LLAMAS, Joshua Joseph C.

RES100-11 – E01
Research Title: Delays in Construction works on general Civil Engineering

Projects in Hongkong

Statement of the Problem

The main objective of this research study is to determine and investigate

the foremost reasons for such construction delays occurring on civil engineering

projects in Hong Kong. The specific aims of the study are as follows:

1. Gather the perceptions of civil construction practitioners.

2. Determine how significant are the causes of delay.

3. Investigate whether the suggestions of the Construction Industry Review

Committee are applicable and effective at mitigating the corresponding

delay.
 Related literature

Figure 1. Summary of previous studies on causes of delay in construction

industry
 Many researchers have conducted surveys and study on the causes of

delay in the construction industry; some of these are summarized in Fig. 1. A

preliminary investigation was conducted in early 1994 to examine the primary

reasons for project delays in one-hundred eleven (111) building and civil

engineering projects in Hong Kong that were concluded between 1990 and 1993

(Kumaraswamy & Chan, 1995) It was observed that only 40% of government

buildings, 25% of private sector building, and 35% of civil engineering works

were completed within schedule, with the average overrun time exceeding 20%

(Chan and Kumaraswamy 1995)

The Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC 2001), headed by

Mr. Henry Tang, was appointed by the Chief Executive of HKSAR to review

the construction industry's current state and recommend measures for improving

quality and performance. The Committee looked over the entire construction-

delivery process and sought radical changes to help produce quality products

delivered on time and within budget. The report suggested a vision for the

growth and development of an integrated construction industry capable of

continuous improvement toward excellence in a market-driven environment. It

aimed at cultivating a modern, safe, innovative, efficient, environmentally

responsible, and client-oriented construction industry that could support the

further development of our economy in the 21st century and provide a better

living environment. To solve the critical problem areas of the Hong Kong
construction industry, the Committee made 109 recommendations for

improvement (CIRC 2001)

Conceptual Framework

In this part, will serve as a roadmap that guides the entire research

process specifically in the causes of delays of in the field of engineering

construction . It is a set of interconnected concepts, assumptions, and theories

that define the research problem, inform the research questions, and guide the

analysis and interpretation of data.

Data analysis

The relative relevance of the various delays was assessed using the RII

technique by Kometa et al. (1994) and Sambasvian and Soon (2007). This study

used the same methodology. RIIs are determined for each factor according to

the equation below:

∑ 𝒘 𝟓𝒏𝟓+ 𝟒𝒏𝟒+ 𝟑𝒏𝟑+𝟐𝒏𝟐+ 𝟏𝒏𝟏

=
𝑨𝑵 𝟓𝑵

where W is the weight that respondents have assigned to each element (ranging

from 1 to 5), A is the factor with the highest weight (in this example, 5), and N

is the total number of respondents. The RII rating ranged from 0 to 1; the

greater the RII, the more significant the cause of delays was. RII values were

used to order the causes. We were able to determine the most common delays
from the ranking given to each cause of delays. significant determinants or

delays in the Iranian building sector.

Analysis of Variance

Every sevenfold cause has been scored using these scores and the rate of

their being under the effect on the projects has been prioritized using ANOVA

to generate the average ratings achieved by construction industry specialists

provided to each of the causes of delay (i.e. RII). Levene's test determines that

this test's significance is greater than 0.05, at which point parametric tests like

ANOVA can be applied. ANOVA is a group of statistical models that is utilized

to examine the variations in group means. When using ANOVA, the observed

variance

Methodology

This section is divided into two distinct sections: the nature of process-

based techniques used to analyse delays and their compliance with SCL

protocol; and refers to the methods used to assess the perceptions of clients,

consultants, and contractors on the relative importance of delays in the

construction industry.

Experts’ perception of causes of delay

To determine how persons working in the Iranian construction business

feel about the relative significance of delays, a questionnaire was created.

Professionals with extensive expertise in the construction industry, such as

project managers, site managers, technical office managers, technical office

engineers, procurement managers, and technical consultants, then completed the

questionnaire. The RII approach was used to analyze the data that had been

gathered. The respondents were asked to categorize their responses to 78 widely

acknowledged construction delay reasons the academics had discovered. The

following seven main categories were used to classify these causes. The causes

that are related to the client (with 19 factors), the contractor (with 13 factors),

the consultant (with 9 factors), the design (with 8 factors), the material (with 8

factors), the labour and equipment category (with 8 factors), and the external

(with 13 factors) causes. To quantify the significance of delay causes, a five-

point Likert scale with a range of 1 to 5 was used. A brief interview with 15

clients, 15 consultants, and 15 contractors was held with industry specialists

prior to the distribution of the questionnaires.

The norm of process-based methodologies

This document includes all process-based delay analysis methodologies and

organizes them into 11 categories. With the help of clients, contractors, and

consultants, a thorough analysis was undertaken to uncover the nature of these

strategies in order to understand their benefits and drawbacks. The second

phase, which is among the most crucial for conducting a successful delay

analysis, is choosing the most suitable technique based on the limitations and
unique circumstances of each project. The authors followed the SCL procedure

and the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International

(AACEI) standards for all process-based delay analysis approaches. The

procedure provides guidelines on whether various methods of retrospective

delay analysis are suitable in certain evidential scenarios.

 Reference

Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC. (2001). Construct for

excellence, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong.

Lo, T. Y., Fung, I. W. H., & Tung, K. C. F. (2016, December 19). Construction
delays in Hong Kong civil engineering projects. Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management.

Kumaraswamy, M. M., and Chan, D. W. M. (1995). “Determinants

ofconstruction durations.”Constr. Manage. Econom.,13(3), 209–217.