Critical Factors Affecting No-dispute Performance: A Case of Ethiopian Public Construction Projects

The study objective was “An assessment of critical factors affecting quality performance of government financed construction projects in Tanzania”. The study was initiated as much of government financed construction projects are executed with variations on delivering time, cost and quality. The study identified factors if not considered can lead to poor quality performance of projects. Closed end questionnaire consisting of 20 performance factors were issued to 80 respondents dealing with construction related activities, they were required to rank them on a 5 point Likert scale. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16 (SPSS). The findings revealed that the critical factors that have direct impact on quality performance of government financed construction projects are; project financing processes, experience of contractors in construction industry, project technology, availability of plant and equipment, procurement system and processes as well as the project manager knowledge and skills. A multiple regression model developed showed a positive linear relationship between project quality performance and the critical quality performance factors. All the critical quality performance factors had positive coefficients with an acceptable level of significance. The study recommends further studies on the economic and social factors that hinder women participation in construction relation activities and how training and learning opportunities for continuous improvement will have positive impact on the performance of construction projects.

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Exploring influential factors leading to the poor performance of public construction project in Ethiopia using structural equation modelling

Engineering Construction & Architectural Management ◽

10.1108/ecam-12-2019-0689 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Benti Gadisa ◽

Hong Zhou

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Construction Projects ◽

Construction Project ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Project Performance ◽

Influential Factors ◽

Project Design ◽

Content Type ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Public Construction

PurposeIt is well recognized that the construction industry is characterised by inefficient and ineffective service delivery due to various causative factors. Thus this study aims to examine the influential factors affecting public construction project performance in Ethiopia to improve the industry's service delivery.Design/methodology/approachFrom the extensive literature reviewed, 58 potential factors affecting construction project performance have been compiled. Based on the evidence accumulated, the conceptual model of this paper has been developed. By using survey questionnaires, valuable data were collected from the construction industry professionals in Ethiopia; analysed and interpreted with the use of both SPSS and AMOS software.FindingsIt is concluded that failure factors related to the “performance” of the contractor, the “capability” of the owner, the “project design-procurement process,” and project contract management can significantly contribute to the poor performance of public construction projects in Ethiopia. Ten key factors include inadequate contractor capacity, weak project site management and supervision, weak project management skills and capabilities of the owner, additional work orders, delayed payment, lack of comprehensive project plans between parties and incomplete project design, rising material prices, ineffective project schedules, and cost management, rising market prices and devaluation of the currency.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of this study confined to public projects in Ethiopia. It suggests that further research needs to consider public and private construction from a comprehensive perspective in the developing countries.Practical implicationsIt provides practitioners with information and guidance on the factors that affect the performance of construction projects.Originality/valueIt provides inclusive evidence related to many factors that affect the performance of public construction projects.

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Contractor’s Perception on Factors Causing Cost Overrun in Construction Works of Pakistan

International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering Technology ◽

10.30880/ijscet.2020.11.03.009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Abdul Qadir Memon ◽

◽

Aftab Hameed Memon ◽

Mohsin Ali Soomro ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Construction Projects ◽

Cost Overrun ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Governmental Agencies ◽

Construction Methods ◽

Financial Difficulties ◽

Timely Completion ◽

Questionnaire Form ◽

Construction Works

This paper assessed the occurrence and severity level of various factors causing time and cost overrun in construction projects of Pakistan. Investigation was carried out through questionnaire form prepared based on 55 common factors identified from literature. Survey was done amongst the representatives of the contractors involved in handling construction activities in Pakistan. A total of 46 responses gathered against 100 distributed forms were analysed statistically. The results obtained from the analyses based on Average Index values revealed that delay in obtaining permits from the governmental agencies, financial difficulties are common issue faced in construction works of Pakistan. The study also revealed that high cost of machinery & its maintenance, inadequate planning & scheduling and slow information flow between parties have significant effect on time overrun cost while critical factors affecting cost overrun are high cost of machinery & its maintenance, unsuitable construction methods and lack of experience of contractors in affecting project cost. The findings of this study will be helpful for the practitioner in planning for achieving timely completion of the projects and also within the estimated cost.

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Critical factors affecting the performance of large construction projects in developing countries

Journal of Engineering Design and Technology ◽

10.1108/jedt-05-2019-0130 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 531-556

Author(s):

Djoen San Santoso ◽

Polwatta Gallage Madusha Piumal Gallage

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Qualitative Methods ◽

Construction Projects ◽

Local Context ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Content Type ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the factors affecting the performance of large construction projects in Sri Lanka. The causes, impacts and mitigations in association with the critical factors are explored and discussed. Design/methodology/approach The research focuses on the evaluation and perspectives of clients and contractors of large projects in Sri Lanka. Combined quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in this research. Initially, a questionnaire survey was conducted with clients and contractors involved in large projects to evaluate the factors affecting the performance of projects and to identify the ten most critical factors. Interviews with the clients and contractors of three large projects were conducted to examine the causes and impacts of the critical factors and the approaches used to mitigate them. Findings Significant differences in the factors were observed for more than 40 per cent of the total factors under study, the contractors assigning more weight to most of the factors than the clients. The study identified nine internal factors and one external factor as the critical factors. Of these, seven were related to the contractors, which suggested that the contractors have greater roles in defining performance. Lack of management and technical skills of the parties involved, human capacity, lack of understanding and knowledge of the local context, changes in government policies and political interference were identified as significant causes of the critical factors. Originality/value The study analysed the factors affecting the performance of large projects in Sri Lanka, which, at the time of research, had just ended a 26-year-long civil war and was pushing the construction of large projects to be competitive. The challenges faced in this effort were explored as lessons learnt that might improve the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure development in Sri Lanka. The combined quantitative and qualitative methods applied in this study are expected to provide new insights in the project performance research, especially the interviews of the critical factors to gain an understanding on how the factors occurred and manifested themselves in real projects. The findings are, however, expected to be applicable to other developing countries that are currently aggressively developing their large infrastructure.

