IRJET- Delay in Construction its Causes and Mitigation: A Review

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 07 Issue: 02 | Feb 2020 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2020, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.34 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 2534
Delay in Construction its Causes and Mitigation: A review
Akshay M. Tayade1 and Parag S. Mahatme2
1PG Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Prof. Ram Meghe College of Engineering and Management, Badnera.
2Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Prof. Ram Meghe College of Engineering and Management,
Badnera.
---------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abstract - The construction industry is a huge sector all
over the world. constructionindustryplayanimportantrolein
increasing the gdp of the nation because the number ofpeople
involved in the sector is huge which increase the buying and
spending of the people .To managetheconstructionindustryis
not a easy job and sometime which lead to delay in the
construction .delay can be of any type and need special
attention toward the work when the workisinprogress.asthe
number of stakeholders is on the higher side then it is
necessary to check whether they are performing their duty or
not. Due to the delay several activates are disturb and which
lead increase the cost of the project .Theobjectiveofthispaper
is to study the causes of delays in construction work and how
can we reduce it by proper method.
Key Words: Delay, Mitigation, Problems
1. INTRODUCTION
The construction industry in world is one of the important
sectors that contribute to world economic growth. The
industry acts as a catalyst for our economy through the
creation of industries such as education, finances,
manufacture, service, and many others. The problem of
delays in the construction industry is a global issue. A
construction project may defined as a successful project
when it is completed on time, within the budget, with
appropriate quality, follow the specifications and to
stakeholders' satisfaction. Other than that, functionality,
profitability to contractors and absence of claims have also
been used as measures of project success Delayisa situation
when a project is not completed within the agreed contract
period. The project is skid over its planned schedule and is
considered a common problem in construction projects.It is
very infrequently to see a construction project is completed
on time. Delays can make the disruption of work and loss of
productivity get a rise, other than that completion of the
project are late, increased time-relatedcostsandthird-party
claims. Delays are very costly and always result in disputes
and claims. Therefore, it is important to keeptrack ofproject
progress to avoid the possibility of delay occurrence or
identify it at the early stages.[1]
In Saudi Arabia, Assaf et. al. (2006) conduced a research
about construction project delay different type of project in
the state. During the study it was observed that 70% of
projects experiencetimeoverrun.Thesurveywasconducted
with 23 contractors, 19 consultant and 15 owners. Seventy-
three cause of delay was recognized and the causes are
grouped into nine classes. The outcome of the survey that
agreed by all three parties is change order. The overall
results are stated that the factor related to labor, contractor,
project, owner and consultant are in the highest rank. [2]
Shabbab Al Hammadi, M. Sadique Nawab.studied that the
construction project consists of three phases namely:
Conception, designing and Construction. Timely completion
of projects is an indicator of efficient construction industry.
Construction time‖ often serves as a benchmark for
assessing the performance of a project and the efficiency of
the project organisation.A project is said to be successful on
timely completion. The time required to complete
construction of projects is often more than specified time in
Contract. These overruns or time extensions happensdueto
many reasons, such as designer changes or errors,economic
conditions, resource availability and performance of project
parties. Usually, majority of project delay occurs during
Construction phase, where unforeseen factors are always
involved.[3]
Abd El-Razek et al. (2008) studied delay in building
construction project in Egypt, a total number of 32 delay
causes were selected grouped according to responsibility
(contractor, consultant, owner and common responsibility)
and categorized under 9 groups namely (financing,
manpower, Changes, Contractual relationships,
Environment, Equipment, Rules and regulations, Materials,
Scheduling and Control ). Each delay causewasmeasured on
a Likert scale using four options: very important; important;
somewhat important; and not important. On the basis of
survey and overall results, they concluded that the most
important causes were: financing by contractor during
construction; delays in contractor‘s payment by owner;
design changes by owner or his agent during construction;
partial payments during construction; and non-utilizationof
professional construction/contractual management.[3]

