ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

ADDIS ABABA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
(CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT)

Cause and Effects of Delay on Educational Building

Projects in Addis Ababa University
Case Study

By
Shewaferahu Tilahun

June, 2016
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
 ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

ADDIS ABABA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

“Cause and Effects of Delay on Educational Building

Projects in Addis Ababa University- Case Study”

By
Shewaferahu Tilahun

Approved by Board of Examiners:

1. Prof. Abebe Dinku (Dr.-Ing.)
Advisor Signature Date

2. Eng. Yibeltal Zewdu

Eternal Examiner Signature Date

3.
Chairman Signature Date
 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

Acknowledgements

These acknowledgements attempt to thank people who in some way supported, guided and
encouraged me along the way to completing this thesis. I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to the following people. Without their assistance, encouragement, suggestion and
commitment this work would not have been a reality.

Firstly, from the depth of my heart I would like to express sincere gratitude and appreciation to
my advisor professor Dr.-Ing. Abebe Dinku for his continued support, generous academic advice,
discussions, suggestions and encouragement.

I would also like to express gratitude to all my friends and colleagues, especially to Samson
Shimeles, Temesgen Abebe and Solomon Dinberu, thank you for your enormous help in
collecting the surveys, advice and encouragement.

Sincere gratitude and appreciation goes to all professionals, engineers, contractors and consultants
who participated in the questionnaire, interview and case study. Special thanks to the Office for
Building, Ground and Infrastructure of the Addis Ababa University.

Finally, to my family, a very special thank for all their sacrifice, patience, love and support
throughout my studies.

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

Table of Contents

Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................i
Acknowledgement...............................................................................................................ii
List of Tables.....................................................................................................................vii
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................viii
Abstract ..............................................................................................................................ix
1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1
1.1. Background...............................................................................................................1
1.2. Problem Statement....................................................................................................2
1.3. Research Questions...................................................................................................3
1.4. Research Objectives...................................................................................................3
1.4.1. General Objectives ...................................................................................... 3
1.4.2. Specific Objectives...................................................................................... 3
1.5. Scope of the Study....................................................................................................3
1.6. Research Methodology .............................................................................................4
1.7. Outline of the Research ............................................................................................4
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................6
2.1. General .....................................................................................................................6
2.2. Construction Project Planning..................................................................................6
2.2.1. Stages of Planning ..........................................................................................8
2.2.1.1. Pre-contract stage .......................................................................................8
2.2.1.2. Contract stage .............................................................................................9
2.3. Project Scheduling....................................................................................................9
2.3.1. Scheduling Techniques .................................................................................10
2.3.1.1. Bar (Gantt) chart.......................................................................................10
2.3.1.2. Network scheduling..................................................................................10
2.3.1.2.1. Critical Path Method (CPM) ..................................................... 11
2.3.1.2.2. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) .................. 11
2.4. Definition of Delay.................................................................................................12
2.5. Classification of delays ..........................................................................................12
2.5.1. Excusable Delays ..........................................................................................13
2.5.2. Excusable compensable Delay......................................................................14
2.5.3. Excusable Non-compensable Delay .............................................................14
2.5.4. Non-excusable Delay ....................................................................................14
2.5.5. Concurrent Delays ........................................................................................15
2.5.6. Compensable or Non-compensable Delays ..................................................16
2.6. Causes of Delay......................................................................................................17
2.7. Effects of Delay......................................................................................................20

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

2.7.1. Time overrun.................................................................................................21

2.7.2. Cost Overrun.................................................................................................22
2.7.3. Disputes ........................................................................................................22
2.7.4. Arbitration.....................................................................................................22
2.7.5. Litigation.......................................................................................................23
2.7.6. Total Abandonment ......................................................................................23
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................24
3.1. Study design ...........................................................................................................24
3.2. Study Area ..............................................................................................................24
3.3. Target Participants..................................................................................................24
3.4. Data Collection Method .........................................................................................25
3.5. Data Analysis .........................................................................................................25
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................27
4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................27
4.2. Survey Distribution and Response Statistics ..........................................................27
4.2.1. Survey response ............................................................................................27
4.2.2. Statistics of respondents................................................................................27
4.3. The importance and ranking of delay causes by respondents ................................29
4.4. Top Delay Causes ..................................................................................................35
4.5. The importance and ranking of effects of delay by respondents............................36
4.6. Summary of Findings .............................................................................................38
5. ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDIES ................................................................................40
5.1. Black Lion Hospital, Maintenance of Technical and HIK Wing Project...............40
5.1.1. Causes of Delays at Maintenance of Technical and HIK Wing Project .......41
5.1.1.1. Client related causes of delays...................................................................41
5.1.1.1.1. Delay to deliver the site to the contractor...........................................41
5.1.1.1.2. Unrealistic contract duration ..............................................................42
5.1.1.2. Consultant related causes of delays ...........................................................42
5.1.1.2.1. Inaccurate site investigation ...............................................................42
5.1.1.3. Contractor related causes of delays ...........................................................42
5.1.1.3.1. Ineffective planning and scheduling...................................................42
5.1.1.3.2. Poor site organization and low performance......................................43
5.1.2. Observation at Maintenance of Technical and HIK Wing Project ...............43
5.2. Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology Project ...................................................44
5.2.1. Client related causes of delays......................................................................45
5.2.1.1. Delay to effect progress payment ..........................................................45
5.2.1.2. Change and variation order during construction ...................................45
5.2.2. Consultant related causes of delays ..............................................................45
5.2.2.1. Slow Response to Contractor's Response..............................................45
5.2.3. Contractor related causes of delays ..............................................................45
5.2.3.1. Ineffective planning and scheduling......................................................45
5.3. Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) New Library Building Project.......................46

