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Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials Today: Proceedings


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Analysing the critical delay factors and delay in material supply for
construction projects in India
M. Vidyasagar Reddy a,⇑, Hanumantha Rao b
a
Construction Technology and Management, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, AP, India
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vaddeswaram, AP, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The study of construction delays has remained the subject of much research, and the construction sector
Available online 6 February 2022 in India is nevertheless beset by reoccurring issues. As a consequence of delineating the most prevalent
sources of construction project delays and the core elements that influence to delays, this research pro-
Keywords: vides to the theory and practice of construction scheduling. Because the Indian construction sector’s hade
Factor analysis management tremendous growth in efficiency and quantity over the previous generation, a thorough examination of
Schedule delays the reasons of delays and the formation of a common comprehension with industry professionals are
Delay factors
vital. The literature research identified 47 distinct reasons of delay; the 25 most commonly reported
are grouped as client, contractor, consultant, labour and machinery, inventory, and other associated cat-
egories. The opinions of 142 construction experts from client, consultant, and contractor organizations
were gathered through a survey. These factors are prioritized using a weighted relevance score that con-
siders both frequency and severity, with the top five being Contractors’ financial difficulties. Inadequate
planning and scheduling on the part of the entrepreneur, non-payment of invoices or a failure to collect
payment for completed work Incompetent site administration and oversight, a high volume of client-
requested changes. These findings are significant for reflective practice in the planning and control of
building activities. The study’s findings will assist the Indian construction community in revising delay
causes and realigning project management practices to guarantee projects are completed on schedule.
Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Latest Developments in Materials & Manufacturing.

1. Introduction perspective across the construction supply chain. There is solid


proof of Indian construction projects’ inconsistency, and the trend
The construction industry has emerged as a development driver is swiftly increasing an all-time high support recorded through the
for the Indian economy and it is the country’s second largest indus- sector based on Statista Research Department (www.statista.com).
try after agriculture. It contributes significantly to the national Projects are said to be lacking on all main performance of criteria,
economy and hires many people. The implementation of numerous involving cost, time, and excellent performances [1]. Although
emerging technologies as well as the development of project man- identifying the intrinsic factors influencing both core success met-
agement techniques, has allowed large scale projects to be under- rics is still a work in progress, at least in the Indian perspective, this
taken. The sector must tackle a range of difficulties on its way to study concentrates on the interpretation of performing in terms of
progression. In an Indian construction industry the growth rate project execution on time.
was projected to be 5.65 %. The construction industry in India pro- Delays are habitually costly to all organizations engaged in a
vided more than 2.7 trillion Indian rupees to the country’s Gross project, and they repeatedly result in conflicts, allegations, com-
domestic product (GDP) in January 2019. This was while the con- plete neglect, and even more difficult viability, as well as delaying
struction sector in India has grown significantly in importance over the growth of the construction industry [2]. Construction is a vola-
the last five years, one of the main issues in the industry is a lack of tile business with several unknowns due to various peripheral and
domestic pressures on the construction process. In any construc-
tion project goes through several stages: preparation, develop-
⇑ Corresponding author.
ment, construction, operation, and maintenance. Before the
E-mail address: munnangividyasagarreddy@gmail.com (M. Vidyasagar Reddy).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.12.529
2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Latest Developments in Materials & Manufacturing.
M. Vidyasagar Reddy and H. Rao Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