Arditi & Pattanakitchamrron (2006) stated that delays in
construction can cause a numberofchangesina project such
as late completion, lost productivity, acceleration, increased
costs, and contract termination. The party experiencing
damages and the parties responsible for them in order to
recover time and cost. However, in general delay situations
are complex in nature. A delay in an activity may not result
in the same amount of project delay. A delay caused by a
party may or may not affect the project completion date and
may or may not cause damage to another party. A delay may
occur concurrently with other delays and all of them may
impact the project completion date.[4]
Kumaraswamy et al. also done a surveyonfindingthecauses
of construction delays but in HongKong. Thesurveyexposed
the differences in perceptions of the relative importance of
factors between the three groups, that is clients, contractors
and consultants indicative of their experiences, possible
prejudices and lack of effective communication.[1]
2. TYPE OF DELAY
Fig.1 shows the type of delay
Delays generally fall into four categories.Delayisconsidered
a major cause of construction claim.
In the process of determining the effect of a delay on the
project, the analyst must determine whether the delay is
critical or noncritical. The analyst must also assess if delay
are concurrent. All delays that are identified in the analysis
will be either excusable or non-excusable. Delay can be
further categorized into compensable or non-compensable
delays.[4]
 Critical and Non-Critical Delays
Delays that affect the project completion, or in some cases a
milestone date, are considered as critical delays, and delays
that do not affect the project completion,ora milestonedate,
are noncritical delays. If these activities are delayed, the
project completion date or a milestone daterwill bedelayed.
The determining which activities truly control the project
completion date depends on the following: [4]
a. The project itself
b. The contractor’s plan and schedule (particularly the
critical path)
c. The requirement of the contract for sequence and
phasing
d. The physical constraint of the project, i.e. how to build
the job from a practical perspective
 Excusable and Non-Excusable Delays
Excusable delays are those not attributable to the
contractor's actions or inactions and typically include
unforeseen events. It allows the contractor to obtain a time
extension to complete the contract without being penalized.
However, this type of delay normally does not entitle the
contractor to any damages caused by the delay.
The examples of excusable delays toa contractor'sactionare
differing site conditions, design problems, changes to the
work, inclement weather, and strikes. This type of clause
sometimes called a "force majeure" clause, lists excusable
delays. As this list implies when unanticipated outside
'forces delay completion of the contractor's work, the delay
is generally considered as excusable.[1]
Non-excusable delays are events that are within the
contractor’s control or that are foreseeable. These are some
examples or non-excusable delays: [5]
a. Late performance of sub-contractors
b. Untimely performance by suppliers
c. Faulty workmanship by the contractor or sub-
contractors
d. A project-specific labor strike caused by either the
contractor’s unwillingness to meet with labor
representative or by unfair labor practices
 Compensable Delays and Non-Compensable Delays
A compensable delay is a delay where the contractor is
entitled to a time extension and to additional compensation.
Relating back to the excusable and non-excusable delays,
only excusable delays can be compensable. Non-
compensable delays mean that although an excusable delay
may have occurred, the contractor is not entitled to any
added compensation resulting from the excusable delay.
Thus, the question of whether a delay is compensable must

be answered. Additionally, a non-excusable delay warrants
neither additional compensation nor a time extension.
Whether or not a delay is compensable depends primarily
on the terms of the contract. In the most cases, a contract
specifically notes the kinds of delays that are non-
compensable, for which the contractor does not receive any
additional money but may be allowed a time extension. [5]
 Concurrent Delays
The concept of concurrent delay has become a verycommon
presentation as part of some analysis of constructiondelays.
The concurrency argument is not just from thestandpointof
determining the project’s critical delays but from the
standpoint of assigning responsibility for damages
associated with delays to the critical path. Owners will often
cite concurrent delays by the contractor as a reason for
issuing a time extension without additional compensation.
Contractors will often cite concurrentdelaysbytheowneras
a reason why liquidated damages should not be assessedfor
its delays.[4]
3. CLASSIFICATION OF CAUSES OF DELAY
The causes of construction delayscouldvaryfromcountryto
country because of the differences in political, economic,
social, and environmental conditions, and government
regulations. In previous studies, different researchers have
examined construction project delays from a different
perspective and identified several different causes of delay.
From these studies and the interviews that the authors
conducted with engineers experienced in project execution,
24 potential causes of delay were identified. The pertinence
of these causes was verified through senior engineers,
involved in the construction projects implemented by three
government-owned, major infrastructure construction
organizations; BD, RDA, and NWSDB. The selected causes
were classified into three main categories, namely,
management-related causes, finance-related causes, and
construction-related causes, based on the origin, as follows:
[6]
Management Related Causes (MRC)
a. Poor project planning & scheduling
b. Incompetence of key staff
c. Poor decision making by management
d. Poor coordination with sub contractors
e. Delays in material supply
f. Disputes with other parties
g. Internal organisational problems
h. Disputes with other parties
i. Fraudulent practices in the organisation
Finance Related Causes (FRC)
a. Low profit margin
b. Inadequate cash flow management
c. Inefficiency in billing and collecting payments
d. Poor estimation practices
e. Inadequate progress reviews
f. Poor cost controlling system
Construction Related Causes (CRC)
a. Handling of too many projects at a given time
b. Faulty work
c. Poor communication with other parties
d. Insufficient quality control
e. Poor supervision of work
f. Insufficient availability of equipment
g. Unqualified workforce
 Methods of Minimizing Construction Delays
When a construction delay occurs, there is no question that
the Owner suffers financially. But the extent to which an
Owner can recover its loss of income from the Contractor,
and more importantly minimizethe risk thatsuchdelayswill
occur, depends largely on how theconstructioncontractwas
drawn up.[4]
Methods of Minimizing Construction Delays
a. Frequent progress meeting.
b. Use up-to-date technology utilization .
c. Use proper and modern construction equipment.
d. Use appropriate construction methods .
e. Effective strategic planning .
f. Proper material procurement .
g. Accurate initial cost estimates .
h. Clear information and communication channels
i. Frequent coordination between the parties involved.
An analysis is needed to identify the impact of delay on time
and cost followed by taking the appropriate action to
mitigate delay and minimize the cost required. Mitigation
efforts are necessary to minimize losses and this can be
achieved by many procedures such as protection of
uncompleted work, timely and reasonable reprocurement,
and timely changing or cancellation of purchase orders. It is
important to predict and identify the problems in the early
stages of construction and diagnose the cause to and
implement the most appropriate and economical solutions.

