract and ultimately leads to delays
in project schedules (Mahamid et al., 2012). These factors can also originate from
various reasons including: extra requirements and modifications by the client; poor
communication between parties, as well as conflicts and disputes among professionals
on-site (Austin et al., 2002).
Further assessment on Table 1 shows that the next ranked factors were accidents
due to poor site safety. The construction industry is one of the most hazardous as a
result of site conditions, poor safety management, amongst others (Farooqui et al.,
2008). Accidents can reduce the work speed and efficiency which can lead to project
schedule delay as corroborated in the study of (Bronh et al., 2012). Subcontractor
delays is ranked seventh and this agrees with the findings of Haseeb et al., (2011).
Subcontractors are mostly viewed as the extension of the main contractor which make
their roles significant in the success of construction projects. Therefore, any delays
from the subcontractors will definitely affect the project completion. It is always rec-
ommended that subcontractors are chosen based on their job experience and qualifica-
tion to prevent project delays. Shortage of materials on site is ranked eighth and this
corroborates the findings of Fugar and Agyakwah-Baah (2010). The success of a con-
struction project is dependent on the availability of various construction materials
such as cement, sand, reinforcements amongst others. As such, when there is a short-
age of materials, the project completion time is adversely affected. Another cause of
delay is the late arrival of construction materials which can hamper the timely deliv-
ery of construction projects. Finally, the effect of bad weather on construction activi-
ties cannot be over stated. In the cases of rains and floods, transportation of materials
become difficult, hence, projects cannot be executed at their full performance. It is
recommended that the development stage of a project should be well scheduled so
that the key stages of projects are not affected by bad weather.

4 Lessons learnt and Conclusion

Through a literature review, this study identified the various causes of construction
project delays in our present day. Results of the literature review showed the ten most
significant factors namely: poor site management; shortage of skilled labour; unrealis-
tic project scheduling; labour absenteeism; design changes/ rework due to the con-
struction errors; accidents due to poor site safety; subcontractor delays; shortage of
materials on site; late delivery of construction materials and effects of bad weather on
construction activities. In light of these factors, the following ways to reduce project
delays are recommended: providing a detailed and realistic work schedule on site so
that construction activities and stages can be coordinated; timely delivery of materials
on construction site; improvement of labor and workforce through continous training;
selection of appropriate professionals to control certain activities; usage of technology
to monitor performance of workforce; proper planning of activities so as to prevail
even during adverse weather conditions; defining plans and goals to limit design
changes; employing subcontractors with adequate experience and improved qualifica-
tion; improved site conditions to reduce the number of construction accidents and
adequate funding from clients.
Furthermore, delays in construction projects can be minimized through joint efforts
of players in the construction industry. Contractors, sub-contractors, supervisors, fi-
nancial institutions, manufacturers and the government should cooperate to provide
the necessary infrastructure required for efficient project management. This can be
achieved through the formulation of a participatory programme to develop the indus-
try through a national agency dedicated to the industry. As a result of this paper, fur-
ther research can be conducted in different countries identifying causes for construc-
tion project delays. Comparing previous international literature on this same issue can
attempt to identify the reasons for differences in causes based on geographic and so-
cio-economic factors.
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