projects are put forward for consideration, there is a phase of indicated in a contract or beyond the date decided upon by the par-
growth. During the development phase, projects are proposed ties for project delivery. Completing tasks on schedule is an indica-
and are on their way to being accepted. During the building phase, tion of productivity, but the building phase is fraught with
the project is nearing execution. The operating/performance span variables and unpredictability that stem from a variety of outlets.
denotes the time span of service, while the repair period denotes These bases contain the success of the parties, the accessibility of
the time span over which the project is sustained. Unwanted pro- money, the environment, the participation of other parties, and
ject completion delays are a common source of construction pro- contractual relations [8].
ject complications, particularly in developing countries like India. Aneesha discovered major factors using regression analysis,
In India, 57% of construction projects are running late. including top management backing, a capable project team,
According to Arantes and Ferreira, ‘‘the suitable finishing point problem-cracking skills, reasonable cost and time forecasts, infor-
of a project is commonly considered as the most important criteria mation/communication, the project manager’s competency, plan
for determining the achievement of a project.” As a result, it is success, the project manager’s technical competence, the engage-
unfavourable to complete a project behind budget [3]. Unjustified, ment of all project managers, and strong leading previous project
necessitating a re-examination of the pause factors to get a clearer management tool and application expertise, and the use of supe-
interpretation of the causes interested to formulate proactive steps rior and acceptable technologies [9].
for their containment. Despite its success as a field of study, the
issue of inadequate project schedule management continues to 2.3. Causes of delay in material supply
affect projects in Malaysia, for example. With the problem’s long-
evity, the current research aims to revisit the main causes of The most common findings based on past studies are Material
latency [5]. Most notably, this study from India throws light on shortages, increased pricing, transportation delays, and low-
the primary problems that impede timely construction output quality materials. The Indian construction sector is heavily reliant
delivery. The results deliver an incentive for multinational con- on workers who work in all aspects of construction, including
struction project management professionals to focus on and material manufacture, transportation, loading and unloading, and
improve their work activities to fix the issues that arise today. on construction sites. The majority of them are inexperienced,
especially when they initially start working in construction.
2. Literature review Weather has an impact on materials supply when receiving
materials from a manufacturing unit and delivering them to the
2.1. Cost overrunning and time management project site. The supply of some materials to construction sites
may be delayed by rain. Not much of the materials imported from
Cost overruns in the construction industry are a serious concern overseas manufacturers are produced entirely by them. Certain
all over the world. And further research is needed to strengthen materials’ raw materials are occasionally ordered and collected
this crucial situation. This is a basic problem in all types of projects from other nations.
and locations. Cost overruns are also a major issue facing in the
Indian construction industry [5]. Researchers were successful in 2.4. Most mentioned issues in project management
developing a methodical analytical framework to analyze the ele-
ments that cause construction project slowdowns In Egypt. It’s The finance and reimbursement for finished works, deprived
worth noting that this framework should lead the user through a contract management, improvements in site situations, and supply
set of predefined methods for examining building project aspects scarcities were the four greatest critical issues decided to by the
to deliver precise findings and recommendations [6]. manufacturer, contractor, and public client surveyed. Based on
In the construction industry, time overruns are a common the findings of the above-mentioned literature review, it appears
occurrence. major causes for time overruns identified by several that most studding prioritise defining essential factors based on
project implementation organizations include delays in acquiring the views of various building groups.
land, installation of equipment, insufficient deployment by con- Quantification of the interdependencies, on the other hand, is a
tractor, delays in forest clearing, capital restrictions, shift in nature challenging process. One aspect has gained little recognition. Steps
of operation, tender termination, legal issues, interruption in deliv- taken to monitor a critical factor, for instance, could cause another
ery of missionary and Gare, slow moving construction activities, factor to become critical, causing much more delay than expected.
and cost overrun. As Ashwini said the nature of the topic, building Consequently, it is vital to work out how different causes of delay
delays results not only in time overruns but also in expense over- communicate. There is also worked to be undertaken in determin-
runs. There are a variety of reasons that a project could be delayed. ing the relationship between the two. The numerous causes of the
Since the project is based on a large range of variables and partic- delay, as well as a forecast of the effect on the delay.
ipants, each of them has its own set of causes. However, key partic-
ipants such as the owner, contractor, and consultant have a larger
3. Research methodology
influence on project achievement. As a result, the reasons of these
contributors are addressed, which serve to enhance project deliv-
After undertaking a thorough analysis of the literature and
ery in terms of time as well as cost-effective [2].
searching academic sources, a main questionnaire having the 25
maximum shared delays triggers was developed. Identifying
2.2. Delay factors influencing in construction industry research that look at a project using relevant keywords Project per-
formance is affected by delays (time overruns) and other signifi-
An analysis of the factors influencing construction delay was cant problems. The completed questionary survey separated into
carried out to determine the value of each aspect. The outcome two phases. Phase I is used to gather demographic information
of an overview of the variables considered in a questionnaire filled on respondents, such as their working experiences, job role, scope
out by a representative group of Realtors and Contractors employ- of projects, and type of procurement they frequently engaged.
ees [7]. Phase II will include evaluating the perspectives of main construc-
According to A. Assaf, in the construction industry, a delay is tion stakeholders, including members from customer, consultant,
described as a time overrun either away from the finishing date and contractor organizations, of top 25 delay factors based on their
1891
M. Vidyasagar Reddy and H. Rao Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

frequency of occurrence and severity during the construction, by Table 1


using a five point scale as used in earlier delay studies [10]. The Most of the delay factors stated in the literature review.