This factor increases the probability of delay occurrences in
construction projects and makes effective management
important to reduce the diversions from the original
program.[7]
Table -1: Mitigation plan for different causes of delay.
Sr
.
Causes of delay Group Mitigation plan
1 Legal disputes b/w
various parts
Project Amicable solution
should be provided
between parts.
Appoint arbitrator
to take final
decision.
2 neffective delay
penalties
Project Monetary penalties
should be effective
on
consultant/contract
or for any delay in
project and it should
be in signed
agreement.
3 Delay in progress
paymentsbyowner
Owner It should be
compensated by
making advance
payment to
vendors/contractors
4 Delay to furnish
and deliver the site
to the contractor by
the owner
Owner Motivate contractor
by paying bonus so
as to complete work
as per rescheduled
activities. Labors
can be paid extra for
extra work done to
complete work on
schedule.
5 Change orders by
owner during
construction
Owner Owner should stick
upon their orders. If
orders needs to be
changed then owner
should plan it ahead
so as not to impact
on schedule
6 Late in revising and
approving design
documents by
owner
Owner Prior execution of
project, owner must
have finalized
drawings and
documents.
7 Delay in approving
sample materials
Owner Prior to execution of
project, material
sample should be
finalized as per its
availabilityandneed
of project.
8 Poor
communicationand
coordination by
owner and other
parties
Owner Weekly review
meetings should
followed religiously
by owner to track
project progress.
9 Slowness in
decision making
process by owner
Owner Decision process
should be simpler
and faster
1
0
Rework due to
errors during
construction
Contracto
r
Work should
progress asper plan.
Engineer/Architect
should monitor
ongoing work so as
to avoid any errors
during execution of
work. Timely
monitoring work
will reduce the need
of rework
1
1
Conflicts b/w
contractor and
other parties
(consultant and
owner)
Contracto
r
Owner should
conduct
weekly/monthly
meetings so that
alarming issues
betweencontractors
and other parties
can be addressed
1
2
Poor site
management and
supervision by
contractor
Contracto
r
Qualified and
experienced staff
should be hired for
site management
and supervision
1
3
Poor
communicationand
coordination by
contractor with
other parties
Contracto
r
Contractor should
co-ordinate with
subcontractor and
other parties on
weekly basis.
Contractors should
publish work
schedule on regular
basis.
1
4
Ineffective
planning and
scheduling of
Contracto
r
Planning/Schedulin
g should be practical
and achievable.

