construction delays in florida a study

8/14/2019 Construction Delays in Florida a Study

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Construction Delays in Florida: An Empirical Study

Final Report

Submitted to:

Mr. Michael AshworthPlanning Consultant

State of FloridaDepartment of Community Affairs

By:

Syed M. Ahmed, Ph.D., M.ASCEAssistant Professor & Graduate Program Director

Department of Construction Management (CEAS2952)Florida International University, Miami, Fl 33174, USA

Phone: 305-348-2730, Fax: 305-348-6255E-mail: [email protected]: www.fiu.edu/~ahmeds

Salman Azhar, M. Engg., M.ASCEPh.D. Candidate and Research Assistant

Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringFlorida International University, Miami, Fl 33174, USA

and

Mr. Mauricio CastilloMs. Pragnya KappagantulaResearch Assistants

Department of Construction Management (CEAS2952)Florida International University, Miami, Fl 33174, USA


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INTRODUCTION

General:

The Construction industry is large, volatile, and requires tremendous capital outlays.Typically, the work offers low rates of return in relation to the amount of risk involved.A unique element of risk in the industry is the manner in which disputes and claims arewoven through the fiber of the construction process. The type of contract used, is oftenbased on an overall attempt to allocate (often shifting) the risks of the work to the partiesinvolved. A certain amount of risk must always be recognized and accepted. Risk canonly be mitigated - it cannot be eliminated.

Delays on construction projects are a universal phenomenon. They are almost alwaysaccompanied by cost and time overruns. Construction project delays have a debilitatingeffect on parties (owner, contractor, consultant) to a contract in terms of a growth in

adversarial relationships, distrust, litigation, arbitration, cash-flow problems, and ageneral feeling of apprehension towards each other.

Delays caused by the client such as late submission of drawings and specifications,frequent change orders, and incorrect/inadequate site information generate claims fromboth the main contractors and subcontractors which many times entail lengthy courtbattles with huge financial repercussions. Delays caused by contractors can generally beattributed to poor managerial skills. Lack of planning and a poor understanding ofaccounting and financial principles have led to many a contractors downfall. Empiricalstudies to determine the causes of delays in construction projects have been carried out inthe US.

Objectives of the Study:

The main objective of this study is to identify the major causes of delays in constructionprojects in the Florida Construction Industry through a survey. The primary aim is toidentify the perceptions of the different parties regarding causes of delays, the allocationof responsibilities and the types of delays.

Scope of the Study:

The scope of this research project is limited to building projects in the Florida regiononly. The data for this study has been gathered through detailed literature review andquestionnaire survey.


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Organization of the Report:

The report is logically organized into five (5) chapters and appendices:

Chapter one is composed of background and general information, which give an

overview of the various types of delays encountered in a project. It includes the overalldelays concept along with the causes and further classification of delays, responsibilitiesthat the parties have in a delay, time extensions and liquidated damages.

Chapter two comprises of literature review, and quotes the various related works done inthis area of study.

Chapter three describes in detail the methodology followed in this research study.

Chapter fourcontains the analysis of the information gathered through the questionnairesurvey, identifies the critical causes of delay in the Florida Construction Industry, based

on the chance of occurrence.

Chapter five provides the conclusions and recommendations of the study.


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CHAPTER 1:

BACKGROUND

1.1. General

Delay is generally acknowledged as the most common, costly, complex and riskyproblem encountered in construction projects. Because of the overriding importance oftime for both the Owner (in terms of performance) and the Contractor (in terms ofmoney), it is the source of frequent disputes and claims leading to lawsuits. To controlthis situation, a contract is formulated to identify potential delay situations in advance andto define and fix obligations to preclude such controversies. A substantial number ofGeneral Conditions clauses address this subject in one way or another.

Under some circumstances, a Contractor may be entitled to claim delay damages if hefinishes later than an Owner-accepted early completion schedule but is still ahead of theofficial contract completion date. This may occur if the Contractor establishes a directcause-and-effect relationship between Owners breach of a contractual obligation and thedelay. In addition, the Contractor has the burden of establishing its increased costs as aresult of the delay.

It is found in practice that not everything in the contract can be taken at face value andapplied in cookbook fashion. Circumstances play a great deal in determining whichclause(s) will be applied to a particular delay claim. Also, contract law encompassesconcepts of reasonableness and fair dealing, implied obligations and warranties,constructive acceleration, etc. A good general understanding of the principles involvedand the operation of the applicable clauses are essential to help make appropriatedecisions and take the proper action in those delay situations.

In a large and complex project there will be a certain amount of give and take policyamong the parties competing for the same time and space. Time, energy, and moneymust not be diverted in pursuing claims and disputes over minor delays, disruptions, andinterferences. Accordingly, the General Conditions in Owner issued contracts typicallycontain clauses that the Contractor on notice can plan for certain events. Further delaysthat occur due to these events can be termed as non-excusable delays.

Often contract clause will require that a delay claim be submitted in writing within astipulated number of days from the commencement of a delay. Further, within thosestipulated number of days, after the termination of any such delay, the Contractor isrequired to file a written notice specifying the actual duration of the delay. Failure togive either of the above notices shall provide sufficient ground for denial of an extensionof time. By giving notice, the Contractor warns the Owner in taking alternate action toavoid or reduce the excess costs.


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However, delays do not always result from a single catastrophic event. They frequentlydevelop slowly during the course of work. Minor delays are generally overlooked untiltheir cumulative effect becomes financially apparent. By the time a Contractorrecognizes that there is a problem, many different parties and natural forces would havecontributed to the situation. Failure to comply with the notice requirements can

contribute to the situation which may or may not defeat the claim.

To avoid acceleration claims from Contractors in delay situations, it is best to:

Issue formal (change order) schedule extensions in a timely manner whenjustified

Avoid ordering early or inappropriate completion Respond in a timely manner to any Notice of Claim from the Contractor

1.1 Types of delays:

Delays can be grouped in the following four broad categories according to how theyoperate contractually:

Non-excusable delays Excusable non-compensable delays Excusable compensable delays Concurrent delays

1.1.1 Non-excusable Delays

Non-excusable delays are delays, which the Contractor either causes or assumes the riskfor. These delays might be the results of underestimates of productivity, inadequatescheduling or mismanagement, construction mistakes, weather, equipment breakdowns,staffing problems, or mere bad luck. Such delays are inherently the Contractorsresponsibility and no relief is allowed. These delays are within the control of theContractor or are foreseeable; however, it is not necessary that they be both.

1.1.2 Non-compensable Excusable Delays:

When a delay is caused by factors that are not foreseeable, beyond the Contractorsreasonable control and not attributable to the Contractors fault or negligence, it may beexcusable. This term has the implied meaning that neither party is at fault under theterms of the contract and has agreed to share the risk and consequences when excusableevents occur. The Contractor will not receive compensation for the cost of delay, but hewill be entitled for an additional time to complete his work and is relieved from anycontractually imposed liquidated damages for the period of delay.