numerical values assigned to the frequency of occurrence vary NO Description of delay causing factors Category
from 1 = never to 5 = always, while the numerical values assigned 1 Non-payment or a default in obtaining payment for
to the degree of seriousness range from 1 = not at all to 5 = ex- finished work
tremely severe. 2 So many change orders by clients Clint
The feedback was piloted with construction experts from client, 3 Slow making decisions
4 Improper communication with others
contractor, and consultant organizations to assess its accuracy in 5 Economic challenges and financial issues
terms of conciseness and outspokenness as the testing instrument. 6 During construction, changes in the type of
All the pilot sources had a tertiary degree, and about 65% had more materials and requirements
than 5 years of construction involvement. The most of them were 7 Complexity of the project
8 Bidder with the lowest price
working on typically private-funded projects.
9 The owner’s approval of the specification documents
10 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur
4. Data collection 11 Subcontractors who are ineffective Contractor
12 Construction mistakes and defective works
13 Incompetent site management and supervision
A coordinated construction was used to collect crucial data
14 Contractors’ financial problems
from the respondents. The primary data was obtained from indi- 15 Coordination with other groups is inadequate.
viduals who work as construction professionals in Indian construc- 16 Insufficient contractor expertise
tion firms, by using personal connections and different mail 17 Delay of shop drawings and samples of materials.
18 Delay in mobilisation of the site.
addresses gathered from the Linked-In and other technical social
19 Slow in implementing inspections and testing
media sites. 20 Time taking process in scope change Consultant.
These questionnaires were distributed to construction practi- 21 Delay in preparation and approval of drawings and
tioners in India, including clients, consultants, and contractors specifications
(project managers, site engineers, etc). 22 Errors in architecture
23 Lack of proper communication between parties
Delay factors are considered into Client, Contractor, Consultant,
24 Lack of consultant’s experience.
Materials and other factors, each category contain five factors. In 25 Contractual defects and discrepancies
questionnaires phase II Two questions were asked for each factor 26 Improper budget estimation
based on frequency of occurrence and level of seriousness of issue 27 Instructions are issued slowly.
28 Unclear and inadequate details in drawings.
on project delay. Both frequency of occurrence and degree of sever-
29 poor productivity
ity were characterized on a five-points scale. A sample size of more 30 Insufficient skilled labour Labour and
than 100 with a subjects-to-variables ratio greater than five is equipment
deemed adequate for statistical research and factor assessment 31 Improper or insufficient plant and equipment
[11] (see Table 1). selection.
32 Increased prices
33 Transportation delays Material
4.1. Demographics of respondents 34 Material of poor quality
35 Climate conditions
Describing the profiles of the response. The respondents rate 36 Government priorities and leadership have changed. Others
from clients/consultants and contractors are 45.1% and 54.9%, 37 Unfavourable/unexpected field conditions
38 Interference by political leaders.
respectively. Respondent reveals that almost 67 %have up to 39 Accidents during construction
10 years construction involvement, 38.7% have 5 years or less 40 Natural calamities
experience. These statistics represent the present state of the 41 Corruption
Indian construction, which employs many young professionals to 42 Insufficient information provided during scheduled
time
reach the high requirement for construction work. The profile of
43 Lack of a quality check mechanism
the respondents is hence believed suitably representing construc- 44 Inexperienced manufacturing operators
tion consultants in India (see Fig. 1 and Table 2).

4.2. Analysis approach


where b indicates a constant expressing the degree of severity
The survey details was studied using two sets of catalogues, as
(ranges from 1 for not at all to 5 for extremely severe), n is the fre-
described by Ousseni Bagaya, Jinbo Song and Sadi A. Assaf, Sadiq
quency of each response and N denotes total number of responses.
Al-Hejji. The delay factors are ranked by incidence, intensity, and
The importance index (IMP.I.) which expresses the significance
significance, which are based on frequency, severity, and impor-
of each delay factor as a function integrating frequency of occur-
tance scale [12,8].
rence and degree of severity is given by
The frequency index (F.I.), which measures the rate of repetition
of each cause, is given by IMP  I ¼ F  I  S  I ð3Þ
X5 aini
F:I ¼ ð1Þ
1 5N 4.3. Rating of delay factors
Hear a indicates a constant expressing the degree of frequency
(range since 1 = never to 5 = always), n is the frequency of each Below Tables show the frequency, severity, and importance
response and N denotes total number of responses. indexes, as well as the descending order of delay factors corre-
The severity index (S.I.) is a metric that determines the impor- sponding to clients, consultants, and contractors.
tance of each delay factor and is given by IMP.I scores vary from 0.227 to 0.452. After considering the rate
of recurrence and other factors, as importance index and ranking
X5 aini table shows the top 5 very important causes of delays.
S:I ¼ ð2Þ
1 5N The seriousness of each cause, to be
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M. Vidyasagar Reddy and H. Rao Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

Fig. 1. Respondents work experience.