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Factors Affecting Contractors’ Bidding Decisions for Construction Projects in Saudi Arabia

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings9020033 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 33 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mohammad Alsaedi ◽

Sadi Assaf ◽

Mohammad Hassanain ◽

Abdullatif Abdallah

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Construction Projects ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Start Time ◽

Design Quality ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Importance Index ◽

Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽

Major Factors ◽

Level Of Agreement

One of the critical decisions taken by contractors is whether or not to bid for a project. This is due to the complexity and uncertainty surrounding this decision, which is influenced by many factors. Given the above challenge, this study aimed to uncover the critical factors affecting the contractors’ bidding decisions in Saudi Arabia-based construction projects. A questionnaire survey, which consisted of 31 factors, was distributed to first-, second- and third-grade contractors. In total, 67 responses were obtained. Median and relative importance index (RII) techniques were adopted for ranking the most critical factors. Based on the received responses, the top six critical factors were “size of the job”, “type of the job”, “company’s strength in the industry”, “designer/design quality”, “rate of return”, and “project cash flow”. The least significant factors were “job start time” and “labor environment (union/nonunion/cooperative)”. The findings of this study show a level of agreement among all contractors about the critical factors. The findings would benefit contractors and subcontractors by increasing their understanding of the major factors affecting the bidding decision process. Contractors armed with such valuable information will be better able to enhance their bidding decision-making process in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

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An Analytical Study of Critical Factors Affecting Contractor Efficiency in Construction Projects in Indian Scenario

Organization Technology and Management in Construction An International Journal ◽

10.2478/otmcj-2018-0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 1794-1802

Author(s):

Shumank Deep ◽

Laura Simon ◽

Mohd Asim ◽

Ali Rahimzadeh ◽

Sulala Al-Hamdani

Keyword(s):

Construction Projects ◽

Indian Subcontinent ◽

Uttar Pradesh ◽

Research Approach ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Cost Overruns ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

The Government ◽

The Cost

Abstract Purpose: Recent studies show that lowest bidder technique is mainly used in developing countries such as India to award a contract. It has been demonstrated that the lowest bid is not always the accurate one and can lead to cost overruns and time extensions amongst other problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the critical factors impacting contractor’s efficiency in Indian construction projects. Research approach: A survey was sent to participants of construction projects awarded by the government with the lowest bidder technique in Uttar Pradesh, India. For further research, snowball sampling was used, and structured interviews were conducted amongst experienced managers and engineers of these projects on both client’s and contractor’s side.Findings: It was observed that, to a greater extent, the delays were caused due to contractor’s opportunistic behaviour. The main findings are that new bidding methodologies are to be tested as they can lead to the choice of a more accurate and realistic bidder. In addition, subjective evaluation components, such as schedule and workforce, should be reflected in contract award methods in addition to the cost criteria. Further studies should be performed on the choice of contract awarding methodology based on the project size and type. Originality value: The researcher’s focus was to analyze the influence of contracting methodologies and factors affecting contractor’s performance in lowest bid award project, where this is an area of least focus amongst researchers in the Indian subcontinent.

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Factors Affecting Schedule Delay, Cost Overrun, and Quality Level in Public Construction Projects

Journal of Management in Engineering ◽

10.1061/(asce)me.1943-5479.0000391 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 04015032 ◽

Cited By ~ 80

Author(s):

Jesper Kranker Larsen ◽

Geoffrey Qiping Shen ◽

Søren Munch Lindhard ◽

Thomas Ditlev Brunoe

Keyword(s):

Construction Projects ◽

Quality Level ◽

Cost Overrun ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Schedule Delay ◽

Delay Cost ◽

Public Construction

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Interrelationships of factors causing delays in the relocation of utilities

Engineering Construction & Architectural Management ◽

10.1108/ecam-10-2014-0127 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 349-368 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Aneetha Vilventhan ◽

Satyanarayana N. Kalidindi

Keyword(s):

Construction Projects ◽

Cognitive Mapping ◽

Organizational Factors ◽

Mapping Technique ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Content Type ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Underground Utilities ◽

The Impact

Purpose – Relocation of utilities is a major source of delay in Indian infrastructure projects. This delay is particularly critical in road and bridge construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify the various factors and also the interrelationships between the factors which influence the delays in the relocation of utilities. Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were conducted on 11 road and bridge projects in India with varying levels of complexity and size. Factors causing relocation delays were identified using computer aided qualitative analysis methodology. Cognitive mapping technique was used to map the interrelationships between the factors and to identify the critical delay factors. Findings – Factors affecting delays were identified across two groups, namely, technical and organizational factors. The study offers insights into the kinds of interactions of factors that can lead to delays in a project. The critical factors causing delays were identified as slow response from utility agencies, difficulty in identification of underground utilities, lack of information on underground utilities and conflict between agencies. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the study are that the interview respondents are not evenly distributed among the type of organizations which may have induced some bias in responses. The impact of the utility relocation delays on the overall project delay has to be detailed further. Practical implications – The interrelationships between factors has the potential to help the officials of highway department, contractors, utility agencies and others understand how various interactions/linkages of factors contributes to delays in utility relocations. Recommendations are provided for the practical use and to reduce the impact of delays. Originality/value – Utility relocation has received very little attention in the extant literature and this paper seeks to contribute to knowledge in this area by identifying the linkages between factors and the critical factors of utility relocation delays in India.

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