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

5.3.1. Causes of Delays at IES New Library Building Project ...............................47

5.3.1.1. Client related causes of delays ...................................................................47
5.3.1.1.1. Financial arrangement and inadequate fund.......................................47
5.3.1.1.2. Slow decision Making ........................................................................48
5.3.1.2. Consultant related causes of delays ...........................................................48
5.3.1.2.1. Mistakes and discrepancies in design document ................................48
5.3.1.2.2. Poor Contract management ................................................................48
5.3.1.2.3. Slow response to Contractor's request................................................48
5.3.1.3. Contractor related causes of delays ...........................................................48
5.3.1.3.1. Ineffective planning and scheduling...................................................48
5.3.1.3.2. Low productivity and efficiency ........................................................49
5.3.1.3.3. Very slow material delivery ...............................................................49
5.3.2. Effects of Delays at IES New Library Building Project ...............................49
5.4. Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project...............................................49
5.4.1. Causes of Delays at Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project ....51
5.4.1.1. Client related causes of delays...................................................................51
5.4.1.1.1. Unclear criteria to assign Consultants ................................................51
5.4.1.2. Consultant related causes of delays ...........................................................51
5.4.1.2.1. Poor Contract management ................................................................51
5.3.1.2.2. Slow response to Contractor's request................................................51
5.4.1.3. Contractor related causes of delays ...........................................................51
5.4.1.3.1. Ineffective planning and scheduling...................................................51
5.4.1.3.2. Inadequate cost estimation .................................................................51
5.4.1.4. External causes of delays ...........................................................................52
5.4.1.4.1. Regulatory changes ............................................................................52
5.3.2. Effects of Delays at Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project ....52
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................53
6.1. Conclusions ............................................................................................................53
6.2. Recommendations ..................................................................................................54
6.2.1.Expectations from Contractors ......................................................................54
6.2.2.Expectations from Consultants ......................................................................55
6.2.3.Expectations from Clients..............................................................................55
6.2.4.Expectations from Regulatory bodies............................................................56

References .........................................................................................................................57
Appendix A - Research Proposal
Appendix B - Questionnaire Survey

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

Abbreviations

AAU Addis Ababa University

ETB Ethiopian Birr

IES Institute of Ethiopian Studies

RII Relative Importance Index

PERT Project Evaluation and Review Technique

CPM Critical Path method

HEB Higher Educational Building

CDSCo Construction Design Share Company

CD Calendar days

LCB Library Complex Building

LFLB Law Faculty Library Building

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Categories and causes of delays in construction projects in Malaysia 20

Table 4.1 Respondents organizational profile 28

Table 4.2 Respondents designation 28

Table 4.3 Respondents Experience 29

Table 4.4 Importance and ranking of client related delay causes 30

Table 4.5 Importance and ranking of contractor related delay causes 30

Table 4.6 Importance and ranking of consultant related delay causes 31

Table 4.7 Importance and ranking of material related delay causes 32

Table 4.8 Importance and ranking of equipment related delay causes 32

Table 4.9 Importance and ranking of labor related delay causes 33

Table 4.10 Importance and ranking of external delay causes 33

Table 4.11 Importance Index for most important factors from overall results 34

Table 4.12 Importance and ranking of effects of delay 37

Table 5.1 Selected projects for case study 40

Table 5.2 Particulars of Maintenance of Technical and HIK wing project 41

Table 5.3 Particulars of Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology project 44

Table 5.4 Particulars of AAU-IES New library building project 47

Table 5.5 Particulars of Science Faculty Library Complex Project 50

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

List of Figures

Figure 2.1 General framework for the planning process 7

Figure 2.2 Classification of planning stages 8

Figure 2.3 Classification of scheduling techniques 10

Figure 2.4 Classification of delays 13

Figure 2.5 Fish bone diagram of effects of the construction delays 23

Figure 4.1 Percentage distribution of major factors of delay causes 35

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 Causes and Effects of Delay on Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa

ABSTRACT

The construction industry is one of the main sectors that provide important ingredients for the
development of an economy. Construction is a tool through which a society achieves its goals of
urban and rural development.
However it is becoming more complex because of the sophistication of the construction process
itself and the large number of parties involved in the construction process, i.e., clients, contractors,
consultants, users, designers, subcontractors, regulators, and suppliers.
This eventually leads to delay in the completion of the project. Construction delay defined as
“time over run either beyond completion date specified in a contract or beyond the date that parties
agree upon for delivery of a project.” It is slipping over its planned schedule and is considered as
common problem in construction projects.
Delay in construction project completion is a global phenomenon that occurs in the construction
industry and considered as one of the most common problems causing a multitude of negative
effects on the project and its participating parties especially where the government projects are
concerned and in the construction industry of Ethiopia is no exception.
The objective of this study is to identify the major causes and factors of construction delays, their
effects on the successful completion of projects, and provide suggestions to minimize delays in
the construction of Educational Building projects under Addis Ababa University.
This study uses a comprehensive literature review to design and conduct a survey to investigate
delay causes and then filtered based on appropriateness to the Ethiopian Construction Industry as
well as the Educational Building Projects at Addis Ababa University. A specific survey was
conducted thru case study for selected projects to examine the most critical delay factors and their
effects. A general survey was distributed thru questionnaire to examine the correlation of the most
critical factors of delay and its relative effect on the project with respect to time, cost and quality.
Data was collected and analyzed using the ‘Relative Importance Index (RII)’ whereby the score
with the highest RII is one that mostly influences the delay.

Key words: Educational building construction projects, Construction Delays, Causes of Delay,
Effects of delay, Addis Ababa University

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Higher educational institutions are function to develop human resources that are able to adapt
and compete in a society. The idea of the knowledge society is increasingly becoming
widespread in the move towards globalization.
Modern construction projects are characterized by new standards, advanced technologies,
multiparty participation, and frequent owner-desired changes. Coupled with this inherent
uncertainties and complexities in the physical, financial, and economic environment in which
most projects are performed. Such conditions have made completing projects on schedule and
on budget a difficult task to accomplish, often leading to claims on cost compensations and/or
time extensions. This eventually leads to delay in the completion of the project.
Delay is defined as the time over run either beyond completion date specified in a contract or
beyond the date that the parties agree upon for delivery of a project. Delay in construction project
is considered one of the most common problems causing a multitude negative effect on the
project and its participating parties. Therefore, it is essential to identify the actual causes of delay
in order to minimize and avoid the delays and their corresponding effects.
Delays in construction can cause a number of changes in a project such as late completion, lost
productivity, acceleration, increased costs, and contract termination. A delay in an activity may
not result in the same amount of project delay. A delay caused by a party may or may not affect
the project completion date and may or may not cause damage to another party. A delay may
occur concurrently with other delays and all of them may impact the project completion date.
Delays caused by the client such as failure to allocate sufficient fund, slow decision making
coupled with delay caused by consultant 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 proceedings with huge
impacts. Delays caused by contractors generally attributes to poor managerial skills, lack of
effective planning and poor financial management have led to a contractor’s downfall.