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1.1.3 Compensable Excusable Delays

In addition to the compensable delays that result from contract changes by ChangeNotice, there are compensable delays that can arise in other ways. Such compensabledelays are excusable delays, suspensions, or interruptions to all or part of the work caused

by an act or failure to act by the Owner resulting from Owners breach of an obligation,stated or implied, in the contract. If the delay is compensable, then the Contractor isentitled not only to an extension of time but also to an adjustment for any increase incosts caused by the delay.

Owner-issued contracts specifically address some potential compensable delays andprovide equitable adjustments. The usual equitable adjustment clauses in Owner issuedcontracts that apply to delay are:

Changes Differing Site Conditions Suspension

The changes clause in Owner-issued contracts provides that equitable adjustments maybe considered as follows:

1.1.3.1 Changes

With the help of a written Change Notice, the Owner may, without any notice to thesureties (if any), unilaterally make any change, at any time in the Work within the generalscope of the Contract, including but not limited to changes:

In the drawings, designs or specifications In the method, manner or sequence of Contractors work In Customer or Owner furnished facilities, equipments, materials, services or

site(s) Directing acceleration or deceleration in the performance of the work Modifying the Contract Schedule or the Contract milestones

If at any time Contractor believes that acts or omissions of Customer or Owner constitutea change to the Work not covered by a Change Notice, Contractor shall within ten (10)calendar days of discovery of such act or omission, submit a written Change NoticeRequest, explaining in detail the basis for the request. Owner may either issue a ChangeNotice or deny the request in writing.

If any change under this clause causes directly or indirectly an increase or decrease in thecost, or the time required for the performance of any part of the Work, whether or notchanged by any order, an equitable adjustment shall be made and the contract will bemodified accordingly.

The clause recognizes that changes in the work or changes in the method or manner ofperformance may require changes in the schedule and schedule milestones and this couldfurther necessitate revisions in activity durations, sequence of work items, or


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interrelationships of various tasks. These changes may have a direct impact on theschedule, as where a change in method requires a greater or lesser period of performanceor its effects may be subtler, as where the change merely rearranges priorities. Inaddition to a time extension, the contracts clause provides compensation for any delayresulting from a contract change by allowing an equitable adjustment for the increased

cost of the performance of the work caused by the change.

1.1.3.2 Differing Site Conditions

The portion of the clause addressing cost or time adjustments for differing siteconditions provides:

If such conditions do differ in material and thus cause an increase/decrease in theContractors cost or time required for performance of the Work, an equitable adjustmentwill be made pursuant to the General Condition titled Changes. No claim of theContractor under this clause will be allowed unless the Contractor has given the required

notice. The main intention is to leave the Contractor neither damaged nor enrichedbecause of the resultant delay.

The differing site conditions clause must not be confused with the Site Conditions clausein Owner issued contracts - the so-called Exculpatory clause. Its intent is to disallowany claims for delays relating to conditions at the site, which the Contractor should haveanticipated. The exceptions are limited to those conditions defined in the Differing SiteConditions clause.

1.1.4 Concurrent Delays

Concurrent delays occur when both Owner and the Contractor are responsible for thedelay. Generally, if the delays are inextricably intertwined, neither the Contractor can beheld responsible for the delay (forced to accelerate, or be liable for liquidated damages)nor can he recover the delay damages from the Owner.

Until the development of CPM schedule analysis, there was no reliable method todifferentiate the impact of Contractor caused delays from Owner-caused delays. With thesophisticated computerized techniques now available, however, it has become possible tosegregate the impacts of apparently concurrent Owner and Contractor delays.

In analyzing a delay claim, an analysis based on a comparison of the Contractorsapproved CPM schedule with the as-built CPM schedule should be performed toapportion proper responsibility for delay. Because the critical path may shift as the jobprogresses, it is updated based upon contractually required input from the Contractor.


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1.2 Causes of delays:

There are two kinds of causes for delays in construction projects: external and internalcauses. Internal causes of delays include the causes, which come from four partiesinvolved in that project. These parties include the Owner, Designers, Contractors, and

Consultants. Other delays, which do not come from these four parties, are based onexternal causes for instance from the government, material suppliers, or weather.

The followings are some of the possible causes of delays that the construction industry isfacing nowadays:

Possessive decision-making mechanism

Highly bureaucratic organization

Insufficient data collection and survey before design

Sites topography is changed after design

Lack of coordination at design phase

Inadequate review Improper inspection approach

Different attitude between the consultant and contractors

Financial difficulties

Inexperienced personnel

Insufficient number of staffs

Deficiency in project coordination

Spend some time to find sub-contractors company who is appropriate for eachtask

Often changing Sub-contractors Company

Inadequate, and old equipment

Lack of high-technology equipment

Harvest time

1.3 Extensions of Time:

Time is an integral part of every plan a company develops for performing contract work.There is a relationship between the schedule, the scope of work, and the projectconditions. Changes to any one or more of the above three can affect the time ofcompletion and compensation.

1.3.1 Excusable or Non-excusable Delays

Delays can quickly consume the time in your schedule, and it is important to understandthe net effect of those delays.

Non-excusable: the construction company gets no time or money


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Excusable: the construction company gets time, but no money

Compensable: the construction company gets both time and money

To be able to evaluate which type of delay you may be experiencing, you first need toread the full Contract. Usually a contract clause dealing with time, schedule, suspension

of the work, or default will list the events that will entitle you to an extension of time. Atypical clause allows extensions of time for unforeseeable events that are beyond thecompanys control and are not caused by the companys fault or negligence. Clausesoften give a laundry list of examples, such as:

Acts of God

Acts of the public enemy

Acts of the Owner or those under his control

Acts of the Owners independent Contractors

Fire

Floods

Epidemics Quarantine restrictions

Strikes

Freight embargoes

Unusually severe weather

This type of clause sometimes called a force majeure clause, lists excusable delays.Any other type of delay becomes Non-excusable.

A typical Non-excusable delay is one where the company or anyone for whom thecompany is responsible (subcontractors or suppliers) has caused a delay by failing to:

o Prosecute the work in a timely manner.o Properly staff the job.o Order materials or equipment on time.o Submit shop drawings for approval on schedule.o Coordinate the work of its subcontractors.

Thus, the company must read the Full Contract carefully because occasionally it is found,for example, that weather (not just abnormal or unusually severe weather) might be anexcusable delay, while strikes are not.

An excusable delay for which a company receives payment in addition to a timeextension is called a compensable delay. Typically compensable delays occur when theOwner or one of his representatives, including the engineer, architect and constructionmanager, has delayed the contract in the prosecution of its work. Examples ofcompensable delays by the Owner are:

o Failure to provide access to all or part of the worksite when the company needs it.o Failure to review shop drawings in a timely manner.


