PROJECT DELAYS
COMMON CAUSES OF DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
FORMULATION | ANALYSIS | MANAGEMENT
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra one of the greatest novelists and writers of all time said that “delay always breeds danger” This remark made in the 16th century still holds true today, especially in the construction industry.
It is very seldom that a construction project is not impacted by delays. Many research studies have been conducted over the years to determine the causes and effects of construction delays. Regardless of the vast body of knowledge on construction delays, the failure of many projects to finish on time remains problematic globally. What are the predominant causes of delay in construction projects? Is there some commonality in the causes of delay in different countries?
In this article, we review the findings of 17 independent studies on delay conducted in 15 different countries to
answer these questions. The results provide some very interesting insights and might influence your approach to future projects.
Dr Hendrik Prinsloo is an expert witness and specialist in the analysis construction delay claims
THE STUDIES
The 17 research studies that were reviewed summarised the reasons for delays in three main categories:
- contractor delays;
- owner delays; and
- external factors – where neither the contractor nor the client is directly responsible for the delay
The results of the studies were analyzed to identify common causes of delay in the 15 different countries where the studies were conducted.
DELAYS CAUSED BY CONTRACTORS
Site management/supervision followed by general availability of labor were the predominant causes of delay on the side of contractors. Another significant cause of delay was planning and scheduling problems.
DELAYS CAUSED BY OWNERS
DELAYS CAUSED BY EXTERNAL FACTORS
SUMMARY OF REASON FOR DELAY PER COUNTRY
CONCLUSION
The research studies considered were all concluded before COVID-19 impacted the execution of construction projects. It will be interesting to repeat the research to see how COVID-19 compares with the other predominant causes of delay identified.
In the work we do we are often witness to the devasting effects of project delays but what can be done to address this? A good strategy to minimize delays is to put risk-mitigating measures in place to address the most prevalent delays. It is also good practice to allocate the risk of managing the occurrence of typical delays to the contracting party that is in the best position to mitigate the risk of occurrence.
One common thread in many of the delays identified is insufficient planning and scheduling. The tremendous benefit of taking sufficient time to develop a detailed project schedule and to proactively manage and update the schedule during construction cannot be over-emphasized.