The effect of delay may include time overrun, cost overrun, disputes, litigation and total
abandonment (Murali and Yau, 2006). Some studies directly examine delays, attempt to identify
their causes and recommend ways to avoid them. Construction project delays have a weakening
effect on parties (Owner, Contractor, and Consultant) to a contract in terms of a growth in
Shewaferahu Tilahun, AAU, AAiT, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering 1
 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

adversarial relationships, distrust, litigation, arbitration, cash-flow problems, and a general

feeling of apprehension towards each other (Assaf and Al-hejji, 2002).

This thesis examines causes and effects of delay in an integrated manner and determine how
critical delay causes are most influential in project performance. This will provide owners,
Consultants and construction organizations involved in construction projects with the foundation
on which such strategies – on how to avoid delays - can be developed in the future. This thesis
focuses on Educational Building Construction Projects in Addis Ababa University, which were
assessed for delay causes and examines the corresponding effects identified and provide
recommendation based on the findings to improve project performance within the higher
education building projects as well as the general public construction projects.

1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Delays in a construction project is counted as a common problem and became a cause for projects
completion with huge cost overrun (requiring higher budget than estimated), extended
completion time, inferior quality deliverables and contract termination. In recent time it was an
accepted phenomena to have delays in construction projects completion time. For the client,
construction delay is a loss of revenue, lack of productivity, dependency on existing facilities,
etc. For the contractor, construction delay is the higher costs, longer work duration, increased
labor cost, higher material and equipment costs etc. Completion of construction projects on
specified time or time agreed by the parties indicates their efficiency. The delays in construction
projects happen because of various factors or causes. These causes lead to the delay in
construction completion, and this delay ultimately leads to negative effects on the construction
project.

In Ethiopian construction practice, it is very rare that construction projects are completed on the
time specified or agreed upon. There are many educational building construction projects in
Addis Ababa University, which suffered delay or in some cases suffered suspension or
abandonment.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

On the basis of the above stated facts, the following would be the research questions.
1. What are the real causes of project delays in the Addis Ababa University Educational
Building Construction Projects?
2. How do construction project delay related to the project’s successful completion?
3. What is the stakeholders’ response for the effect of construction delays over successful
completion?
4. How does construction delays influence projects’ performance criteria and successful
completion?

1.4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1.4.1. General objectives
The general objective of this study is to assess the major causes of delays on building projects in
the Ethiopian Construction Industry and its influence on the successful completion of the project.
The primary objective is to identify the principal factors responsible for delays in the Addis
Ababa University Educational Building Projects, their effect on the progress; as well as timely
delivery.

1.4.2. Specific Objectives

1. To explore construction project delays related to project successful completion.
2. To identify the delay factors that currently exist in the construction of educational building
projects by exposing the most common and fundamental problems affecting project delivery
performance.
3. To briefly survey the construction project delays and their potential causes from different
stakeholder’s perspective.
4. To identify the success factors which are most influential in avoiding or preventing delay
factors.
1.5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this research is limited to the construction of Educational Building Projects in
Addis Ababa University. The data for this study has been gathered through detailed literature
review, questionnaire survey, interview with key professionals and case studies.

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1.6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted for this research comprises three stages as follows:
Stage 1. Literature Review to determine the research focus. Local and International studies
conducted particularly on related works and construction delays in general were
reviewed.

Stage 2. Questionnaire Survey, this stage consists of two activities

Activity 1. General survey of stakeholders (Owners, Contractors, Consultants and

Subcontractors) to examine the cause and effects of construction delays
in the Ethiopian building construction projects.

Activity 2. Specific survey of stakeholders and participant professionals in the

construction of higher educational building projects (Owners,
Contractors, Consultants and Subcontractors) to identify the delay factors
and their effect on the projects.

Stage 3. Case Study: a minimum of four sample projects of educational buildings in Addis
Ababa University were analyzed. Projects were selected based on critical cases
among completed and those under construction.

1.7. OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH

This thesis format follows the logical steps of establishing the research questions, developing
the methodology, gathering and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions. The Thesis is
organized into six chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 discusses the introduction of the research by highlighting the research problems,
research purpose, research objectives, proposed methodology and research organization.

Chapter 2 Presents a literature review in-depth understanding of definitions. It examines

literatures, studies and journals about delay factors in the construction projects. Effects of
construction delays on project delivery performance and prime measures of success i.e. time,
cost and quality. The literature and studies on classification and causes of delays at different
stages of project life cycle and allocation of responsibilities among parties in contract.

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Chapter 3 describes the data collection method, analysis techniques and statistics used to
identify causes of delay on educational building projects in Addis Ababa. It also explains the
analysis used to determine the correlation between critical delay causes and its effect on
project delivery performance measures.

Chapter 4 presents the findings and discussion based on the results obtained from
questionnaire responses.

Chapter 5 presents the case study selected from completed and ongoing building projects in
Addis Ababa University which is believed to be significant to the study.

Chapter 6 is the conclusion and recommendation chapter and discusses the research
conclusions, limitations of the research, contribution to new knowledge, and provides
recommendations based on the findings.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 General
Increasing uncertainties in technology, budget and construction processes make the construction
industry dynamic. Building projects are now much more complex and difficult and hence the
building project team faces unprecedented challenges. The study on causes of construction delay
and its effects on the project performance is a means of understanding and thus improving the
effectiveness of construction projects.