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o Failure to properly coordinate the work of his other Contractors on the site.o Ordering changes in the companys method or sequence for performing the work.

Other owner acts that stop or disrupt the companys prosecution of its work.

1.4 Receiving Due Compensation:

The clause that lists excusable delays usually will not tell you if the delay is alsocompensable. It may either say nothing about it or sometimes may even say that thedelay is not compensable, which is not necessarily so. The company may have to look atother clauses in the contract to see if the company is entitled to compensation for one ormore of the types of excusable delays listed above.

There are clauses that may entitle the company for compensation for certain delays.Other clauses to check are the changes clause and the Differing Site Conditionsclause, both of which will say that the company will be compensated for added costsunder the circumstances described in those clauses.

1.5 Giving Required Notice:

The need to give contractually required notices to the Owner is stressed. Virtually allcontract provisions that deal with excusable and compensable delays contain arequirement for prompt written notice of the delay to the Owner. In addition, the nextschedule update submitted to the Owner should clearly show any delays the company hasexperienced and the time extensions the company is entitled to (and has requested fromthe owner), whether the Owner has approved it or not. The schedule update should beaccompanied by a narrative that describes the delay and its impact in the completion ofthe project to the extent known at that time.

If the delay is non-excusable, notice to the Owner is generally not required. However,even a non-excusable delay may have to be shown on the contractually required scheduletogether with the actions the company will take to make up for the effects of the delay,such as acceleration of the work.

1.5.1 Steps to take when delays occur:

With time being the essence in most of the construction contracts and with the projectduration clearly defined, it is also important to follow the next outline procedures whendelays occur:Whenever the Contractor foresees any delays in the prosecution of the work, and in anyevent immediately upon the occurrence of any delay which the Contractor regards asunavoidable, the Contractor shall notify the Owners representative in writing of theprobability of occurrence of such delay and its cause in order that the Ownersrepresentative may take immediate steps to prevent, if possible, the occurrence orcontinuance of the delay or, if this cannot be done, may determine whether the delay is tobe considered avoidable or unavoidable, how long it continues, and to what extent theprosecution and completion of the work are to be delayed. The Contractor shall make no


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claims that any delay not taken to the attention of the Owner at the time of its occurrencehas been an unavoidable delay.

1.6 Liquidated Damages and Acceleration:

The concepts of liquidated damages and acceleration are often opposite approachesin solving the delay problem. When does a company have to pay liquidated damages?What if the contract does not have liquidated damages clauses? When does the companyhave to accelerate the job? When does the owner pay for the acceleration?

1.6.1 Liquidated Damages:

The word liquidated is a legal concept, which means the amount of money to be paidfor late-completion, if fixed.

A company seldom (if ever) signs a contract that does not have a specified completion

date. The combination of that specific date and time is of essence in the contract, whichmeans that if the company fails to complete the work on time and that the causes of thedelay are due companys fault the company is liable for all of the Owners damages thatoccur because of that delay.

1.6.2 Acceleration:

Events may delay the job and shorten the Contractors time to accomplish his work. Orthe Owner may require the Contractor to finish his work sooner than initially scheduled.Either of these cases may call for an acceleration of Contractors work that is,Contractor may need to make up time to avoid damages (liquidated or actual) payable tothe Owner for the late completion of the project. It is often carried by working overtimeand on weekends by adding manpower or even by placing extra shifts and equipment.

1.7 Controlling the project:

Project control consists of two components: one, accurate information about the schedulestatus of a project, and the other, actions taken in response to the status reports. Thedriving force for keeping a project on schedule is money. Typically, contracts includeliquidated damages for a project not being completed on time or bonus/penalty clausesthat provide an incentive to the Contractors to complete the project as soon as possible.

1.8 Delay responsibility:

The issue of delay responsibilities is related to whether the Contractor is awarded, or isliable for costs and additional time to complete the project. The categories ofresponsibilities are:


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Owner (or Agent) Responsible: Contractor will be granted time extension andadditional costs (indirect), where warranted.

Contractor (or subcontractor) Responsible: Contractor will not be granted time orcosts and may have to pay damages/penalties.

Neither Party (e.g., Act of God) Responsible: Contractor will receive additional

time to complete the project but no costs will be granted and nodamages/penalties assessed. Both Parties Responsible: Contractor will receive additional time to complete the

project but no costs will be granted and no damages/penalties assessed.

1.9 CPM in Dispute Resolution and Litigation:

In many cases it may only be in the final analysis, during the resolution of disputes,that CPM is considered to be worth to use it to its fullest extent. It is at this point that theCPM technique is particularly useful, because it provides a complete model of theproject. The model illustrates how the project was originally planned and how it changed

as the project progressed. By introducing changes into this model, it would be possible tosee how other portions of the model will be affected. It thereby furnishes a basis uponwhich assessments of time and money awards can be made.

1.10 Going to court:

Disputes normally come down in assessing three aspects of delays: (1) whose was thefault or who caused the delay, (2) how much delay occurred (project delay) and,consequently, (3) what monetary awards should be made. The Critical Path Method isprimarily useful in addressing the second of these conditions and in some cases can beused to assist in determining at least a portion of the monetary awards.

CPM enables anyone to evaluate the impacts of the action of any party (Owner,Contractor, subcontractor, or other). Most importantly, the assessment can be consideredas being objective (unbiased) provided the model (network) used is valid.

There are numerous court cases in which the project duration has allegedly beencompromised by changed orders, differing site conditions, excusable delays, non-excusable delays, suspensions of work, and others causes. Many of these cases concernContractors who felt that they have been delayed the project as a result of someoccurrence for which there was entitlement to additional time and/or money.

1.11 As-built schedules:

As-built schedules are similar to as-built drawings. Where as-built drawings arecorrections made on the original set of construction drawings to reflect the actuallocations of all construction features, as-built schedules reflect the actual timeoccurrences for all major project activities. As-built schedules are not commonlyprepared in most projects. Note that an updated schedule merely shows the correct statusof the project activities beginning at a designated point in time. In the updated schedules,


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the actual occurrence time of past activities is not of primary interest. It is only when thetrue representation of the entire project schedule is needed that an as-built schedule iswarranted. Since these take time to prepare, a decision must be it the effort is justified.

What is the purpose of as-built schedules? The most widely recognized use is in the area

of claims, especially delay claims, from a Contractors point of view, an as-built schedulemight be prepared to demonstrate how a particular Owner-caused delay or unforeseencondition resulted in a significant project delay. This will often be difficult to showwithout an as-built schedule. To make the impact of delay clear, comparisons must bemade against other schedules of the project, namely those that were prepared without theanticipation of a delay.