Table 2 concluded date. These findings indicate that contractors are aware
History of the respondents. of their preparation and scheduling shortcomings. Though contrac-
tor financial problems are ranked ninth in terms of frequency, they
Experience in industry Responses in numbers
are ranked third in terms of severity of schedule delays. Insufficient
>20 years 8
cash flow will stymie project progress because contractors may be
0–5 years 55
10–15 years 21
unable to complete construction activities on time, affecting the
15–20 years 15 project to be late [15] (see Fig. 3).
5–10 years 43
Grand Total 142
5. Discussion of the findings of the factor study

5.1. Financial management


Contractors’ financial problems (IMP.I = 0.452)
Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur (IMP.
Economically linked delay reasons are delayed expenses to
I = 0.446)
the contractor, inadequate economic capital, and the clints lack
Non-payment or a default in obtaining payment for finished
of sound financial management procedures are all financial delay
work (IMP.I = 0.415)
triggers [4]. Stress that cashflow issues curtail development by
Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur (IMP.
lowering efficiency, as contractors are unable to purchase the
I = 0.309)
materials and equipment needed to finish excellent job. They
So many change orders by clients (IMP.I = 0.301) (see Fig. 2).
go on to say that these issues affect subcontractors and vendors
as well, resulting in a vicious cycle of slow progress and, inevi-
Clients and contractors have different perspectives on the
tably, project delays. As a result, sound financial planning, man-
causes of delays because they prefer to blaming one another nega-
agement, and influence form the foundation for a successful
tive outcomes [13]. The customers, for example, fault the contrac-
execution [16].
tors’ ineffective financial, capability, and site managing for the top
five reasons for delays. Contractors, on the other side, see delayed
expenses from customers as a major concern. 5.2. Communication and coordination management
The categorization of delay causes into set of categories is done
as follows contractors (35%), clients (23%), labour/equipment Consider how effective communication and teamwork man-
related (14%), consultant (9%), material based (7%) and others agement can affect project performance. As a result, supply
(12%). are the category categories in which delay causes are classi- chain coordination is critical [17]. In complex environments,
fied, implying that contractor-related affects have a major impact the intensity and breadth of on-site communications varies they
on project delays. Hisham and others have seen a similar pattern find that best production managers choose casual connections
[14] (see Tables 3-5). for exchanging and collecting data. Construction professionals
The key cause of construction project delays, which is ranked have a clear preference for verbal exchange of knowledge in
first on the severity scale, is contractors’ absence of adequate this context. Rich project communications, on the other hand,
preparation and organizing. Considering this, it can be derived that are critical for successful teamwork. Regardless of the way to
the greater the level incidence, the greater the effect on the original communicate [19].
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M. Vidyasagar Reddy and H. Rao Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

Fig. 2. Delay factors classified by category.

Table 3
Frequency index and grading.

Delay factors Overall (N = 142) Client/consultant Contractor (N = 142)


(N = 142)
NO Rank F.I Rank F.I Rank F.I
1 Contractors’ economical challenges 1 0.623 1 0.641 2 0.608
2 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur 2 0.62 4 0.597 1 0.638
3 Non-payment or a default in obtaining payment finished work 3 0.59 2 0.603 3 0.579
4 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur 4 0.518 8 0.519 5 0.518
5 So many change orders by clients 5 0.514 7 0.528 6 0.503
6 Insufficient plant and gear choosing. 6 0.503 9 0.509 7 0.497
7 Accidents during construction 7 0.501 20 0.466 4 0.521
8 poor productivity 8 0.497 12 0.497 8 0.497
9 Improper consultation between parties 9 0.493 11 0.503 10 0.485
10 Climate conditions 10 0.493 5 0.584 23 0.418
11 Construction errors and substandard works 11 0.489 15 0.484 9 0.492
12 Lack of interaction with others 12 0.483 3 0.6 25 0.387
13 Economic challenges and financial issues 13 0.482 16 0.484 11 0.479
14 low making decisions 14 0.475 18 0.472 12 0.477
15 Unfavourable/unexpected field conditions 15 0.475 13 0.491 15 0.462
16 Material shortages 16 0.472 10 0.509 14 0.467
17 increased prices 17 0.465 17 0.481 17 0.451
18 Slow in implementation inspecting and checking 18 0.465 6 0.55 24 0.395
19 Errors in architecture 19 0.461 23 0.45 13 0.469
20 Insufficient skilled labour 20 0.455 19 0.469 19 0.444
21 Subcontractors who are ineffective 21 0.454 22 0.459 18 0.449
22 Interference by political leaders. 22 0.454 21 0.466 20 0.444
23 Delay in preparing and authorization of drawings 23 0.452 24 0.45 16 0.454
24 Government priorities and leadership have changed. 24 0.451 14 0.488 22 0.421