The timely completion of a construction project is seen as a major criterion of project success by
clients (Bowen, Hall, Edwards, Pearl & Cattell, 2002). The inability of a project to be completed
in accordance with the proposed time schedule maybe as a result of delay. Stumpf (2000) viewed
delay as an incident that extends the time required to perform the tasks under a contract. It usually
shows up as additional days of work or as a delayed start of an activity (Sweis, Hammad &
Shboul, 2008).

Delays in construction can cause a number of changes in a project such as late completion, lost
productivity, acceleration, increased costs, and contract termination. The party experiencing
damages and the parties responsible for them in order to recover time and cost. However, in
general delay situations are complex in nature. A delay in an activity may not result in the same
amount of project delay. A delay caused by a party may or may not affect the project completion
date and may or may not cause damage to another party. A delay may occur concurrently with
other delays and all of them may impact the project completion date.

One of the objectives of this research is to understand critical causes and effects of delays on the
Addis Ababa University Building Construction Projects. This chapter defines and describes
factors and causes of delay to construction projects as identified in the literature.

2.2 Construction Project Planning

Construction project planning and scheduling are often used interchangeably. According to
(Trauner, 2009) project scheduling is a written or graphical representation of the Contractor’s
plan for completing a construction project that emphasizes the elements of time and sequence.

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However, construction planning is a fundamental and challenging activity in the management

and execution of construction projects. Construction planning involves the choice of technology,
the definition of work tasks, the estimation of the required resources and durations for individual
tasks, and the identification of any inter-relationship among the different work tasks (Chris
1998). Construction project planning is a method of determining “What” is going to be done,
“How” things are going to be done, “Who” will be doing activities and “How Much” activities
will cost. In this sense planning does not cover scheduling, which addresses the “When” to do,
but once planning is completed scheduling can be done (Fig. 2.1). A good project planning is a
basis for developing a well-organized project schedule.

WBS (What) Work Specification (How)

Breakdown Structure

OBS (Who) CBS (How Much)

Organizational Cost Breakdown
Breakdown Structure Structure

SCHEDULING

Fig. 2.1 General Framework for the Planning Process (A. De Marco, 2011)
The effective planning, scheduling and control of construction projects is necessary. The benefits
of implementing and maintaining this set of three management systems are reduces delay, cost
overrun and minimize disputes (Callahan et al. 1992). These benefits accrue to the Contractor,
Owner, suppliers and workers in the form of improvements in productivity, quality and resource
utilization.
The objective of construction planning is to identify discrete activities or tasks that can be
planned, estimated, scheduled, executed and controlled to ensure successful completion of
construction projects. In addition, an effective planning must address the following questions
like what is to be done, what are the activities, how it is to be done, when it is to be done, where
it is to be done, what is needed to do it, who is to do it and how to ensure that it is done (Chitkrara
,2001).

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

2.2.1. Stages of Planning

For efficient implementation of project activities, planning is essential at various stages.
Planning for construction may be done in the following two stages:
 Pre-Contract Stage
 Contract Stage

PLANNING
STAGES

PRE-CONTRACT
CONTRACT STAGE
STAGE

Figure 2.2: Classification of planning stages (Dhir et al., 1992)

2.2.1.1. Pre-contract stage

It is the stage in which a Contractor has the best opportunity of planning the most likely method
of construction for the future contract, establish strategies and prepare a realistic program for
carrying out the work. At this stage the Contractor is enable to make a proper bid and preparation
for completing the work in a stipulated time.
Pre-contract planning includes the following steps: - (Dhir et al., 1992)
 Examining drawings and specifications to identify various items of work, its
completeness and constructability
 Carrying out site investigation and market survey to assess the availability and rates
of materials, manpower, machinery and other facilities
 Identifying alternative methods of executing the work for selecting the most suitable
and economical method
 Checking the quantities of different items of work and estimating the time required
for the completion of the different items of work
 Preparing a tentative construction work schedule with reference to the stipulated time
of completion

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

 Deciding the overheads, and margin of profit and finalizing the tender price for
completing the work within the stipulated time

2.2.1.2. Contract stage

The contract stage is also called construction stage. This stage commences with the acceptance
of the tender and extends till contract close out. After the pre-contract stage, the Contractor has
to undertake detailed planning to organize activities of construction works and the required
resources to accomplish the project with in the scheduled time.
In most cases, inadequate planning at this stage is noticed to result in delays leading to heavier
expenditure than originally estimated.
Contract stage planning includes the following steps: - (Dhir et al., 1992)
 Establishing a good communication system among the contractual parties for the smooth
running of project work
 Evaluating and elaborate alternative construction methods identified during the pre-
construction stage in order to select the most efficient and economical method
 Studying inter-relationships of various items of work and finalize proper sequential
arrangement for operation
 Calculating the requirement of construction materials, time required to deliver and
method of procurement
 Determining the requirement of plant and machinery including repair and maintenance
facilities
 Preparing details of manpower requirement including managerial and technical staff for
various stages of the work, skilled and non-skilled labor

2.3 Project Scheduling

Scheduling is the process of developing the work plan to a time frame, set date-wise in a logical
sequence: it is a time table for action indicating the start and completion of each activity. Sidney
(2002) defines scheduling as a tool that provides participants in the project with an orderly, time
related sequence of events to follow in order to effect timely completion of the project.

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2.2.1. Scheduling Techniques

The complex characteristics of construction projects have emphasized the need for improved
scheduling techniques. Basically there are two types of project scheduling techniques which are
used to plan, schedule and control construction projects.

SCHEDULING
TECHNIQUES

BAR (GANTT) NETWORK

CHART SCHEDULING

CRITICAL PATH METHOD [CPM] EVALUATION and REVIEW

TECHNIQUE [PERT]

Figure 2.3: Classification of scheduling techniques (K. K. Chitkara, 2003)

2.2.1.1. Bar (Gantt) Chart

Ahcom (2004) in his study presented that a Gantt charts are a project planning tool that can be
used to represent the timing of tasks required to complete a project. It is a time-phased graphic
display of activity durations. Activities are listed with other tabular information on the left side
with time intervals over the bars. Activity durations are shown in the form of horizontal bars.
Gantt charts are helpful for planning and guiding projects. They are most appropriate for small
to medium -sized projects. Bar chart provides little information about the interrelationship of the
voluminous interdependent tasks. These charts carry the risk of schedule slippages, time overrun,
improper decision and contractual complications.

