Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti; Laoucine Kerbache

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti, Laoucine Kerbache

Published in International Journal of Business and Economics Research (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 10 April 2020 Accepted: 3 May 2020 Published: 14 May 2020

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Abstract

The growth of the construction industry, a major driving force for the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, is assessed in terms of its ability to maintain timely delivery, premium quality, and rigorous cost control. The purpose of this study was to assess the critical delay factors in Qatari building construction projects according to complexity level and determine methods to mitigate them. This study focused on three building categories, four- and five-star hotels, core and shell office/commercial buildings, and worship buildings, constituting four complexity levels. The objectives were to determine the relationship between the delay factors and project characteristics to mitigate the associated risks. A critical motivation for the study was the assumption that some projects in Qatar exhibit very high costs per square meter owing to variations in their execution phases. The methodology comprised case studies and interviews with project experts and was articulated around the development of a complexity categorization framework to achieve the study objectives. The findings indicated that projects with similar complexity levels and characteristics have common factors affecting their time performance. The impacts of certain factors such as changes in scope were found to be significant for any building category at either a high or low complexity level, while delay was shown to be smaller for lower complexity projects. The results support the assumption that the very high costs per square meter of some projects in Qatar arise from variations. This paper demonstrates how a carefully designed research methodology using an appropriate framework can enable identification of the most critical delay factors in construction projects according to building category and complexity level. The focus on Qatar enabled the formulation of a series of recommendations for construction industry decision-makers and operators as well as a policy proposals to government entities and major stakeholders to streamline the construction process and mitigate critical delays. The findings of this study provide insights into project time performance in terms of the selected project categories with various complexity levels.

Published in	International Journal of Business and Economics Research (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
Page(s)	130-139
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Construction Delays, Causes of Delays, Project Management, Complexity Level, Qatar

References

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[2]	Wood, H. and K. Gidado (2008). Project complexity in construction. COBRA 2008, 1–13.
[3]	Merry, U. (1995). “Coping with uncertainty – Insights from the new sciences of chaos, self-organization and complexity.” Westport: Praeger Publications.
[4]	Mills, A. (2001). A systematic approach to risk management for construction. Struct. Surv., 19: 254–252.
[5]	Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity – A review. Int. J. Constr. Manag., 14 (4): 201–204.
[6]	Buys, F. (2015). “Five causes of project delay and cost overrun, and their mitigation measures.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/five-causes-project-delay-cost-overrun-mitigation-measures-buys. Accessed May 19, 2018.
[7]	Gidado, K. (1996). Project complexity: The focal point of construction production planning. Constr. Manag. Econ., 14 (3): 213–225. doi: 10.1080/014461996373476
[8]	Mosquera, L. (2015). Understanding the hotel development process. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understanding-hotel- development-process-lucienne-mosquera-mih
[9]	Islam, M. S. and B. Trigunarsyah (2017). Construction delays in developing countries: A review. J. Constr. Eng. M. ASCE., 7 (1): 1–12. doi: 10.6106/jcepm.2017.3.30.001
[10]	Assaf, S. A. and S. Al-Hejji (2006). Causes of delay in large construction projects. Int. J. Constr. Proj. Manag., 24 (4): 349–357.
[11]	Assaf, S. A., M. Al-Khalil, and M. Al-Hazmi (1995). Causes of delay in large building construction projects. J. Manag. Eng., 11: 45–50.
[12]	Papadopoulou, T. C. and Y. I. Park (2012). Causes of cost overruns in transport infrastructure projects in Asia: Their significance and relationship with project size. Built Environ. Proj. Asset Manag., 2: 195–216. doi: 10.1108/20441241211280873
[13]	Ahmed, S. M., S. Azhar, P. Kappagantula and D. Gollapudi (2003). “Delays in construction: A brief study of the Florida construction industry.” In ASC Proc. of the 39^th Annual Conf., 257–266. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University.
[14]	Ansah, S. K. (2011). Causes and effects of delayed payments by clients on construction projects in Ghana. J. Constr. Proj. Manag. and Innov., 1 (1): 27–45.
[15]	Okeyo, M. P., C. M. Rambo and P. A. Odundo. (2015). Effects of delayed payment of contractors on the completion of infrastructural projects: A case of Sondu-Miriu Hydropower Project, Kisumu County, Kenya.” Chinese Bus. Rev., 14 (7): 325–336.