5.3. Site management due to the client’s lack of site management skills. Inexperi Jeffrey
Boon Hui Yapenced contractors may be unable to keep up with
Construction efficiency suffers because of inadequate site man- the pace of work or may be unaware of the project’s complexities,
agement, which provides to project delays. Site management is resulting in misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Inadequate
involved with project control, resource allocation, site worker contractor expertise leads to poor site management and, as a
engagement, and all-party contact and planning. For improving result, time overruns [1].
construction project schedule efficiency, well-organized site man-
agement and sufficient regulation are critical. The lack of leverage 5.4. Construction risk management
over the subcontractor represents the main contractor’s ineffective
management skills. This may be related to the lack of a consistent Project delays are proportional to the point of volatility and dif-
contractual structure and objective requirements for hiring sub- ficulty. A construction risk is defined as ‘‘an unforeseeable occur-
contractors on Indian projects. Lack of influence around subcon- rence or situation which that, if it happens, has a positive or
tractors can result in unwelcomed disputes, low production, and negative impact on one or more project intentions such as capacity,
negative opinions on the job site. The contractor’s expertise is schedule, expense, or quality” [20]. The study of the performance
1894
M. Vidyasagar Reddy and H. Rao Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

Table 4
Severity index and grading.

Delay factors Overall Client/consultant Contractor


(N = 142) (N = 142) (N = 142)
NO Rank F.I Rank F.I Rank F.I
1 Contractors’ economical problems 1 0.725 2 0.733 1 0.716
2 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur 2 0.723 1 0.736 2 0.712
3 Non-payment or a default in obtaining payment for finished 3 0.703 3 0.715 3 0.688
work
4 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur 4 0.596 4 0.605 7 0.584
5 So many change orders by clients 5 0.586 5 0.582 5 0.591
6 Insufficient plant and gear choosing. 6 0.576 6 0.582 14 0.569
7 Accidents during construction 7 0.57 7 0.569 11 0.572
8 Improper communication with others 8 0.569 9 0.564 9 0.575
9 Improper consultation between parties 9 0.569 10 0.554 6 0.588
10 poor productivity 10 0.568 8 0.569 16 0.566
11 Material shortages 11 0.556 13 0.544 12 0.572
12 Unfavourable/unexpected field conditions 12 0.556 11 0.551 17 0.563
13 Delay in preparing and authorization of drawings 13 0.551 12 0.551 19 0.551
14 Climate conditions 14 0.542 14 0.528 4 0.619
15 Slow in implementation inspecting and checking 15 0.538 16 0.523 18 0.556
16 Economic challenges and financial issues 16 0.537 23 0.505 15 0.569
17 Insufficient skilled labour 17 0.535 17 0.523 20 0.551
18 Errors in architecture 18 0.534 15 0.526 24 0.534
19 Interference by political leaders. 19 0.532 18 0.521 21 0.547
20 Subcontractors who are ineffective 20 0.531 19 0.521 23 0.544
21 Slow making decisions 21 0.524 24 0.505 22 0.547
22 Increased prices 22 0.521 20 0.521 8 0.581
23 Construction errors and substandard works 23 0.517 21 0.515 25 0.519
24 Time taking process in scope change 24 0.515 22 0.512 10 0.575
25 Government priorities and leadership have changed. 25 0.508 25 0.456 13 0.572

Table 5
Importance index and grading.