2.2.1.2. Network scheduling

The advancement in technology and the speed of execution of modern projects, have made the
traditional bar chart planning approach outdated and inadequate to cope with the complexity of
modern construction. The Network Analysis Technique developed in the 1960’s have now come

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

to be used as an effective management tool for planning, scheduling and controlling complex
projects. The most common network analysis techniques used for planning, scheduling and
controlling of projects are Critical Path Method (CPM) and Project Evaluation & Review
Technique (PERT). Their common features are that they make use of the network model for
depicting the time plan of the project: apply the critical path concept for determining the project
duration and identifying critical activities and employ network analysis technique for controlling
the project -time objectives [8]. When using network techniques, the interrelationship of all
operations is clearly shown. The normal bar chart does not do this, and consequently requires
the dependence of one operation on another to be remembered by the planner; this is extremely
difficult with large projects, and in addition the technical staff assigned to carry out the work has
to be informed how dependent one operation is on another. When a delay occurs, and networks
are being used, critical operations will stand out as requiring particular attention [10]

2.2.1.2.1. Critical Path Method (CPM)

The most widely used scheduling technique is the CPM often referred to as critical path
scheduling. Frederic et al. (2003) states that a CPM schedule may record the actual daily
activities at the site. They indicated the schedule often is placed on the wall of the job site trailer,
where it is clearly visible to all the trades’ people. Not only does the schedule record issues for
the day, but it can help the manager anticipate future problems.
The critical path method (CPM) format is used to develop an as-built schedule. Delaying events
are depicted as activities are linked to specific work activities. The critical path(s) are identified
twice, firstly in the as-planned schedule and secondly at the end of the project. The difference
between the as-planned completion date and the adjusted as-built completion date is the amount
of time for which the claimant would request compensation. (Aibinu, 2001)
Robert et al. (2007) have indicated that in the context of construction claims, an extension of
time or additional compensation is justified for a delay only if it impacts the critical path or the
actual end date of the project.

2.2.1.2.2. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

The Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is employed for planning, scheduling
and controlling the projects involved uncertainties.
PERT is an event-oriented technique. Its basis is a network of events in which the activities are
derived by connecting the events. It lays stress on measuring the uncertainty in activity times by

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

using three-time duration estimation method: Optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic. For
computation of critical path, the PERT three-time probabilistic network is converted into a
single-time deterministic CPM model. These estimates then are used to calculate the expected
time for an activity.
Benjamin (1976) has identified some of the following advantages of PERT scheduling technique:
 PERT essentially forces the detailed definition of tasks, task sequences, and task
interrelationships.
 PERT enables management and engineering to predict with some degree of certainty the
probable time that it will take to achieve an objective.
 PERT enables the rapid assessment of progress and the detection of problems and delays.

2.4 Definition of Delay

Definition of delay stated by various scholars in different ways. Delays are defined as events or
occurrences that affect the time required to complete a particular task. Assaf and Al-Hejji (2006)
defined construction delay as the time over run either beyond completion date specified in a
contract or beyond the date that parties agree upon for delivery of a project [1] It is slipping over
its planned schedule and is considered as common problem in construction projects. Delay was
also defined as an “act event which extends required time to perform or complete works of the
contract manifests itself as additional days of work” by Zack (2003).

2.5 Classification of Delays

The type of delay has an impact on critical activities which need a more detailed analysis to
determine whether additional time extension is warranted or not. Excusable delays can be further
classified into excusable with compensation and excusable without compensation. Terry
Williams (2003) revealed that there are four basic ways to classify delays: Excusable or non-
excusable delay, Concurrent or non-concurrent delay, and Compensable or non-compensable
delay. The types of delays mentioned above have internal or external sources on project process.
Internal causes of delay include causes that come from the owner, designers, contractors, and
consultants. External causes of delays are originated from outside of construction projects such
as utility companies, government, subcontractors, suppliers, labor unions, nature, etc.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

DELAY

EXCUSABLE NON-EXCUSABLE CONCURENT

- No Time
Entitlement for Time
- Non-Compensable

Compensable

Non-Compensable

Figure 2.4: Classification of Delays (Harry Kent, 1995)

2.5.1. Excusable Delays

An excusable delay is a delay that is due to an unforeseeable event beyond the contractor’s or
the subcontractor’s control. If the delay is considered compensable, then the contractor is entitled
to additional financial compensation as well as extra project time. Under certain circumstances
where non-compensated excusable delays occur, the contractor receives extra time but not
compensation money for the additional completed work.
Excusable delays are known as “force majeure” delays, and commonly called “acts of God”
because they are not the responsibility or fault of any particular party. Most contracts allow for
the contractor to obtain an extension of time for excusable delays, but not additional money
(Alaghbari et al 2007).
Delays resulting from the following events would be considered as excusable:
i. General labor strikes
ii. Fire
iii. Floods
iv. Acts of God
v. Owner-directed changes and extra works
vi. Differing site conditions

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

vii. Late possession of site

viii. Delayed advance or progressive payment
ix. Unusually severe weather
x. Intervention by outside agencies
xi. Lack of action by government bodies, such as building inspection

2.5.2. Excusable Compensable Delay

This type of delay is usually known as Owner-caused delay. If the delay is compensable, then
the Contractor is entitled not only to an extension of time but also to adjustment for any increase
in costs caused by the delay.
Molner (2007) discusses - here, the Owner is responsible for both the time and cost effect of the
delay. Moreover, the author states that the Contractor may claim the Owner interfered with the
work, did not deliver Owner-purchased equipment or supplies on site as promised, or that the
Owner’s actions or inactions caused other delays.