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APA Style

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti, Laoucine Kerbache. (2020). Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar. International Journal of Business and Economics Research, 9(3), 130-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti; Laoucine Kerbache. Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar. Int. J. Bus. Econ. Res. 2020, 9(3), 130-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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AMA Style

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti, Laoucine Kerbache. Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar. Int J Bus Econ Res. 2020;9(3):130-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16,
  author = {Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti and Laoucine Kerbache},
  title = {Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar},
  journal = {International Journal of Business and Economics Research},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {130-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijber.20200903.16},
  abstract = {The growth of the construction industry, a major driving force for the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, is assessed in terms of its ability to maintain timely delivery, premium quality, and rigorous cost control. The purpose of this study was to assess the critical delay factors in Qatari building construction projects according to complexity level and determine methods to mitigate them. This study focused on three building categories, four- and five-star hotels, core and shell office/commercial buildings, and worship buildings, constituting four complexity levels. The objectives were to determine the relationship between the delay factors and project characteristics to mitigate the associated risks. A critical motivation for the study was the assumption that some projects in Qatar exhibit very high costs per square meter owing to variations in their execution phases. The methodology comprised case studies and interviews with project experts and was articulated around the development of a complexity categorization framework to achieve the study objectives. The findings indicated that projects with similar complexity levels and characteristics have common factors affecting their time performance. The impacts of certain factors such as changes in scope were found to be significant for any building category at either a high or low complexity level, while delay was shown to be smaller for lower complexity projects. The results support the assumption that the very high costs per square meter of some projects in Qatar arise from variations. This paper demonstrates how a carefully designed research methodology using an appropriate framework can enable identification of the most critical delay factors in construction projects according to building category and complexity level. The focus on Qatar enabled the formulation of a series of recommendations for construction industry decision-makers and operators as well as a policy proposals to government entities and major stakeholders to streamline the construction process and mitigate critical delays. The findings of this study provide insights into project time performance in terms of the selected project categories with various complexity levels.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar
AU  - Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti
AU  - Laoucine Kerbache
Y1  - 2020/05/14
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
T2  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
JF  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
JO  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
SP  - 130
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-756X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
AB  - The growth of the construction industry, a major driving force for the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, is assessed in terms of its ability to maintain timely delivery, premium quality, and rigorous cost control. The purpose of this study was to assess the critical delay factors in Qatari building construction projects according to complexity level and determine methods to mitigate them. This study focused on three building categories, four- and five-star hotels, core and shell office/commercial buildings, and worship buildings, constituting four complexity levels. The objectives were to determine the relationship between the delay factors and project characteristics to mitigate the associated risks. A critical motivation for the study was the assumption that some projects in Qatar exhibit very high costs per square meter owing to variations in their execution phases. The methodology comprised case studies and interviews with project experts and was articulated around the development of a complexity categorization framework to achieve the study objectives. The findings indicated that projects with similar complexity levels and characteristics have common factors affecting their time performance. The impacts of certain factors such as changes in scope were found to be significant for any building category at either a high or low complexity level, while delay was shown to be smaller for lower complexity projects. The results support the assumption that the very high costs per square meter of some projects in Qatar arise from variations. This paper demonstrates how a carefully designed research methodology using an appropriate framework can enable identification of the most critical delay factors in construction projects according to building category and complexity level. The focus on Qatar enabled the formulation of a series of recommendations for construction industry decision-makers and operators as well as a policy proposals to government entities and major stakeholders to streamline the construction process and mitigate critical delays. The findings of this study provide insights into project time performance in terms of the selected project categories with various complexity levels.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti

