Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Aim, Objective & Scope ...................................................................................................... 4 2.0 Literature Review................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Identify the causes and effect of delays in large construction projects. ........................... 4 2.1.1 Studies on causes of delay............................................................................................. 4 2.1.2 Studies on the effects of delay....................................................................................... 6 2.2 Categorize types of delays on construction projects ........................................................ 7 2.2.1 Critical Versus Non-Critical Delays ............................................................................. 7 2.2.2 Excusable versus Non-Excusable Delays ..................................................................... 8 2.2.3 Compensable Delays versus Non-Compensable Delays ............................................... 9 2.2.4 Concurrent Delays ....................................................................................................... 10 2.3 To prepare methods of occurrence delays ...................................................................... 11 2.4 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 11 3.0 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 12 4.0 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 13 5.0 References .......................................................................................................................... 14 6.0 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 14

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1.0 Introduction
Delays are one of the biggest problems construction firms face. The main objective of this study is to know what the main causes of delay are. Delay in construction of the project causes stress to the team as a whole. As we know that time is money (Procrastination is the thief of time (Edward Young) which is defined delay in the construction of the project means exceeded, the loss of capital and income, increases the risk of market delay in production, increased cost of materials and inefficiencies. While completing the project at the right time profit driven, market growth, increased customer confidence and increased self-confidence and team. In previous studies safety equipment & Daily target was not included in the studies there, which also leads to cause delay in the construction of the project. (Saleh Al Hadi Tumi,Abdelnaser Omran,Abdul Hamid Kadir Pakir, 2009) Similar survey was conducted in 1996 by Ogunlana Thailand, Bangkok, and his analysis that there are three major categories of delay in the construction of the project (a) Shortages or deficiencies in the industry infrastructure. (B) The problems caused by customers and consultants. (C) The problems caused by the Contractor incompetence / insufficiency. Chan and Kumaraswamy (1997) conducted a survey to find the causes of delay in construction projects in Hong Kong and he found five factors: Delay - (a) risk of poor management and supervision (b) blurred Site state. (C) Slow decision-making. (D) The client's initiative variation. (E) work variance. According Mansfield (1994) - They showed that the causes of delays and cost overruns in the construction of Nigeria project were to attribute (a) the mismanagement of the contract. (B) Imprecise estimates. (C) In all the price fluctuations. (D) Shortages of materials and equipment. (E) Finance and payments agreements. In the study by Al- Assaf and Hejji (2006), the period may be defined as the time during the execution, or beyond the completion date specified in a contract or beyond the date parties accept the idea for the project delivery. This project slides on its schedule and is consider a common problem in construction projects. Bassioni & El- Razek (2008) identified that the delay in the construction project is considered one of the most common problems that cause many negative effects on the project and its stakeholders. Therefore, it is essential to identify the real causes of delay in order to minimize and avoid delays and the corresponding expenditure. Page 2 of 15
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Pattanakitchamrron and Arditi (2006) reported that construction delays could cause a number of changes in the project as late completion, loss of productivity, acceleration, rising costs and the termination of the contract. The party knows the damage and the parties responsible for them in order to recover the time and cost. However, in general situations of delay are complex.A delay in an activity may not result in the same amount of delay of the project. A delay caused by a party may or may not affect the completion date of the project and may or may not cause damage to a third party. A delay may occur at the same time as other delays and each can affect the completion date of the project. (Saleh Al Hadi Tumi,Abdelnaser Omran,Abdul Hamid Kadir Pakir, 2009) Delays caused by the client such as late submission of drawings and specifications, frequent change orders, and inadequate site information generates claims from both the main contractors and subcontractors which many times entail lengthy court battles with huge financial repercussions. Delays caused by contractors can generally be attributes to poor managerial skills. Lack of planning and a poor understanding of accounting and financial principles have led to many a contractors downfall. The construction industry is vast, volatile and requires huge capital expenditure. A single element of risk in the industry is the how litigation and claims are woven through the fiber construction process. Mansfield et al. (1994) studied the causes of delays and cost overruns in construction projects Nigeria. The results showed that most important factors are the financing and payment for completed jobs, poor contract management, changes in site conditions, lack of equipment and poor planning. Assaf et al. (1995) studied the causes of delay in major projects building construction in Saudi Arabia. The most important causes of delay including the approval of shop drawings , delays in payments to contractors and the resulting cash flow problems during the construction, design changes , conflicts in work schedules subcontractors, slow decision making and bureaucracy in the executive home owners organizations, design errors , shortages of labor and inadequate job skills . Mazhar et al., (1998) investigated the causes of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon from the perspective of owners, contractors and / Engineer architecture. It was found the owners had more concerns with regard to