2.5.3. Excusable Non-compensable Delay

When a delay is caused by factors that are not foreseeable, beyond the Contractor’s reasonable
control and not attributable to the Contractor’s fault or negligence, it may be “excusable”. This
term has indirect meaning that neither party is at fault under the terms of the contract and has
agreed to share the risk and consequences when excusable events occur.
Harry (1995) found that examples of excusable, non-compensable delays include; unusually
severe weather, fire, acts of God etc.
Therefore, it can be revealed that if such types of delays are encountered, the Contractor will not
receive compensation for the cost of delay, but he will be entitled for an additional time to
complete the work and is relieved from any contractually imposed liquidated damages for the
period of delay.

2.5.4. Non-Excusable of Delays

Non-excusable delays are events that are within the contractor’s control or that are foreseeable.
Ahmed et al. (2005) indicated that these delays might be the results of underestimates of
productivity, inadequate scheduling or mismanagement, construction mistakes, equipment
breakdowns, staffing problems, or bad luck. Such delays are inherently the Contractor’s
responsibility and no relief is allowed
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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

These are some examples of non-excusable delays (Al- Gahtani and Mohan 2007):
i. Late performance of contractor and/or sub-contractors
ii. Untimely performance by suppliers
iii. Faulty workmanship by the contractor or sub-contractors
iv. A project-specific labor strike caused by either the contractor’s unwillingness to
meet with labor representative or by unfair labor practices

2.5.5. Concurrent delays

If only one factor is delaying construction, it is usually fairly easy to calculate both the time and
cost resulting from that single issue. A more complicated but also more typical situation is one
in which more than one factor delays the project at the same time or in overlapping periods of
time. These are called concurrent delays (Alaghbari et al 2007).
Concurrent delays occur when both owner and the contractor are responsible for the delay.
Generally, if the responsible parties of the delays are intertwined, neither the contractor can be
held responsible for the delay (force 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 to differentiate the impact of contractor caused delays from owner
caused delays. (Alwi et al 2002).
Concurrent delays arise when one event causes a delay simultaneously with another event. For
example, if an owner denies access to a project site for two weeks, and a severe storm prevents
a contractor from working on the project for one of two weeks as well, there will be a concurrent
delay of one week. The contractor will be able to recover for delay damages for one week, as a
severe storm is not a cause of delay that is compensable and would have prevented the contractor
from performing even if the owner did not deny access to the site.
Harry in his study (1995) show that the concurrent delay is considered an additional delay only
to the extent it prolongs the delay to the contract completion time beyond the date that the one it
is concurrent with had already delayed that date.
Concurrent delays are often more complex. Delays are categorized into ‘excusable-
compensable’, ‘excusable and non-compensable and non-excusable delays. More often, the
excusable and non-excusable delays occur on separate but parallel chains of activities. When
there are overlapping causes for the delay, the following principles usually are applied.
(Yogeswaran et al, 1997)

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

 When the non-excusable delay is on the critical path and the excusable delay is non-
critical, no extension of time is due.
 When the non-excusable delay is non-critical and the excusable delay is on the critical
path, extension of time is due even if the non-excusable delay commenced early in the
non-critical chain of activities in so far as the non-excusable delay does not impact the
critical activity.
 When both excusable and non-excusable delays are critical and commenced together and
cease at the same time, both the employer and Contractor should bear responsibility for
them. The Contractor is entitled to extension and is not entitled to associate costs even if
the excusable delay is a compensable delay.
 When an excusable delay occurs first on a critical path followed by a non-excusable delay
on a parallel critical path, the dominant cause of delay should be the deciding factor.
For example, if two delays are concurrent, and one is five days long and the second is seven days
long, the second concurrent delay will only extend the contract completion time by two days.

2.5.6. Compensable or non-compensable delays

A compensable delay is a delay where the contractor is entitled to a time extension and to
additional financial 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
money nor a time extension.
In addition to the compensable delays that result from contract changes by change notice, there
are compensable delays that can arise in other ways. Such compensable delays 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 owner’s breach of an obligation, stated or implied, in the contract.
If the delay is compensable, then the contractor is entitled not only to an extension of time but
also to an adjustment for any increase in costs caused by the delay (Al-Gahtani and Mohan,
2007).
Whether or not a delay is compensable depends primarily on the terms of the contract. In most
cases, a contract specifically notes the kinds of delays that are non-compensable, for which the
contractor does not receive any additional money but may be allowed a time extension.
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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

2.6 Causes of Delays

Construction delay is considered to be one of the most recurring problems in the construction
industry and it has an adverse effect on project success in terms of cost, time, quality, and safety.
There are several factors that cause delay in construction. Delay may be caused by Clients, Users,
Consultants, Designers, Owners, Contractors and Suppliers.

In a study of the significant factors that cause delay of construction projects (Alaghbari, Kadir,
Salim and Ernawati, 2007), classified the factors into four major groups, these are contractor
factor, consultant factor, client factors and external factors. Financial problems, shortage of
materials and poor site management practices were considered the top most factors. Client
related factors included delayed payments, slow decision-making, frequent change orders, bid
award for lowest price and contract scope changes. The most important factors by consultant
were provision of incomplete design, poor supervision, slowness to give instructions and lack of
experience. External causes identified included shortage of materials availability, poor site
conditions and lack of equipment and tools in the market. In a related study of the causes and
effects of delay in Malaysia construction industry Sambasivan & Soon (2007) found poor site
management, inadequate experience’ and poor subcontractors among the major causes of time
delays on construction projects.
Projects can be delayed for a large number of reasons and usually impact on cost and time.
Battaineh et al. (2002) studied causes of construction delay in Jordan. Results of the survey
indicated Contractors and Consultants agreed that Owner interference, inadequate Contractor
experience, financing and payments, labor productivity, slow decision making, improper
planning, and Sub-contractors are among the top ten significant factors.