1.12 Building code-related delays:

The following is the list of the most likely causes for delays to happen related to buildingcode-related:

Building Permits Approval Process Changes in Laws and Regulations

Safety Rules

OSHA Regulations

Florida Building Code

Building Regulations in Coastal Regions

Coastal Construction Control Line Permit

Florida Administrative Code

National Flood Insurance Program

1.12.1 The United Florida Building Code:

The United Florida Building Code (FBC) drives the Florida Building System. A new Florida Building Code started applicable from March 1, 2002. FBC describes the code of the general organization, its applicability, and major

exemptions, as well as major changes to the code relevant to high wind provisionsand means of egress.

1.12.2 OSHA Regulations:

The term "Occupational Safety and Health Standard" means a standard which requiresconditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, operations,

or processes, reasonably necessary or appropriate to provide safe or healthfulemployment and places of employment.


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1.12.3 Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) Program:

The purpose of the CCCL program is to preserve and protect Florida's coastal beach-dunesystem from imprudent construction and still provide reasonable use of private property.Construction can jeopardize the shoreline's stability, accelerate erosion, provide

inadequate protection to upland structures, endanger adjacent properties, or interfere withlateral public beach access. Within the boundaries of the CCCL, no person, firm,corporation, or governmental agency may construct any type of facility or buildingwithout a CCCL permit, unless it is exempted. Regulated activities include everythingfrom large multifamily developments to dune walkover structures.

1.12.4 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Zones:

The NFIP began in 1968 as a nationwide system for obtaining flood insurance. Theprogram first helped in developing maps of all areas that have a 1% chance of serious

flooding each year. Local governments were also encouraged to adopt regulations toreduce the impacts of future flooding. In exchange for these regulations property ownerswithin the community can obtain flood insurance. If a community does not adoptregulations to reduce flood impacts, property owners in the community are not eligiblefor federal flood insurance.


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CHAPTER 2.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 General:

One of the most important problems in the Construction industry is delay. Delays occurin every construction project and the magnitude of these delays varies considerably fromproject to project. Some projects are only a few days behind the schedule; some aredelayed over a year. So it is essential to define the actual causes of delay in order tominimize and avoid the delays in any construction project.

There is a wide range of views for the causes of time delays for engineering andconstruction projects. Some are attributable to a single party, others can be ascribed to

several quarters and many relate more to systemic faults or deficiencies rather than to agroup or groups.

The successful execution of construction projects and keeping them within estimated costand prescribed schedules depend on a methodology that requires sound engineeringjudgment [1].

2.2 Previous Work

Leishman [4] presented the legal consequences of delays in construction. Herbsman et al.[5] studied the effect of delays on cost and quality. Yates [6] developed a decisionsupport system for construction delay analysis called (DAS). The main categories ofdelays in DAS include engineering, equipment, external delays, labor, management,material, owner, subcontractors, and weather.

Ogunlana et al. [7] studied the delays in building project in Thailand, as an example ofdeveloping economies. They concluded that the problems of the construction industry indeveloping economies could be nested in three layers: (1) problem of shortages orinadequacies in industry infrastructure, mainly supply of resources; (2) problems causedby clients and consultants; and (3) problems caused by incompetence of contractors.Kumaraswamy et al. [8] surveyed the causes of construction delays in Hong Kong asseen by clients, contractors and consultants, and examined the factors affectingproductivity. The survey revealed differences in perceptions of the relative significanceof factors between the three groups, indicative of their experiences, possible prejudicesand lack of effective communication. Mansfield et al [9] studied the causes of delay andcost overrun in construction projects in Nigeria. The results showed that the mostimportant factors are financing and payment for completed works, poor contractmanagement, changes in site conditions, shortage of material, and improper planning.


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Assaf et al. [10] studied the causes of delay in large building construction projects inSaudi Arabia. The most important causes of delay included approval of shop drawings,delays in payments to contractors and the resulting cash-flow problems duringconstruction, design changes, conflicts in work schedules of subcontractors, slow

decision making and executive bureaucracy in the owners' organizations, design errors,labor shortage and inadequate labor skills. Mezher et al. [11] conducted a survey of thecauses of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon from the viewpoint of owners,contractors and architectural/engineering firms. It was found that owners had moreconcerns with regard to financial issues, contractors regarded contractual relationshipsthe most important, while consultants considered project management issues to be themost important causes of delays.

Battaineh [2] evaluated the progress reports of 164 building and 28 highway projectsconstructed during the period 1996 1999 in Jordan. The results indicate that delays areextensive: the average ratio of actual completion time to the planned contract duration is

160.5% for road projects and 120.3% for building projects.

Al-Momani [3] conducted a quantitative analysis of construction delays by examining therecords of 130 public building projects constructed in Jordan during the period of1990 1997. The researcher presented regression models of the relationship betweenactual and planned project duration for different types of building facilities. The analysisalso included the reported frequencies of time extensions for the different causes ofdelays. The researcher concluded that the main causes of delay in construction projectsrelate to designers, user changes, weather, site conditions, late deliveries, economicconditions, and increase in quantities.

Hancher and Rowings, [1] for example, provide a concise summary of the methodologiesused by transportation agencies to establish the contract duration used for highwayconstruction projects, and also provides a schedule guide for field engineers duringconstruction. Similarly, Chalabi and Camp [13] conducted a review on project delays indeveloping countries during planning and construction stages. In their study they foundthat the delay and cost overruns of construction projects are dependent entirely on thevery early stages of the project. Fereig and Qaddumi [14] in their study on theconstruction experience of the Arabian Gulf demonstrate the various components of theplanning, controlling and productivity on construction delay. Their primary purpose is toalert the reader to the deviation from the project plans.

Wilson [15] examined the role of the owner and architect/engineer's roles in theprevention and resolution of construction claims. Wilson also summarized the causes ofconstruction claims which include: extra work, project delays and acceleration, lack ofmanagement, limited site access and change in work schedule.

Jonathan Jingsheng Shi [16] presented a paper on method for computing activity delays

and assessing their contributions to project delay. The method consisted of a set of


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equations, which could be easily codedinto a computer program that would allow speedyaccess to projectdelay information and activity contributions.

Sabah Alkass, Mark Mazerolle, Frank Harris [17] presented a paper which discussesdifferent delay analysis techniques that are currently used by practitioners in the

construction industry. It also discusses a proposed new delay analysis technique calledthe Isolated Delay Type (IDT). These techniques were tested against a case example andtheir strengths and weaknesses highlighted.

Empirically based time performance research measures either construction time (physicalbuilding time) or contract time (performance measured against the date stipulated incontracts). Bromilow [18] headed a CSIRO investigation of contract time performancefor 329 projects constructed between 1964 and 1969. One outcome of this study was thedevelopment of an empirical relationship between total cost of construction and projectduration. The equation describing the average duration as a function of value is T = KCb,where T equals the construction period from possession of site to practical completion

in days, C is the final adjusted project value, K is a constant describing how timeperformance is affected by size, and b a constant indicative of the sensitivity of timeperformance to cost level. This established the parameters of cost/time performancepredictability, although the performance of the individual projects varied significantly.

