The Causes of Construction Delays in Perspective of Civil Engineers

Abstract

The completion date of a construction project is an important consideration used to determine the reasonable price, proper construction techniques and the right competency for selecting contractors. The purpose of this research was to identify the causal factors associated with construction delays by using questionnaire. The opinions were surveyed from the viewpoints of civil engineers who know the details and are directly responsible for the project the most. Civil engineers also have direct work experience that can best reflect various problems that arise. A sample of 110 civil engineers was selected by the purposive sampling method. The top five highest-rated causes of delays were “Labor shortages”, “Lack of financial liquidity of contractors”, “Change orders during the construction”, “Unclear scope and objectives of the work”, and “Contractors do not pay workers or subcontractors”. In addition, the results of the hypothesis testing revealed that differences in construction types and roles in construction organizations where civil engineers work effect on different opinions on the causes of the delay. The results of this research can therefore be used as guidelines for preparations to address delays at the major causes identified from this research before the implementation of the project.