project by
contractor
Planning and
schedule should be
reviewed by
experienced staff
and owner.
1
5
Improper
construction
methods
Contracto
r
Consultant should
provide timely
guidance on work
methodology to
accelerate the
1
6
Delay in
performing
inspection and
testing by
consultant
Consultan
t
Consultant should
timely inspect the
site
1
7
Delay in approving
major changes in
the scope of work
by consultant
Consultan
t
Scope of Work
should be finalized
by taking meetings
so as to avoid any
delay in approval
process. Work
schedule should be
planned in
accordance to that
1
8
Inflexibility
(rigidity) of
consultant
Consultan
t
Before project
execution, owner
should ensure that
consultant is aware
of his
responsibilities &
expectations set by
owner. A signed
legal agreement
should be in place
for the same.
1
9
Mistakes and
discrepancies in
design documents
Design Design documents
should be reviewed
by consultant.
2
0
Delays in
producing design
documents
Design Design document
schedule must be
strictly adhered by
consultant and
design engineer. In
case of any delay
made by consultant
and designengineer,
owner should
schedule meeting
and make the
project expectations
clear to them
2
1
Insufficient data
collection and
survey before
design
Design Consultant should
provide complete
data needed for
designing to Design
Engineers
2
2
Misunderstanding
of owner’s
requirements by
design engineer
Design Requirement
gathering should be
properly done by
having repeated
meetings and
reviews with
Owner/Client
2
3
Changesinmaterial
types and
specifications
duringconstruction
Materials It's part and parcel
of project but can be
avoided by taking
fast decisions and
having backup plan.
Backup plan (like
vendors list) would
avoid any delay in
delivery of material.
2
4
Delay in material
delivery
Materials Delivery schedule
should be adhered
with proper
planning like having
material in place
before execution
and making advance
payments for
booking material in
case of scarcity.
Backup plan like
material vendorslist
should be handy.
2
5
Damage of sorted
material while they
are needed
urgently
Materials Sufficient material
should be in store,
considering the
material damage
2
6
Late procurement
of materials
Materials Material should be
procured as per the
need of project and
availability in
market. If there is
scarcity of material
in market then it
should be booked in

advance by making
partial payments
2
7
Shortage of
equipment
Equipmen
t
Equipment's should
be made available
by contractor as per
scheduleandproject
status
2
8
Low level of
equipmentoperator
’s skill
Equipmen
t
Skilledlaborsshould
be hired by
contractor for usage
of equipment's
2
9
Low productivity
and efficiency of
equipment
Equipmen
t
Equipmentselection
should be done as
per its productivity
and need of project.
Skilledlaborsshould
be hired for using
equipment
3
0
Shortage of labors Labor Equipment's should
be usedtomaximum
so as to reduce
dependency on
labors.
3
1
Unqualified
workforce
Labor Skilledlaborsshould
be hired for work.
Trainings should be
provided to
unskilled labors.
3
2
Low productivity
level of labors
Labor Contractor should
sort out difficulties
faced by labors
during work and
motivate them by
providing incentives
for good work
3
3
Personal conflicts
among labors
Labor Contractor should
handle conflicts by
having proper
communication.
3
4
Delay in obtaining
permits from
municipality
External Documents should
be complete.
Process ofapprovals
should be started
early
3
5
Rain effect on
construction
External Activities should be
planned and
prioritized by
considering
3 Unavailability of External Basic utilities on site
6 utilities in site
(such as, water,
electricity,
telephone, etc.)
should be
considered during
planning and
arranged before
start of project
execution
3
7
Effect of social and
cultural factors
External While planning
consideration of
labors social &
cultural factors
should be done.
4. CONCLUSION
After studing various literature it was observe that thereare
several type of delay which are discus in the paper and we
classify the delay according to the delay type .which help to
understand the delay properly and after that we can plan to
reduce the delay effect on the constructionproject.the delay
such as non-excuable, excusable, concurrent, non
concurrent,compensable and non compensable are studied
in detail from which we came to know that if there is any
delay in construction project we can classify that delay
properly and manage the construction project.
REFERENCES
1. INTAN DIANA BINTI MUSA (2012)THE CAUSES AND
EFFECT OF DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY PROJECT ,
2. N. Hamzaha, M.A. Khoirya, I. Arshada, N. M. Tawilb and
A. I. Che Anib (2011) Cause of Construction Delay -
Theoretical Framework , The 2ndInternational Building
Control Conference, 490 – 495
3. Ghada Taha1, Mohamed Badawy 2, Omar El-Nawawy3
(2016)A Model for Evaluation of Delays in Construction
Projects,
4. KANG SIK WEI (2010) CAUSES, EFFECTS AND
METHODS OF MINIMIZING DELAYS IN CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS, UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA,
5. Twana Ahmed,(2015),Delay in Construction
Project,researchgate,1-18
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Delays Attributable to the Contractors in the
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Institution of Engineers, Sri lanka,21-30
7. Aamon Monty Mukasera, (2016),An investigation into
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overruns in road construction projects in
Malawi,university of Bolton.1-120

8. Aleksander Srdić, Assoc. Prof. Jana Šelih,(2015),Delays
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9. SYMON ANTONY KWATSIMA(2016), AN
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