Department of Infrastructure and Civil Projects, Qatar Petroleum, Doha, Qatar
Laoucine Kerbache

Division of Engineering and Decision Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University and HEC Paris, Doha, Qatar

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APA Style

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti, Laoucine Kerbache. (2020). Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar. International Journal of Business and Economics Research, 9(3), 130-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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ACS Style

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti; Laoucine Kerbache. Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar. Int. J. Bus. Econ. Res. 2020, 9(3), 130-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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AMA Style

Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti, Laoucine Kerbache. Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar. Int J Bus Econ Res. 2020;9(3):130-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16,
  author = {Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti and Laoucine Kerbache},
  title = {Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar},
  journal = {International Journal of Business and Economics Research},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {130-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijber.20200903.16},
  abstract = {The growth of the construction industry, a major driving force for the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, is assessed in terms of its ability to maintain timely delivery, premium quality, and rigorous cost control. The purpose of this study was to assess the critical delay factors in Qatari building construction projects according to complexity level and determine methods to mitigate them. This study focused on three building categories, four- and five-star hotels, core and shell office/commercial buildings, and worship buildings, constituting four complexity levels. The objectives were to determine the relationship between the delay factors and project characteristics to mitigate the associated risks. A critical motivation for the study was the assumption that some projects in Qatar exhibit very high costs per square meter owing to variations in their execution phases. The methodology comprised case studies and interviews with project experts and was articulated around the development of a complexity categorization framework to achieve the study objectives. The findings indicated that projects with similar complexity levels and characteristics have common factors affecting their time performance. The impacts of certain factors such as changes in scope were found to be significant for any building category at either a high or low complexity level, while delay was shown to be smaller for lower complexity projects. The results support the assumption that the very high costs per square meter of some projects in Qatar arise from variations. This paper demonstrates how a carefully designed research methodology using an appropriate framework can enable identification of the most critical delay factors in construction projects according to building category and complexity level. The focus on Qatar enabled the formulation of a series of recommendations for construction industry decision-makers and operators as well as a policy proposals to government entities and major stakeholders to streamline the construction process and mitigate critical delays. The findings of this study provide insights into project time performance in terms of the selected project categories with various complexity levels.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Analysis of Critical Delay Factors in Construction Projects with a Focus on Qatar
AU  - Aldana Abdulla Alsulaiti
AU  - Laoucine Kerbache
Y1  - 2020/05/14
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
T2  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
JF  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
JO  - International Journal of Business and Economics Research
SP  - 130
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-756X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijber.20200903.16
AB  - The growth of the construction industry, a major driving force for the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030, is assessed in terms of its ability to maintain timely delivery, premium quality, and rigorous cost control. The purpose of this study was to assess the critical delay factors in Qatari building construction projects according to complexity level and determine methods to mitigate them. This study focused on three building categories, four- and five-star hotels, core and shell office/commercial buildings, and worship buildings, constituting four complexity levels. The objectives were to determine the relationship between the delay factors and project characteristics to mitigate the associated risks. A critical motivation for the study was the assumption that some projects in Qatar exhibit very high costs per square meter owing to variations in their execution phases. The methodology comprised case studies and interviews with project experts and was articulated around the development of a complexity categorization framework to achieve the study objectives. The findings indicated that projects with similar complexity levels and characteristics have common factors affecting their time performance. The impacts of certain factors such as changes in scope were found to be significant for any building category at either a high or low complexity level, while delay was shown to be smaller for lower complexity projects. The results support the assumption that the very high costs per square meter of some projects in Qatar arise from variations. This paper demonstrates how a carefully designed research methodology using an appropriate framework can enable identification of the most critical delay factors in construction projects according to building category and complexity level. The focus on Qatar enabled the formulation of a series of recommendations for construction industry decision-makers and operators as well as a policy proposals to government entities and major stakeholders to streamline the construction process and mitigate critical delays. The findings of this study provide insights into project time performance in terms of the selected project categories with various complexity levels.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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