The relationship was re-tested by Bromilow [19] in collaboration with the AustralianInstitute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) in two follow-up contract time performancestudies, in 1976 and 1988. The former study investigated 408 projects built between1970 and 1976 and found that despite evidence of greater variation between the timeperformance of projects of similar value, the relationship between construction durationand project cost uncovered in the 1960s still holds. The 1988 study investigated 408projects built between 1976 and 1986. It found that the average contract time was about32% for government contracts and 22% for private contracts (Bromilow, Hinds, &Moody 1988).

Ireland [20] describes the relationship between time, cost, and quality as in the followingterms:

time is a function of cost and quality

cost is a function of time and quality

quality is a function of time and cost

He studied the performance on twenty five high rise commercial projects in Sydney,Australia. Amongst his finding is confirmation of the formula derived by Bromilow,though with slightly different constants.

A detailed study by the NSW Royal Commission into Productivity in the BuildingIndustry (1992) of 20 commercial high-rise buildings with a total design and constructvalue of over A$2.0 billion found 22 specific causes of time overrun. Weather, industrial


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disputation, client scope changes and variations, and consultant problems were some ofthe ones occurring with the highest frequency.

Comparative time performance research has been conducted by Ireland in several studies;a comparison of Australian contractors (1984), a comparison of US and UK projects with

Flanagan, Norman and Orerod (1986) and a comparison of best US and Australiancontractors (1987).

Irelands [21] study compared 14 office and hotel projects by a leading Australiancontractor with 22 similar projects by a similar US contractor and later compared themwith the performance of a leading UK contractor. One of the major findings of this studywas that if the US contractor takes 107 days, the UK takes 118 days and the averageAustralian best takes 136 days. In sum, Australian projects take up to 20-30% longerthan in the US.

There has been a considerable and continued interest on the effects of construction

delays. The information available is diverse and widespread. Despite the necessity forsuch research, little work has been described in the literature concerning public projects.The previously proposed factors contributing to construction delay were frequentlyobserved in public projects. The actual frequency and magnitude of these factors is notknown, which has proven to be a serious and very expensive problem for the constructionindustry.


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CHAPTER 3.

METHODOLOGY

3.1 General

The preliminary data for this research was collected through a literature review and theuse of a questionnaire survey targeted at Contractors in the State of Florida.

The literature review was done through books, conference proceedings, the Internet, andleading construction management and engineering journals. In this step, all the causesfor delays that may be encountered in a construction project were identified through adetailed review of published technical papers, recent magazines, newspapers and viaInternet. The causes of delays are classified into six broad categories depending on theirnature and mode of occurrence. Based on the findings, the delays checklist is as follows:

Detailed Literature Review

Questionnaire Survey

FloridasConstruction Contractors

Analysis

Conclusions & Recommendations


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ACTS OF GOD Flood

Hurricane

Fire

Wind Damage

DESIGN - RELATED Design DevelopmentChange Order

Decision during development stage

Changes in Drawings

Changes in Specifications

Shop Drawings Approval

Incomplete Documents

CONSTRUCTION-RELATED Inspections

Subsurface Soil Conditions

Material/Fabrication Delays

Material Procurement

Lack of Qualified Craftsmen

Poor Subcontractor Performance

Defective Work

Different Site Conditions

Labor Injuries

Damage to Structure

Construction Mistakes

Poor Supervision

Equipment Availability

FINANCIAL/ECONOMICAL Financial Process

Financial Difficulties

Delayed Payments

Economic Problems

MANAGEMENT/ADMINISTRATIVE Labor Dispute and Strike

Inadequate Planning

Inadequate Scheduling

Contract Modifications

Underestimation of Productivity

Staffing Problems

Lack of coordination on-site

Scheduling Mismanagement

Transportation DelaysSuspensions

Inadequate Review

Lack of High-Technology

Poor Managerial Skills


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CODE-RELATED Building Permits Approval Process

Changes in Laws and Regulations

Safety Rules

OSHA Regulations

Florida Building CodeBuilding Regulations in Coastal Regions

Coastal Construction Control Line Permit


National Flood Insurance Program

3.2 Questionnaire:

The questionnaire survey (Appendix A) was made available on the Internet and wasdeveloped to identify:

The type of delay:

A=Non-ExcusableB=Excusable Non-CompensableC=Excusable CompensableD=Concurrent

Chance of occurrence:1-Unlikely = 20 % probability to happen.2-As likely as not = 40 %3-Likely = 60 %4-Almost certain = 80 %5-Certain = 100 % probability to happen

Responsibility

Own=OwnerCont=ContractorCons=ConsultantGov=GovernmentShared=Shared

3.3 Analysis and Conclusions:

Upon the completion of the data analysis, conclusions and recommendations werepresented.


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CHAPTER 4.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

4.1 General:

This chapter deals with the analysis of the information gathered (Appendix B) from thequestionnaire survey and includes the identification of the critical causes of delays,responsibilities and types of delays based on the delays checklist outlined in themethodology section of the report.

4.2 Questionnaire Response Rate:

A detailed questionnaire was prepared (appendix A) and sent to the different companiesspecially General Contractors in the State of Florida by regular mail and also via Internet.

The survey was carried out over the period from October 2001 to March 2002, and theresponse rate is as shown in the Table 4.1:

Questionnaire Sent Regular Mail Via Internet Total

No. of Participant 200 180 380

No. of Companies

Responding

23 12 35

Response Rate 11.5% 6.67% 9.21%

Table 4.1 Response Rate

4.3 Identification of the Key Delays:

The key causes of delays are presented in tables 4.1 4.5. Each table categorizes thedifferent causes of delays (Acts of God, Design-Related Delays, Construction-RelatedDelays, Financial/Economical Delays, Management/Administrative Delays and Code-Related Delays) based on the chance of occurrence. The chance of occurrence was rated

on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 having the lowest frequency of occurrence and 5 the highest.

The number in the filled cells indicates the number of respondents who chose that option.The last cell in each category shows the average of the responses while the far most rightcolumn indicates the selection of the key causes of delays, which were selected as thosehaving a value of 2.5 or higher indication at least a 50% chance of occurrence.