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financial issues , entrepreneurs considered .The most important contractual relations , while consultants considered project management issues to be the most important causes delays.

1.1 Aim, Objective & Scope

Identify and develop methods of minimizing and control delay in construction projects. The main objectives of this study include the following: To identify the causes and effect of delays in large construction projects To categorize types of delays on construction projects To Prepare methods of occurrence delays

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Identify the causes and effect of delays in large construction projects. 2.1.1 Studies on causes of delay Mansfield identified 16 key factors that have caused delays in Nigeria. A questionnaire survey was conducted with contractors, consultants and clients organizations in Nigeria. They showed that the causes of delays and cost overruns on construction projects Nigerian were allocated to financing and payment terms, poor contract management, shortages of materials, inaccurate estimation, and global price fluctuations. Assaf identified 56 main causes of delay in Major construction projects to Saudi buildings and their relationship importance. Based on the entrepreneurs surveyed more important factors of delay were the preparation and approval of shop drawings, delays in the progress of the contractor, the payment by the owners and design changes. From the point of view of architects and engineers Cash flow problems during construction, the relationship between subcontractors and slow decision process owner who were the main causes of delay. However, the owners agreed that design errors, shortages of labor and poor working skills were important delay factors. (Murali Sambasivan *, Yau Wen Soon, 2007)

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Ogunlana and Promkuntong conducted a study on construction delays in Thailand. They found that the problems faced by the construction industry in developing economies as Thailand could be: (a) shortages or deficiencies infrastructure industry (mainly provide resources), (b) caused by clients and consultants and (c) caused by contractor incompetence / inadequacies. They recommended there should be a concerted effort by the managers of the economy associations and the construction industry to provide the necessary infrastructure for effective project management. Chan and Kumaraswamy conducted a survey to identify and assess the relative importance of the major factors causing delays in building Hong Kong projects. They analyzed and classified the main reasons delays and divided into two groups: (a) the role of stakeholders in the local construction industry (ie clients, consultants and contractors) and (b) the type of projects. The results indicate that the five leading causes of delays were: poor site management and supervision, unexpected soil conditions, low speed of decision making involving all project teams, customer initiated changes and necessary Changes in work. Odeyinka and Yusif have examined the causes of delays in construction projects in Nigeria. They classified the causes behind the project participants and foreign factors. Delays to customers included change orders, slow decision making and cash flow problems. Contraction delays related to Tor identified are financial difficulties, problems of material management, planning and scheduling problems, inadequate inspection of the site, materials management problems and a shortage of labor. Foreign causes of delay were identified: weather, acts of nature, labor disputes and strikes. Al- Momani conducted a quantitative analysis construction delays in Jordan. The result of the study indicates the main causes of delay in the construction of public projects were related to designers, user changes, weather, site, late deliveries, economic conditions and increasing the amount.

