Impact of Utilizing Construction Engineering and Inspection Consultants on Highway Construction Project Cost and Schedule Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (11) ◽  
pp. 716-725
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
Sara Al-Haddad ◽  
Timothy R. B. Taylor ◽  
Paul M. Goodrum ◽  
Roy E. Sturgill
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Highway Construction ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
Full Time Equivalent ◽  
Agency Staff ◽  
Project Cost ◽  
Schedule Performance ◽  
Construction Project Cost ◽  
The Impact

State transportation agencies (STAs) are tasked with constructing and maintaining complex transportation networks while facing changes in agency construction staff with respect to age, experience level, turnover, retirement, and increasing levels of consulting services that are used to manage STA construction operations. To keep up with the increasing demands of projects, STAs are utilizing Construction and Engineering Inspection (CEI) consultants to fill the demand for construction-related human resources. However, the impact of using CEIs on project cost and schedule performance has not been quantified. The current work addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing a database of 305 completed highway construction projects across 16 STAs. The analysis found that projects that utilized CEI consultants had higher levels of full-time equivalent construction staffing than projects that utilized only agency staff. The use of CEI consultants had no impact on project cost compared with projects that relied solely on agency staff. Projects that used CEI consultants had an average cost overrun of 20.2% compared with agency-staffed projects, which experienced average schedule overruns of −7.7% (i.e., the project, on average, finished early). The schedule difference was statistically significant.

scholarly journals Cost overruns of public sector construction projects: a developing country perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ohene Asiedu ◽  
Ebenezer Adaku
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
Project Cost ◽  
Cost Overruns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interview Session ◽  
Construction Project Cost

Purpose Cost overrun of construction projects has been a key concern for all stakeholders of projects for many decades now. Many studies have been done in the past and continue to be done currently to understand the underlying causes of construction project cost overruns. However, the empirical evidence of the causes seem not be clear due to the silo approach in understanding the causes of construction project cost overruns. The purpose of this paper is to take the debate a step forward by providing an understanding of the causes of project cost overrun from a system’s perspective, especially from a less researched environment. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected and analysed from 131 respondents who were mainly involved in construction works in public procurement entities in Ghana. A two-staged approach was employed in collecting data from the respondents. The first stage involved an interview session with key informants in the construction industry in Ghana to ascertain the detailed causes of cost overrun of construction projects. The second stage focussed on the validation of these detailed factors by a wider stakeholder group through questionnaires. Factor analysis was employed to consolidate these detailed factors into major causes of construction project cost overruns. Findings The results show that there are primarily four major causes of most public sector construction projects cost overruns. These four major causes of cost overruns are poor contract planning and supervision; change orders; weak institutional and economic environment of projects and lack of effective coordination among the contracting parties. Originality/value The study provides more insights as to the critical and major factors that underpin public sector construction projects cost overruns and more importantly provides a basis for common treatment of the multiple risk factors engendering public sector construction projects cost overruns.

scholarly journals Design Changes in Construction Projects – Causes and Impact on the Cost

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 1647-1655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mughees Aslam ◽  
Edmund Baffoe-Twum ◽  
Farhan Saleem
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
Project Cost ◽  
Design Changes ◽  
Communication And Coordination ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Isolation of design phase from construction has made the design changes inevitable in construction projects. Extensive literature appraisal has acknowledged the detrimental effect of design changes on project performances. However, the impact and causes of design changes have been divided up, either separately or project specific. As a result, the relationship between impact and causes of design changes could not be established for general construction. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the impact of design changes on project cost and identifying actions responsible for these changes. The objectives of the study were achieved through a systematic review of past literature published in well-established journals, and contents analyzed. From the extensive literature review, it was established that the design change is one of the predominant factors to cost overrun, and in some cases, may upshot into cost overrun between 5 and 40% of the project cost. Also, many causes of design changes resulting in cost overrun within the perspective of the owner, consultant, and contractors are explored. Some projects experienced closure as a result of owner induced design changes, although these changes may not be significant in number.  Design changes as a result of consultants and contractors in some cases might have reduced impact but are frequent. For each consideration, most events leading to design changes can be eliminated by improving on communication and coordination between stakeholders. The main contribution of this research is to bring together the impact and causes of design changes on cost under one platform for effectively managing the design process.

Investigation of Cost-Influencing Factors Potentially ‎Controllable by Main Contractors in Construction Projects in ‎Iraq

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (7A) ◽  
pp. 1069-1076
Author(s):  
Layth T. Ali ◽  
Raid S. Abid Ali ◽  
Zeyad S. M. Khaled
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Labor Recruitment ◽  
Supply Planning ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Cost overrun in construction projects is a common phenomenon in Iraq. This might occur due to diversity of factors. This study aims to identify the factors influencing construction projects cost that are potentially controllable by main contractors. A field study through a questionnaire survey was directed to a sample of related Iraqi professional engineers from general contracting companies at both public and private sectors. Their opinions on the impact and frequency of each factor were investigated. The questionnaire offered (59) factors classified in (8) categories namely; legislations, financial and economic, design, contractual, site management, material, labor and equipment. The factors were ranked according to the highest Relative Importance Index (RII). The study revealed (10) major factors that are potentially controllable by main contractors namely; labor productivity, sub-contractors and suppliers performance, equipment productivity, site organization and distribution of equipment, experience and training of project managers, scheduling and control techniques, planning for materials supply, planning for equipment supply, materials delivery and planning for skilled labor recruitment. Recommendations to aid contractors and owners in early identification of these factors are also included in this study.