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1. Acts of God 1 2 3 4 5 Total Key Delay

Flood 20 4 3 0 0 1.37

Hurricane 5 10 9 1 0 2.24

Fire 11 11 3 0 0 1.68

Wind Damage 7 11 7 0 0 2.00Total of Key Delay 0

Table 4.2 Key Delays Acts of God

2. Design-Related

Design Development 1 4 12 7 2 3.19

Change Order 0 3 5 12 6 3.81

Decision in development stage 0 5 11 6 4 3.35

Changes in Drawings 0 3 6 10 6 3.76

Changes in Specifications 2 4 8 8 5 3.37

Shop Drawings Approval 0 5 10 4 3 3.23

Incomplete Documents 0 4 8 5 7 3.63

Total of Key Delay 7

Table 4.3 Key Delays Design Related

3. Financial/Economical

Financial Process 4 10 8 2 0 2.33

Financial Difficulties 5 10 8 1 0 2.21

Delayed Payments 2 8 8 5 0 2.70

Economic Problems 4 11 7 2 0 2.29


Table 4.4 Key Delays Financial/Economical


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4. Construction Related 1 2 3 4 5 Total Key

Delay

Inspections 0 4 12 4 5 3.40

Subsurface Soil Conditions 4 10 10 3 0 2.44

Material/Fabrication Delays 1 7 14 3 2 2.93

Material Procurement 1 13 6 5 1 2.69 Lack of Qualified Craftsmen 4 8 9 3 2 2.65

Poor Subcontractor Performance 2 9 8 5 2 2.85

Defective Work 5 11 6 3 1 2.38

Different Site Conditions 5 8 9 4 0 2.46

Labor Injuries 7 9 7 2 1 2.27

Damage to Structure 14 8 3 0 0 1.56

Construction Mistakes 5 9 6 2 3 2.56

Poor Supervision 5 9 8 2 1 2.40

Equipment Availability 9 8 6 2 0 2.04


Table 4.5 Key Delays Construction Related

5. Management and Administrative 1 2 3 4 5 Total KeyDelay

Labor Dispute and Strike 12 6 4 1 0 1.74

Inadequate Planning 5 9 7 3 0 2.33

Inadequate Scheduling 4 9 7 2 0 2.32

Contract Modifications 2 7 5 7 1 2.91

Underestimation of Productivity 3 13 6 2 0 2.29

Staffing Problems 4 10 7 2 0 2.30

Lack of coordinationOn-site 5 9 8 1 0 2.22

Scheduling Mismanagement 5 8 7 3 0 2.35

Transportation Delays 3 11 7 1 0 2.27

Suspensions 10 9 3 1 0 1.78

Inadequate Review 5 8 7 2 1 2.39Lack of High-Technology 7 8 6 0 0 1.95

Poor Managerial Skills 6 8 9 1 0 2.21


Table 4.6 Key Delays Management and Administrative

6. Code Related

Building Permits Approval Process 1 2 6 5 9 3.83

Changes in Laws and Regulations 1 7 8 4 3 3.04

Safety Rules 3 8 9 0 3 2.65

OSHA Regulations 2 11 5 3 2 2.65

Florida Building Code 1 7 9 3 3 3.00

Building Regulations in Coastal Regions 0 10 9 1 3 2.87

Coastal Construction Control Line Permit 3 4 9 3 3 2.95

Florida Administrative Code 4 6 6 4 2 2.73

National Flood Insurance Program 5 7 5 3 2 2.55



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Table 4.7 Key Delays - Code Related

After analyzing tables 4.2 through 4.7, based on their chance of occurrence the main keydelays ranked from the highest to the lowest in each category affecting the FloridaConstruction Industry are shown as follows:

Code Related Delays

3.83

3.04 3 2.95 2.87 2.73 2.65 2.65 2.55

0

0.5

11.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Key Delays

Building Permits Approval

Changes Laws-Regulations

Florida Building Code

Coastal Construction ControlLine Permit

Building Regulations CoastalRegions


Safety Rules

OSHA Regulations

Fig 4.1 Ranking of Code Related Key Delays

Design Related Delays

3.813.76

3.63

3.37 3.35

3.23 3.19

2.8

3

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4

Key Delays

Change order

Changes in Drawings

Incomplete Documents

Changes in Specifications

Decision DuringDevelopment Stage

Shop Drawings Approval

Design Development

Fig 4.2 Ranking of Design Related Key Delays


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Construction Related Delays

3.4

2.93 2.852.69 2.65 2.56

00.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Key Delays

Inspections

Material/Fabrication Delays

Poor SubcontractorPerformance

Material Procurement

Lack of Qualified Craftsmen

Construction Mistakes

Fig 4.3 Ranking of Construction Related Key Delays

Management/Administrative Delays

2.91

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Key Delays

Contract Modifications

Fig 4.4 Ranking of Management/Administrative Key Delays


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Financial/Economical Delays

2.7

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Key Delays

Delayed payments

Fig 4.5 Ranking of Financial/Economical Key Delays

Acts of God

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Key Delays

Fig 4.6 No Key Delays in Acts of God


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4.4 Identification of Responsibility and the type of delay:

The identification of responsibilities as well as types of delays is shown in tables 4.8through 4.13. The responsibility was rated among the parties that may be involved on aconstruction project starting from the Owner, Contractor, Consultant, and Government to

Shared (Owner-Contractor, Owner-Consultant, etc). On the other hand, the types ofdelays, which were already explained in chapter 2 - Literature Review, are classified as:

Non-excusable: the construction company gets no time or money.

Excusable Non-Compensable: the construction company gets time, but nomoney.

Excusable Compensable: the construction company gets both time and money.

Concurrent: the construction company may or may not get either time or money.

The identification was done based on the information gathered (Appendix B) from thequestionnaire and selecting the highest percentage in each item.

1. Acts of God Responsibility Type of Delay

Flood Owner Excusable Compensable

Hurricane Owner Excusable Compensable

Fire Shared Excusable Compensable

Wind Damage Owner Excusable Compensable

Table 4.8 Responsibility & Type of Delay Acts of God

2. Design-Related

Design Development Consultant Excusable Compensable

Change Order Owner Excusable Compensable

Decision during development stage Owner Excusable Compensable

Changes in Drawings Owner Excusable Compensable

Changes in Specifications Owner Excusable Compensable

Shop Drawings Approval Consultant Excusable Compensable

Incomplete Documents Consultant Excusable Compensable

Table 4.9 Responsibility & Type of Delay Design Related

3. Financial/Economical

Financial Process Owner Excusable CompensableFinancial Difficulties Owner Excusable Compensable

Delayed Payments Owner Excusable Compensable

Economic Problems Owner Excusable Compensable

Table 4.10 Responsibility & Type of Delay Financial/Economical


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4. Construction Related Responsibility Type of Delay

Inspections Contractor Non-Excusable

Subsurface Soil Conditions Shared Excusable Compensable

Material/Fabrication Delays Contractor Non-Excusable

Material Procurement Contractor Non-ExcusableLack of Qualified Craftsmen Contractor Non-Excusable