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Similarly, Odeh and Battaineh also conducted a survey to determine the most important causes of delays in construction projects with the traditional type of contracts viewpoint construction contractors and consultants. The results of the Investigation revealed that contractors and consultants agreed the owner of interference , experience insufficient contractor financing and payments , labor productivity , slow decision making, poor planning , and subcontractors were among the top ten most important factors. (Murali Sambasivan *, Yau Wen Soon, 2007) 2.1.2 Studies on the effects of delay Aibinu and Jagboro have studied and evaluated the effects delays in construction project delivery in Nigerian Construction industry. They found that the effects of six-construction delay were Timeout, cost overruns, litigation, arbitration and litigation and total abandonment. The Questionnaires were sent to all three groups of construction practitioners: surveyors, architects and engineers, and contractors. Manavazhia and Adhikarib conducted a survey to investigate material supply delays and equipment road projects in Nepal. Delay in delivery of materials and equipment for construction sites is often a contribution cause cost overruns on construction projects costing developing countries. An assessment of the causes of delays and the magnitude of their impact on project costs were also made. The survey method was used in the conduct This research involving large construction projects. Main causes delays supply materials and equipment were considered (in order of importance) organizational weaknesses, suppliers ' default, government regulations and transport delays. Chan and Kumaraswamy explored strategies compression durations of the construction of various types of construction projects because of lessons learned from Surveys based in Hong Kong and other search results. The literature of different countries on the factors that influence construction times, the reasons for project delays and existing statistical models to forecast time were review. Al- Assaf and Hejji link causes related contractor and work related to the likely overcoming delays in construction projects in Saudi Arabia.

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Odeh and Battaineh related causes account contract probable disputes occur in construction projects Jordan. Chan and Kumaraswamy related to the consultant - related causes and related customer both likely overruns of construction projects in Hong Kong. Mansfield and Frimpong related to the customer-related. (Murali Sambasivan *, Yau Wen Soon, 2007) 2.2 Categorize types of delays on construction projects Theodore (2009) mentioned that there are four basic ways to categorize type of delays: a) Critical or noncritical b) Excusable or non-excusable c) Compensable or non-compensable d) Concurrent or non-concurrent In the process of determining the effect of a delay on the project, the analyst must determine whether the delay is critical or noncritical. The analyst must also assess if delay are concurrent. All delays that are identified in the analysis will be either excusable or nonexcusable. Delay can be further categorized into compensable or non-compensable delays. 2.2.1 Critical Versus Non-Critical Delays Delays that affect the project completion, or in some cases a milestone date, are considered as critical delays, and delays that do not affect the project completion, or a milestone date are noncritical delays. If these activities are delayed, the project completion date or a milestone dater will be delayed. The determining which activities truly control the project completion date depends on the following: a) The project itself b) The contractors plan and schedule (particularly the critical path) c) The requirement of the contract for sequence and phasing d) The physical constraint of the project, i.e. how to build the job from a practical perspective

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2.2.2 Excusable versus Non-Excusable Delays All delays are either excusable or non-excusable. An excusable delay is a delay that is due to an unforeseeable event beyond the contractors or the subcontractors control. Normally, based on common general provisions in public agency specifications, delays resulting from the following events would be considered excusable: a. General labor strikes b. Fires c. Floods d. Acts of God e. Owner-directed changes f. Errors and omissions in the plans and specifications g. Differing site conditions or concealed conditions h. Unusually severe weather i. Intervention by outside agencies j. Lack of action by government bodies, such as building inspection Non-excusable delays are events that are within the contractors control or that are foreseeable. These are some examples or non-excusable delays: a. Late performance of sub-contractors b. Untimely performance by suppliers c. Faulty workmanship by the contractor or sub-contractors d. A project-specific labor strike caused by either the contractors unwillingness to meet with labor representative or by unfair labor practices (Jayalath, Don Simon Kankanamge Upali, 2011)

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Figure: 1.0. Delay Categories (Theodore, 2009) 2.2.3 Compensable Delays versus Non-Compensable Delays A compensable delay is a delay where the contractor is entitled to a time extension and to additional compensation. Relating back to the excusable and non-excusable delays, only excusable delays can be compensable. Non-compensable delays mean that although an excusable delay may have occurred, the contractor is not entitled to any added compensation resulting from the excusable delay. Thus, the question of whether a delay is compensable must be answered. Additionally, a non-excusable delay warrants neither additional compensation nor a time extension. Whether or not a delay is compensable depends primarily on the terms of the contract. In the most cases, a contract specifically notes the kinds of delays that are non-compensable, for which is the contractor does not receive any additional money but may be allowed a time extension. (Saleh Al Hadi Tumi,Abdelnaser Omran,Abdul Hamid Kadir Pakir, 2009)