Mansfield et al (1994) studied the causes of delay and cost overrun in construction projects in
Nigeria. The results showed that the most important factors are financing and payments, poor
contract management, changes in site conditions, shortage of material, and improper planning.
Similarly, Aibinu et al (2002) made a research on effects of construction delays in Nigeria. The
findings showed that time and cost overruns were frequent effects of delay. Delay had significant
effect on completion cost and time of 61 building projects studied. Client-related delay is
significant in Nigeria.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Assaf et al. (2006) conducted a survey on time performance of different types of construction
projects in Saudi Arabia to determine the causes of delay and their importance according to each
of the project participants, i.e., the Owner, Consultant and the Contractors. The survey included
23 Contractors, 19 Consultants, and 15 Owners. Seventy-three causes of delay were identified
during the research. 76% of the Contractors and 56% of the Consultants indicated that Average
of time overrun is between 10% and 30% of the original duration. The most common cause of
delay identified by all the three parties is “change order”. Surveys concluded that 70% of projects
experienced time overrun and found that 45 out of 76 projects considered were delayed. Neal
(2007) in his study showed that 40% of the projects studied in the UK have over-run their original
contract period.
Ogunlana et al. (1996) studied the delays in building project in Thailand, as an example of
developing economies. He concluded that the problems of the construction industry in
developing economies could be nested in three layers: (1) problem of shortages or inadequacies
in industry infrastructure, mainly supply of resources; (2) Problems caused by Clients and
Consultants; and (3) Problems caused by incompetence of Contractors.
Sambasivan et al. (2007) surveyed causes and effects of delays in Malaysian construction
industry. The study identified 10 most important causes of delay from a list of 28 different causes
and 6 different effects of delay. Ten most important causes were: (1) Contractor’s improper
planning, (2) Contractor’s poor site management, (3) inadequate Contractor experience, (4)
inadequate Client’s finance and payments for completed work, (5) problems with Sub-
contractors, (6) shortage of material,(7) labor supply, (8) equipment availability and failure, (9)
lack of communication between parties, and (10) mistakes during the construction stage.
Rizwan et al. (2007) conducted a research on delays in construction industry of Pakistan. A delay
criticality index was used to identify the major delay causes in the industry which, in descending
order of criticality, were found to be: change orders, labor productivity issues, poor site
management and supervision, inspections/audits, poor cost estimation and control, inadequate
project scheduling, defective design, inefficient construction methods, delayed payments, and
incomplete construction drawings. In addition, the percentage allocation of responsibility for
overall delay causes, according to Contractors’ perceptions, was as follows:
Contractors=48.75%, Consultants=17.5%, Owners=16.25 %, government=8.75%, and shared
=8.75%.
Kumaraswamy et al. (1997) carried out a study on causes of time overruns in Hong Kong
construction projects. He revealed that the five principal and common factors of delays are: (1)
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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

poor risk management and supervision, (2) unforeseen site conditions, (3) slow decision making,
(4) Client-initiated variations, and (5) necessary variations of works.
Shakeel et al. (2006) made an investigation of significant causes of delay in the UAE
construction industry. In the study, they indicated that the effects of construction delays are not
confined to the construction industry only, but influence the overall economy of a country like
UAE, where construction plays a major role in its development and contributes 14% to the GDP.
Thus, it is essential to define the most significant causes of delay in order to avoid or minimize
their impact on construction projects. The research disclosed that 50% of the construction
projects in UAE encounter delays and are not completed on time. The top 10 most significant
causes of construction delays have been identified by this research. Approval of drawings,
inadequate early planning and slowness of the Owners' decision-making process are the top
causes of delay in the UAE construction industry.
Mezher et al. (1998) conducted a survey of the causes of delays in the construction industry in
Lebanon from the view point of Owners, Contractors and architectural/engineering firms. It was
found that Owners had more concerns with regard to financial issues; Contractors regarded
contractual relationships the most important, while Consultants considered project management
issues to be the most important causes for delays.
Ahmed et al. (2005) under his study of construction delays in Florida identified the six (6) most
critical causes of delays in ascending order of criticality were found to be :( 1) changes in
specifications, (2) inspections, (3) Incomplete drawings, (4) changes in drawings, (5) change
order, (6) building permits approval.
Abdo (2006) made a survey on delays in public building construction projects in Ethiopia. The
result of the research indicated that 94% of the 52 surveyed public building projects undertaken
by local Contractors between the years 1995 to 2005 have encountered delays. Moreover, the
time extension ranges from 10% to 367% and the Average delay is found to be 89.9%. The most
frequent causes of delay which in descending order of criticality were found to be: (1) necessary
variations, (2) delayed payments, (3) scarcity of materials, (4) late material supply, (5) less
emphasis to planning, (6) sub-surface condition, (7) changes in design, (8) material and labor
price escalation, (9)unrealistic time schedule, and (10) failure to update schedules on time.
Divya.R and S.Ramya (2015), mentioned the possible following factors causing delays in
construction projects in Malaysia:

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 2.1: Categories and causes of delays in construction projects in Malaysia

Origin Agent Causes of Delays

Delay in progress payments
Delay in delivering the site to the contractor
Owner related Poor communication and coordination
Change orders by owner during construction
Late in revising and approving design documents
Rework due to errors during construction
Poor communication and coordination
Contractor related Ineffective planning and scheduling of project
Poor qualification of contractor’s technical staff
Delay in sub-contractor’s work
Inadequate experience of consultant
Poor communication and coordination
Consultant related Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents
Unclear and inadequate details in drawings
Un-use of advanced engineering design software
Shortage of construction materials
Materials related Delay in materials delivery
Changes in material types during construction
Late procurement of materials
Equipment breakdowns
Equipment related Shortage of equipment
Low level of equipment operator’s skill
Low productivity and efficiency of equipment
Shortage of labors
Labor - relate Low skill of labors
Personal conflicts among labors
Delay in obtaining permits from municipality
Regulatory changes
External factors Weather effect on construction activities
Accidents during construction
Rise in prices of materials
Delay in providing services from utilities (Such as water, electricity, etc.)