Poor Subcontractor Performance Contractor Non-Excusable

Defective Work Contractor Non-Excusable

Different Site Conditions Shared Excusable Compensable

Labor Injuries Contractor Non-Excusable

Damage to Structure Contractor Non-Excusable

Construction Mistakes Contractor Non-Excusable

Poor Supervision Contractor Non-Excusable

Equipment Availability Contractor Non-Excusable

Table 4.11 Responsibility & Type of Delay Construction Related

5. Management and AdministrativeLabor Dispute and Strike Contractor Excusable Non-Compensable

Inadequate Planning Contractor Non-Excusable

Inadequate Scheduling Contractor Non-Excusable

Contract Modifications Owner Excusable Compensable

Underestimation of Productivity Contractor Non-Excusable

Staffing Problems Contractor Non-Excusable

Lack of coordination On-site Contractor Non-Excusable

Scheduling Mismanagement Contractor Non-Excusable

Transportation Delays Contractor Excusable Non-Compensable

Suspensions Shared Excusable Non-Compensable

Inadequate Review Shared Non-Excusable

Lack of High-Technology Shared Non-Excusable

Poor Managerial Skills Contractor Non-Excusable

Table 4.12 Responsibility & Type of Delay Management and Administrative

6. Code Related

Building Permits Approval Process Government Excusable Non-Compensable

Changes in Laws and Regulations Government Excusable Compensable

Safety Rules Contractor Non-Excusable

OSHA Regulations Contractor Non-Excusable

Florida Building Code Government Excusable Compensable

Building Regulations in Coastal Regions Government Excusable Compensable

Coastal Construction Control Line Permit Government Excusable Compensable

Florida Administrative Code Government Excusable CompensableNational Flood Insurance Program Government Excusable Compensable

Table 4.13 Responsibility & Type of Delay Code Related


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Figures 4.1 through 4.6 and Tables 4.8 through 4.13 are briefly explained below:

Basic structure of the flow diagram as it relates to delays:

Acts of God:

There is no key delay in this category. The most likely to happen is a hurricane with a44.8% (2.24 from table 4.1) chance of occurrence which is less than 50% to beconsidered as a key delay. In the event a delay occurs due to Acts of God, theresponsibility is borne by the Owner and the type of delay is an excusable compensable.

Design Related:

This is one of the most critical categories among the six because all of the causes wereidentified as key delays, which means that a delay is most likely to happen due to adesign related problem. In fact there is a 76.2% chance (3.81 from table 4.2) that a delayoccurs due to a change order, which is very high in number. According to the survey,Design-Related Delays are considered as excusable compensable delays.

Acts of God ExcusableCompensable

Shared(Owner & Contractor)

Owner

Design-Related

Owner

Consultant

ExcusableCompensable

(CAUSE) (RESPONSIBILITY) (TYPE OF DELAY)

One or the

other

One or the

other


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Construction Related:

Basically in construction stage, the contractor will always have the responsibility and theconstruction company will get no time or money if a delay occurs. However, if a delayoccurs because of Subsurface Soil Conditions or Different Site Conditions, the

responsibility would be shared between the contractor and the owner and the type ofdelay in this situation would be considered excusable compensable. Delays due to lackof inspections with 68% (3.40 from table 4.3) are the most common in this stage.

Financial/Economical:

Delayed payments (2.70) was selected as the only Key Delay. According to the results, it

seems that delays rarely occur because of Financial/Economical reasons. The owner ofthe project will always have the responsibility, which means that the delay will beexcusable compensable.

Management/Administrative:

Similar to the above category (Financial/Economical), this also has just one key delay;Contract Modifications (2.91). However there are two parties involved (Owner andcontractor) that have to carry the responsibility depending on the cause of the delay andthe type of delay is also depending on what caused the delay.

Construction

Related

Contractor

Shared(Owner & Contractor)

Excusable

Compensable

Non-Excusable

Financial andEconomical

Owner ExcusableCompensable

One or theother


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Code Related:

This is the category that influences the most in delays, especially on projects built on thecoastal areas. Very often (77.7%), the government is responsible for it and in this casethey are excusable compensable delays. However, there is a chance of 22.3% that thecontractor be responsible for it in which the delays are Non-Compensable.

Management

andAdministrative

Contractor

Shared

Owner

Non-Excusable

ExcusableNon-Compensable


Code Related

Government

Contractor


Excusable

Non-Compensable

Non-Excusable

One or

the

other

Oneor the

other


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CHAPER 5

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Project delays have been a topic of concern in the construction industry. Delays have

become a universal phenomenon and are almost always accompanied by cost and timeoverruns. Construction project delays have a debilitating effect on parties (owner,contractor, consultant) to a contract in terms of a growth in adversarial relationships,distrust, litigation, arbitration, cash-flow problems, and a general feeling of apprehensiontowards each other.

Delays can be minimized only when their causes are identified. Knowing the cause ofany particular delay in a construction project would help avoiding the same. This projectwas therefore, aimed at identifying the major causes of delays in construction projects inthe Florida Construction Industry through a survey, and quantifies the perceptions ofdifferent parties relating to causes, responsible party and types of delay. This research

project was limited to building projects in the Florida region only.

Based on the results of the questionnaire survey and information gathered from theliterature review, the following conclusions were drawn.

Generally, whether a delay is determined to be excusable or non-excusable, a contractoris not entitled to an extension of time or to an upward adjustment in costs withoutunderstanding the full context of the contract.

Code-Related Delay is ranked as the most critical category followed by Design-RelatedDelays, Construction-Related Delays, and so on, as shown below:

1. Code-Related Delays2. Design-Related Delays3. Construction-Related Delays4. Financial/Economical Delays5. Management/Administrative Delays6. Acts of God

In general, the ten (10) most critical causes (across the six sub-headings given above) ofdelays are:

1. Building Permits Approval (3.83)2. Change order (3.81)3. Changes in Drawings (3.76)4. Incomplete Documents (3.63)5. Inspections (3.40)6. Changes in Specifications (3.37)7. Decision During Development Stage (3.35)8. Shop Drawings Approval (3.23)


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9. Design Development (3.19)10.Changes Laws - Regulations (3.04)

Based on the overall results, we can conclude that the following is the ranking ofresponsibilities of the contractual from the most responsible (1) to the least (5):

1. Contractor = 44%2. Owner = 24%3. Government = 14%4. Shared = 12%5. Consultant = 6%

It can be said that the most common type of delay is Excusable Compensable at 48%,followed by Non-Excusable delays with 44% and 8% for Excusable Non-CompensableDelays.

In most of the cases, it is found that when the contractor has the responsibility, the type ofdelay respectively is Non-Excusable; when the responsibility is the owners or theconsultants it is an Excusable Compensable Delay; and when the government isresponsible, the delay is considered an Excusable Compensable.