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2.2.4 Concurrent Delays The concept of concurrent delay has become a very common presentation as part of some analysis of construction delays. The concurrency argument is not just from the standpoint of determining the projects critical delays but also from the standpoint of assigning responsibility for damages associated with delays to the critical path. Owners will often cite concurrent delays by the contractor as a reason for issuing a time extension without additional compensation. Contractors will often cite concurrent delays by the owner as a reason why liquidated damages should not be assessed for its delays. Unfortunately, few contract specifications include a definition of concurrent delay and how concurrent delays affect a contractors entitlement to additional compensation for time extension or responsibility for liquidated damages. In analyzed concurrent delays, each delay is assessed separately and its impact on other activities and the project duration is calculated. There are some guidelines for concurrent delays classification. Firstly, if excusable and non-excusable delays occur concurrently, only a time extension is granted to the contractor. Next, if excusable with compensation and excusable without compensation delays occur concurrently, the contractor is entitled to time extension, but not to damages. Lastly, if two excusable with compensation delays occur concurrently, the contractor is entitled to both time extension and damages. In addition, although the guidelines are useful for carrying out the delay analysis, it is in the best interest of all parties involved in a construction project to agree, at the beginning, the definitions of such delays and accommodate them throughout the contract language. There was no reliable method to differentiate the impact of contractor caused delays from client caused delays until the development of CPM schedule analysis is developed. By the available of sophisticated computerized techniques, the possibility to segregate the impacts of apparently concurrent client and contractor delays would be higher. (Jayalath, Don Simon Kankanamge Upali, 2011)

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2.3 To prepare methods of occurrence delays Delays occur in each building project and the important of these delays varies considerably from one project to another .Bramble and Callahan (1987) defined that " delay is the time during which a certain the project construction was Lying or unrealized due to unforeseen circumstances. An incident delay may originate from within the organization of the contractor or any of other factors on the building interface project. Some projects are just a few days behind schedule; some are delayed during a year. It is therefore essential to define the real causes of delay in order to minimize and avoid delays in any construction project. A lot and various studies have been conducted to assess the causes of delays in construction projects. Ogunlana et al. (1996) studied the delays in construction projects in Thailand, as an example of developing economies. They concluded that the problems of the construction industry in developing economies could be embedding in three layers: (1) problem of shortage or shortcomings in the infrastructure industry, primarily provide resources, (2) problems caused by clients and consultants, and (3) problems caused by incompetence entrepreneurs. Kumaraswamy et al. (1998) asked about the causes of delays in construction Hong Kong view from clients, contractors and consultants, and examined factors affecting productivity. The investigation revealed differences in the perception of the relative importance of the three factors groups representative of their experiences , possible prejudice and lack of effective communication. 2.4 Problem Statement Many construction projects have faced various problems and delay of time is one of the major problems. The delay in dispute settlement has manifold effects such as it will give detrimental to the relationship between owner and contractor. Moreover, it will also contribute to the cost and time overruns. The study of Assaf (2006) was carried out the main causes of delay in large building projects in Saudi Arabia. The survey covered a random sample of contractors, consultants, and owners. Ahmed (2000) carried out a study to identify the major causes of delays in building construction in Florida, and then allocated the responsibilities and types of delays for each cause.

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In the study of Ahmad (2003), delays of time in a project, which has divided the reason of construction delays into 2 parts, i.e. lacking of material and other factors include labour, material and equipment, and financial problem.