Delay factors Overall Client/consultant Contractor


(N = 142) (N = 142) (N = 142)
NO Rank F.I Rank F.I Rank F.I
1
1 Contractors’ financial problems 1 0.452 2 0.458 2 0.446
2 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur 2 0.446 3 0.418 1 0.470
3 Non-payment or a default in obtaining payment for finished 3 0.415 4 0.415 3 0.415
work
4 Inadequate planning and scheduling entrepreneur 4 0.309 9 0.303 4 0.313
5 So many change orders by clients 5 0.301 7 0.312 6 0.293
6 Insufficient plant and gear choosing. 6 0.290 12 0.290 7 0.290
7 Accidents during construction 7 0.286 18 0.266 5 0.296
8 poor productivity 8 0.282 13 0.281 8 0.283
9 Improper consultation between parties 9 0.280 10 0.296 9 0.268
10 Improper communication with others 10 0.275 6 0.345 23 0.218
11 Climate conditions 11 0.267 5 0.362 22 0.221
12 Unfavorable/unexpected field conditions 12 0.264 16 0.276 10 0.254
13 Material shortages 13 0.262 11 0.291 12 0.254
14 Economic challenges and financial issues 14 0.258 17 0.275 15 0.242
15 Construction errors and substandard works 15 0.253 22 0.251 11 0.254
16 Slow in implementation inspecting and checking 16 0.250 8 0.306 24 0.207
17 Delay in preparing and authorization of drawings 17 0.249 24 0.248 13 0.250
18 Slow making decisions 18 0.249 19 0.258 16 0.241
19 Errors in architecture 19 0.244 25 0.240 14 0.247
20 Insufficient skilled labour 20 0.243 20 0.258 19 0.232
21 Increased prices 21 0.242 14 0.280 17 0.235
22 Interference by political leaders. 22 0.241 21 0.255 20 0.231
23 Subcontractors who are ineffective 23 0.241 23 0.250 18 0.234
24 Government priorities and leadership have changed. 24 0.229 15 0.279 25 0.192
25 Time taking process in scope change 25 0.227 1 0.511 21 0.221

dimension of risk management systems by Yaraghi and Langhe struction risk management is becoming increasingly important
determines that organisational background and expertise are crit- for coping with the complexities of projects at various stages of
ical influencing aspects. Given this experience, identifying con- the project life cycle, as well as the risk acceptances involved [21].

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M. Vidyasagar Reddy and H. Rao Materials Today: Proceedings 60 (2022) 1890–1897

Fig. 3. Top five percentage and ranking delay causes.

6. Conclusions bias. While the use of a systematic questionnaire survey allows


for the collection of data from many practitioners for statistical
Since construction project delays are so common throughout analysis, it is less effective than the interpretative method of con-
the world, the reasons that cause them to have received a lot of suming determined interviews it is unable to probe respondents
academic attention on data, despite the informative and explana- for their amusing involvements in challenging delay issues.
tory quality of the research undertaken thus far, little progress Nonetheless, as compared to previous research, the findings are
has been made in controlling the issue. This research uses an largely supported by data triangulation. Further comparative
Indian field survey to list the 25 highly common issues of construc- research will be useful to analyse the impact of obtaining processes
tion project delays based on the knowledge of major shareholders and construction stakeholders’ level of experience on experiences
from the client’s perspective, according to the importance index, of delay in other geographic and economic contexts. Upcoming
contractor and consultant organisations are the most importance regulatory research using act and pragmatic research methods will
index (IMP.I). In the whole framework, the five most crucial causes also assist in examining the proactive modification steps required
are ‘Contractors’ financial problems’, ‘Inadequate planning and to shrink and manage the magnitude of schedule delays to address
scheduling entrepreneur’, ‘Non-payment or a default in obtaining the underlying managerial issues.
payment for finished work’, ‘Incompetent site management and’
and regulation So many changing orders by clients. The Spearman’s
CRediT authorship contribution statement
rank correlation tests show that the three respondent groups have
a high level of agreement in terms of the regularity, intensity, and
M. Vidyasagar Reddy: Conceptualization, Writing – review &
significance of the delay causes, confirming the legitimacy of the
editing. Hanumantha Rao: Conceptualization, Methodology,
findings in see-through that the most common causes of project
Supervision.
delays are contractor-related delays.
The results of this study support both researchers and construc-
tion experts by providing greater insights into the core causes of Declaration of Competing Interest
schedule delays, especially in emerging Asian and African econo-
mies. Constant development of awareness and awareness of the The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
value of these causes would assist shareholders in decreasing cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
delays and developing effective strategies to improve project to influence the work reported in this paper.
schedule results, as well as guiding future market research. Fur-
thermore, construction professionals must be aware of the five References
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[14] M.A. Othuman Mydin, N.M. Sani, M. Taib, N. Mohd Alias, M.A. Othuman Mydin, 09537287.2018.1518551.
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collection du Laboratoire des Sciences Naturelles de l’Université. Description
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