The consultants play a very important roll in Design-Related Delays because as they arein charge of the design process in conjunction with the owner of the project. On the otherhand, the government plays the most important role in Code-Related Delays. Thecontractor has the major responsibility for delays in Construction-Related Delays.

Delays due to Financial/Economical Causes as well as Management/AdministrativeCauses share an intermediate position of importance, just presenting one Key Delay Delayed Payments. These categories do not have the same negative impact on projectcompletion times as other factors considered in this study such as code, design andconstruction related issues.

Based on the findings of this study, the authors would like to recommend that theBuildings Permit Approval Process be streamlined as much as possible and changes inLaws and Regulations be made keeping in mind the negative impact it causes in terms ofconstruction project cost and time. Design related issues such as changes in drawings,incomplete and faulty specifications and change orders have a very damaging effect onproject completion times and invariably lead to cost escalations as well. These are issuesthat can be controlled with proper design process management and timely decision-making. It is a well know fact that decisions made early in the life of a project have themost profound effect on the projects objectives of delivering a safe, quality projectwithin the time and budget allocated.


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14. Fereig S, Qaddumi N. Construction problems: The Arabian Gulf experience, CIBProc, W-65 1984

15. Wilson RL. Prevention and resolution of construction claims, Journal ofConstruction Division 1982

16.Jonathan Jingsheng Shi, Construction Delay Computation Method,Journal ofConstruction Engineering and Management-- January/February 2001 -- Volume 127,Issue 1, pp. 60-65

17. Sabah Alkass, Mark Mazerolle, Frank Harris, Construction delay analysistechniques,Construction Management & Economics--Volume 14, Number 5/September1, 1996

18. Bromilow, F. J. (1969). Contract time performance: expectations and the reality.Building Forum, September, 70-80.

19. Bromilow, F. J., Hinds, M. F. & Moody, N. F. (1988). The time and costperformance of building contracts 1976-1988: a summary of a report on research carriedout by AIQS and CSIRO. The Building Economist, September, 4-5.

20. Ireland, V. (1985). The role of Managerial actions in cost, time and qualityperformance of high-rise commercial building projects. Construction Management andEconomics, Vol. 3, 59-87.

21. Ireland, V. (1987). A comparison of US, UK and Australian management practiceswith special reference to lost time. The Building Economist, December, 4-17.


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APPENDIX


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STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

Construction Delays in Florida: An Empirical Study

DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

Questionnaire


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Introduction

Delays on construction projects are a universal phenomenon. They are almost alwaysaccompanied by cost and time overruns. Construction project delays have a debilitating

effect on all parties (owner, contractor, consultant) to a contract in terms of a growth inadversarial relationships, distrust, litigation, arbitration, cash-flow problems, and ageneral feeling of apprehension towards each other.

Objectives

The objectives of this study would be to identify the major causes of delays in constructionprojects in the Florida Construction Industry through a survey; and find the perception of thedifferent parties towards the problem, what their responsibilities are and how they carry them out.It is expected that this study will provide some good empirical data on the extent and type of

delays in construction projects in Florida. The reasons for these delays will also be documentedwith an overall aim to provide guidelines for future owners, builders, designers, and managers ofconstruction projects on the dos and donts for devising effective systems to deliver projects ontime, within budget, and to quality standards, which fully satisfy the clients as well as theintended end-users.

Instructions

Please take a look at the following questionnaire and try to answer correctly andaccurately, as many questions as possible. All the information gathered here will be kept

strictly confidential and will be used only for research and analysis without mentioningthe person or company names. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Please mail the answered questionnaire as soon as you can , as timely reply is verycrucial for our analysis.Uponcompletion of the study, the final report will be sent to

each survey participant.

For more details, please contact:Dr. Syed M. Ahmed

Assistant Professor, Department of Construction Management, Florida International

University

10555 West Flagler Street, EAS #2952, Miami, Florida 33174

Tel: (305)-348-2730 Fax: (305)-348-6255 E-mail: [email protected]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND COOPERATION AND TIME


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Question 1: Which of the following are most important delays associated with your

ongoing project(s)? Please rate the Chance of Occurrence, Responsibilityand Type of Delay by circling a suitable figure as indicated below:

Scale of Chance of Occurrence: 1-Unlikely, 2-As likely as not, 3-Likely, 4-Almostcertain, 5-Certain

Scale of Responsibilities: Own= Owner, Cont= Contractor, Cons= Consultant, Gov=Government

Scale of Type of Delay: A=Non-Excusable, B=Excusable-Non-Compensable,C= Excusable-Compensable, D= Concurrent

* Please also provide other delay (s) (if you think it is important in Florida) and givereason why? and rate in column C.

A B C

Delays Causes Responsibility Chance

ofOccurren

ce

Type of Delay

Acts of God

Flood Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Hurricane Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Fire Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Wind Damage Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Design Related


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Design

Development

Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Change Order Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Decision during

development stage

Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Changes in

Drawings

Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Changes in

Specifications Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Shop Drawings

Approval Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Incomplete

Documents

Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Construction Related

Inspections Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Subsurface Soil

Conditions Own Cont Cons GovShared

1 2 3 45

A B C D

Material/Fabricatio

n Delays Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Material Procurement Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Lack of QualifiedCraftsmen Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Poor SubcontractorPerformance Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Defective Work Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Different SiteConditions Own Cont Cons Gov 1 2 3 4 A B C D


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42

Shared 5

Labor Injuries Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Damage to Structure Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Construction Mistakes Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Poor Supervision Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Equipment Availability Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Financial/Economical

Financial Process Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Financial Difficulties Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Delayed Payments Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Economic Problems Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Management-

Administrative

Labor Dispute andStrike Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Inadequate Planning Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Inadequate Scheduling Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Contract Modifications Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Underestimation ofProductivity


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Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Staffing Problems Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Lack of coordinationon-site Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

SchedulingMismanagement Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Transportation Delays Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Suspensions

Own Cont Cons GovShared

1 2 3 45

A B C D

Inadequate Review Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Lack of High-Technology Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Poor Managerial Skills Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Code Related

Building PermitsApproval Process Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Changes in Laws andRegulations Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Safety Rules Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

OSHA Regulations Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Florida Building Code Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Building Regulations inCoastal Regions Own Cont Cons Gov 1 2 3 4 A B C D


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Shared 5Coastal ConstructionControl Line Permit Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Florida AdministrativeCode

Own Cont Cons GovShared

1 2 3 45

A B C D

National FloodInsurance Program Own Cont Cons Gov

Shared

1 2 3 4

5

A B C D

Question 2: Select the project your company has had the worst problem because of adelays cause and answer the following questions.

Building Type: __________________________________________

Project Location: __________________________________________

Contract Price and Time Scheduled: _________________________________________

Type of Contract: _________________________________________

Total Floor Area and Number of Floors: _____________________________________

Structural System: _____________________________________

Delays Cause: _____________________________________

Delays Duration: _____________________________________

Observations (How you handled it) _____________________________________