3.0 Methodology
The objectives defined in the preceding section were achieve through the accomplishment of the following tasks: The preliminary data for this research was collected through a literature review and the use of a questionnaire survey targeted at some contractors, clients and consultants in some projects in Sri Lanka. The literature review was conduct through books, conference proceedings, the Internet, and international project management journals. In this step, some of the causes for delays that may be encounter in a construction project were identify. In this step, some of the causes of delay that can be encountered in a construction project were identified. The causes of delays are then classified into eight major categories 1. Client related factors: finance and payments of completed work, owner interference, slow decision making and unrealistic contract duration imposed by owners. 2. Contractor related factors: delays caused by subcontractor, site management, improper construction methods, improper planning and errors during construction, and inadequate contractor experience. 3. Consultant related factors: contract management, preparation and approval of drawings, quality assurance and waiting time for approval of test and inspection. 4. Material related factors: quality of material and shortage in material. 5. Labor and equipment related factors: labor supply, labor productivity and equipment availability and failure. 6. Contract related factors: change orders and mistakes or discrepancies in contract document. 7. Contract relationship related factors: major disputes and negotiations, inappropriate overall organizational structure linking to the project and lack of communication between the parties. 8. External factors: Weather condition, regulatory changes, problem with neighbors and unforeseen site condition. (Murali Sambasivan *, Yau Wen Soon, 2007) Page 12 of 15
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Data collected through questionnaire surveys are analyzed and recommendations are made for reduce delays.

4.0 Conclusion
Construction time is an essential function in construction projects. The projects studied in this study show a delay in lager construction project. In practice, this phenomenon should continue unless management measures are taken against these causes in planned design element and construction. Thus, best practices planning, coordination and change procedures for population control institutions must be recognize and implications understood. We believe that the arguments and conclusions presented in this study provide a good guidance for management intervention, and to provide some guidelines and information useful managers can use to manage their projects. In summary, this article summary of the reasons for delays caused to these sites and offers some recommendation, which could allow the organization of the contractor to develop in house competitiveness for producing a the major objective in the construction of a project, at the end of "time".

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5.0 References
1. Jayalath, Don Simon Kankanamge Upali. 2011. Causes of Delay, Construction, Sri Lanka. Gigital library University of Moratuwa, Sri Lank. 10 08, 2013.]http://dl.lib.mrt.ac.lk/theses/handle/123/1895?show=full. 2. Murali Sambasivan *, Yau Wen Soon. 2007. International Journal of Project Management . Causes and effects of delays in Malaysian construction industry. www.sciencdirect.com. 3. Saleh Al Hadi Tumi,Abdelnaser Omran,Abdul Hamid Kadir Pakir. 2009. CAUSES OF DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN LIBYA. The International Conference on Administration and Business., 10 02, 2013. http://conference.faa.ro.

6.0 Bibliography
1. Abd. Majid M. Z. and Ronald M. (1998). Factors of Non-Excusable Delays That Influence Contractors Performance, in UK. 2. Aibinu AA, Jagboro GO.(2002) The effects of construction delays on project delivery in Nigerian construction industry. Int J Project Manage 5939. 3. Ajanlekoko JO. (1987) Controlling cost in the construction industry. Lagos QS Digest, Lagos 4. Al-Momani A.(2002) Construction delay: a quantitative analysis. Int J Project Manage. 5. Assaf SA, Al-Hejji S.(2006) Causes of delay in large construction projects. Int J Project Manage 34957. 6. Assaf SA, Alkhalil M, Al-Hazmi M. (1995) causes of delay in large building construction projects. J Manage Eng, ASCE: 4550. 7. Chan DWM, Kumaraswamy MM.(1997) A comparative study of causes of time overruns in Hong Kong construction projects. Int J Project Manage 5563.

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8. Chan DWM, Kumaraswamy MM. (2002) Compressing construction durations: lessons learned from Hong Kong building projects. Int J Project Manage. 9. Frimpong Y, Oluwoye J, Crawford L.(2003) Causes of delay and cost overruns in construction of groundwater projects in a developing countries; Ghana as a case study. Int J Project Manage -6. 10. Mansfield NR.(1994) Causes of delay and cost overruns in Nigerian construction projects. Int J Project Manage:25460. 11. Odeyinka HA, Yusif A(1997). The causes and effects of construction delays on completion cost of housing project in Nigeria. J Financial Manage Property Construction 31 44. 12. Ogunlana SO, Promkuntong K(1996). Construction delays in a fast growing economy: comparing Thailand with other economies. Int J Project Manage 3745. 13. Terry Williams. (2003) Assessing extension of time delays on major projects. Int J Project Manage 1926.

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