Delay in Construction Projects in Palestine From Contractors Perspective
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Date
2018
Authors
Bassam, Mohammed
Zorba, Omar
Najjar, Omar
Abu Alrob, Osama
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Abstract
The problem of delays in the construction industry is a global phenomenon, and the construction industry in Palestine is no exception. This problem is associated with the majority of construction projects in Palestine. However, a little effort has been made to resist this problem. This research aims at identifying and ranking the main causes of delay in construction projects and the actions that can be utilized to minimize the delays.
Therefore, a questionnaire survey has been done to collect information from a sample of contractors. The questionnaire consisted of 52 causes of delay that were achieved from past similar studies and grouped into five main categories. In addition, the questionnaire included eight actions that are expected to minimize the delay in construction projects. The questionnaire has been subjected to pilot-tested by two experts in the field of construction to get the final draft of the questionnaire. After that, the questionnaire has been distributed on a sample of contractors and then analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
The results show that the most significant ten causes of construction delays are: (1) delay in payments for completed work by owner, (2) shortage of skilled labors, (3) ineffective planning and scheduling of project by the contractor, (4) difficulties in funding project by contractor due to the lack of cash, (5) poor site management and supervision by the contractor, (6) inadequate experience of site engineer, (7) the issuing of change orders by the owner during construction, (8) insufficient data collection and reconnaissance before bidding by the contractor, (9) low productivity of labors and finally (10) the inability of contactor to manage his projects due to their complexity.
Also, the most important three actions are: (1) Using cash payment to get requirements faster, (2) Increasing number of labors, (3) Working on more than one activity at the same time.
Actually, the research then suggests some recommendations to minimize delays; such as, the owner should pay to the contractor for the completed work in the stipulated date, the contractor should use the available software for planning and scheduling and the consultant must inspect the work over the whole period of the project not only after the activity completed