scholarly journals An assessment of cost escalation in building construction project

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1029-1034
Author(s):  
A. Nazif ◽  
A.K. Mustapha ◽  
F. Sani
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Project Cost ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Design Error ◽  
Project Construction ◽  
Effective Cost ◽  
Building Project ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Estimating of cost for building construction projects with minimum error at the conceptual stage of project development is quite  essential for planning. This study seeks to evaluate factors responsible for cost escalation of building construction projects.  Questionnaires were administered to examine and assess these factors. Subsequently, the mean score value of each factor was determined. In addition, Correlation and Linear regression analyses were used to establish the relationship between these factors. Factors responsible for cost escalation in projects were examined as well as the impact of those factors, and occurrence of those factors on project cost. The result of the analysis showed that, the most agreed factors responsible for project cost escalation were; inadequate supervision, irregular payment, and design error, having high mean values of 4.25, 4.20, and 4.15, respectively. Also, correlation analysis result established that the factors responsible for cost escalation and the impact of cost escalation had significant R and R2 of 0.81 and 0.70 respectively. Addressing these factors would go a long way in reducing the escalation of building project cost. Never the less, an effective cost management strategy is absolutely necessary to safeguard and sustain the construction  industry. Keywords: cost escalation, building project, construction, regression analysis

Forecasting the schedule performance resulting from the adoption of social distancing in construction projects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Omatule Onubi ◽  
Nor'Aini Yusof ◽  
Ahmad Sanusi Hassan ◽  
Ali Ahmed Salem Bahdad
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Schedule Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect

PurposeThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had major impacts on the performance of construction projects that have adopted social distancing measures. This study examines the effect of social distancing measures on project schedule performance through job reorganization on construction project sites.Design/methodology/approachResponses were obtained through a survey of 154 construction projects and analysed using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique.FindingsThe findings established that social distancing has a negative effect on schedule performance, social distancing has a positive effect on job re-organization and job re-organization has a positive effect on schedule performance. Additionally, the results indicate that job re-organization partially mediates the relationship between social distancing and schedule performance, while social distancing moderates the relationship between job re-organization and schedule performance with low social distancing having the stronger positive effect.Originality/valueThis study contributes theoretically to a greater understanding of the impact of adopting COVID-19 safety measures such as social distancing on the schedule performance of construction projects. The study also shows how social distancing could lead to schedule performance through job reorganization.

Assessing the Impact of Cost Overrun Causes in Transmission Lines Construction Projects

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1029-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Pham ◽  
Truong-Van Luu ◽  
Soo-Yong Kim ◽  
Duc-Thinh Vien
Keyword(s):  
Transmission Lines ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
The Impact

Adjusting College Costs for Noncredit Enrollments: An Issue for Data Geeks or Policy Makers?

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177
Author(s):  
Richard M. Romano ◽  
Rita J. Kirshstein ◽  
Mark D’Amico ◽  
Willard Hom ◽  
Michelle Van Noy
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Full Time Equivalent ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
College Costs ◽  
Education Data ◽  
Project Data ◽  
The Impact

Objective: In the first study of its kind, the impact of excluding noncredit enrollments in calculations of spending in community colleges is explored. Noncredit enrollments are not reported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), but expenditures for these efforts are. This study corrects for this omission and provides new estimates of spending on community college students in four states. Method: Data on noncredit enrollments were made available from four states—New York, New Jersey, California, and North Carolina. Interviews with campus and state officials within each state helped us verify the findings. In addition, Delta Cost Project data were analyzed and adjusted to account for noncredit enrollments. Results: Our analysis indicates that the expenditure per full-time equivalent (FTE) student measure, which researchers typically use, seriously overstates the resources that community colleges have to spend on educating students; however, great variations exist within and across states. Conclusion: Community colleges are underfunded to an even greater extent than standard IPEDS analyses indicate.

scholarly journals Estimation of cost overrun in construction projects using Fuzzy Logic

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (05) ◽  
pp. 797-805
Author(s):  
Neelakash Haloi ◽  
◽  
Tapas Goyal ◽  
Faizan Zahoor ◽  
Harsh Jain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Logic ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Cost Overrun ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Spss Software ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Published Research

In recent years, the impact of the construction industry on the economy of India is increasing. However, there are a number of problems that are being faced by the construction companies or contractors or other relevant stakeholders, in the completion of a construction project. One of the major problems being faced is time and cost overrun. Thus, it is important to find ways of mitigating this critical problem. One of the solutions that is being used is the prediction of the amount and time that a project might overrun beforehand i.e. estimating the overrun during the design phase itself. This prediction can be done using a number of different techniques, the important one of which used in this paper is through the use of Fuzzy Logic. It also provides a brief description about the factors that are responsible for causing this cost overrun. The factors are identified by conducting a questionnaire survey and gathering responses from the relevant stakeholders which include contractors, project engineers, architects and consultants. The responses collected are further processed and analysed using SPSS software. The top 5 factors have been selected after the analysis and further used in preparation of the fuzzy logic model in the fuzzy toolbox of MATLAB. Further, the validation of this model has been done with real-time data of projects from various published research papers. Thus, the model developed provided prediction of the percentage of the cost overrun based on the percentage input of the top five factors.

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