2.7 Effects of Delays

The desire to finish a project on time, under the planned budget, and with the highest quality is
common goals for all contracting parties, including the Owner, Contractor and Consultant. Delay
usually result in losses of one form or another for everyone. Murali Sambasivam, et al (2007)
studied the effects of construction delays on project construction industry. The six effects of
delay identified were:
1) Cost overrun
2) time overrun
3) Dispute

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

4) Arbitration
5) Litigation and
6) Abandonment

B.P.Sunjka, et al stated that poor quality completed projects and bad public relations are also
the effects caused due to delay in construction projects in addition to the above six effects.
Cost, time, and quality have proven their importance as the primary success factors of a project.
According to Ahmed, et al delays on construction project is a universal phenomenon. They are
usually accompanied by cost overruns. Delay has a negative effect on clients, contractors, and
consultants in terms of growth in adversarial relationships, mistrust, litigation, arbitration, and
cash-flow problems. A project may be regarded as a successful endeavor until it satisfies the
cost, time, and quality limitations applied to it. However, it is not uncommon to see a
construction project failing to achieve its goal within the specified cost, time, and quality.
Aibinu and Jagboro (2002) studied the effects of construction delays on project delivery in
Nigerian construction industry. The six effects of delay that were identified includes: time
overrun, cost overrun, dispute, arbitration, total abandonment and litigation. Koushki and Kartam
(2004) concluded that time and cost overrun were the impact of the material selection time, their
availability in the local market and the presence of the supervising engineer. It is important to
improve the estimated activity duration according to the actual skills levels, unexpected events,
efficiency of work time, mistakes and misunderstanding (Lock, 1996). Delays influence
negatively on the contractors performance and contribute to adverse impacts in construction
projects such as contract disputes, low productivity and increase in construction costs that will
also influence on the pre-determined of construction project objectives. From the comprehensive
literature review, six major effects of delay in the construction projects were identified as
follows:
Similarly, Sambasivan et al. (2007) identified six most frequently observed effects of delays in
his survey on causes and effects of delays in Malaysian construction industry. These were: (1)
time over-run, (2) cost overrun, (3) disputes, (4) arbitration, (5) litigation, and (6) total
abandonment.

2.7.1 Time Overrun

Murali et al., (2007) argued that contractor related factors and client related factors such as
inadequate contractor experience and owner interference have impact on time overrun. On the

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

other hand, Aibinu and Jagboro (2002) studied the effects of construction delays on project
delivery in Nigerian construction industry. They identified time overrun as one of the major
effects of delay.

2.7.2 Cost Overrun

Regarding cost overrun Koushki et al., (2005) identified three main causes that were contractor
related problems, material-related problems, and owners₆ financial constraints, whereas Wiguna
and Scott (2005) identified the most critical factors included: high inflation/increased material
price; design change by client; defective design; weather conditions; delayed payment on
contracts and defective construction work.

2.7.3 Disputes
Disputes are the effects of major causes of delays in construction projects such as causes of
Client related, Contractor related, Consultant related and external related that may be arisen
during the construction projects among the project parties. Lack of communication may also
leads to misunderstandings, conflicts and disputes. Hence it necessitates the project managers to
have effective communication skills which are one of the significant soft skills (People skills)
with the project parties involving in construction projects. Based on Murali et al., (2007) the
factors such as lack of communication between the various parties, problem with neighbors,
unforeseen site conditions, delay in payments for completed work, improper construction
method, delay caused by the subcontractor and discrepancies in contract documents will give
rise to disputes between the various parties. Furthermore, if the disputes cannot be solved
amicably or easily it can lead to arbitration or litigation.

2.7.4 Arbitration
According to Murali et al., (2007) delays caused by either client or contractor related factors
such as change order, delayed progress payment, contractor’s non-performance and lack of
communication between parties which may rise disputes will be settled through arbitration
process. For these circumstances, it is necessitate having a competent third party that can settle
the disputes amicably or easily without going to court.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

2.7.5 Litigation
Based on Murali et al., (2007) when the delays caused by client related, contract related, labor
related and external related factors such as delay in payment for completed works, problems with
site conditions and less labor supply where eventually rise the disputes to be settled by the
litigation process. The parties involved in the construction projects use litigation as a last
alternative to settle the disputes.

2.7.6 Total Abandonment

The most critical adverse effect of delays in construction projects is abandonment that could be
temporary or in worse condition for permanent duration. The major causes of client related,
consultant related, contractor related and external related may lead to project abandonment that
will lead to delays in construction projects. Aibinu and Jagboro (2002) studied the effects of
construction delays on project delivery in Nigerian construction industry. They identified total
abandonment as one of the major effects of delay.

Cost Time
Overrun Overrun Dispute

Arbitration Litigation Total

Abandonment

Figure 2.5 Fish-Bone Diagram of six effects of the construction delays. (Abedi M. 2012)

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Study design

The methodology considered and adopted for this research work focus on literature review and,
structured questionnaire survey was designed and employed to assess the knowledge and practice
on the cause and effects of delays in the construction projects. It also uses a mixed research
method (both quantitative and qualitative methods) in the data collection process. The
quantifiable responses will be analyzed through a quantitative method as the name implies. The
qualitative data gives more emphasis to the non-quantifiable responses and it is chosen due to its
flexible nature. In recent time, the responses gathered through questionnaires are becoming less
reliable as the respondents did not give due attention to the outcomes, it is essential to strengthen
through interviews and face to face discussions. Therefore, the qualitative method used to
support the quantitative data that was collected in the research. Finally, based on the obtained
data and results of the analysis, conclusions and recommendations are provided.

3.2. Study area

The study area of this research is Addis Ababa. It is selected because the research title indicates
the focus area of this research is higher education building construction projects located in the
metropolis.

3.3. Target Participants

In this study determined numbers of volunteer participants are included. As this study is intended
to get in-depth information about the knowledge and practice in the construction of building
projects in general and higher education building projects particularly, it is good to have enough
sample size. The participants that are included in this research were selected based on the
following inclusion criteria’s.
 The participant must be registered GC or BC of Grade 3 or above, Consultants and project
Owners.
 Individual participants must be professional engineers/architects and willing to
participate in the research.
 It is preferable that the participants should be those involved in the construction of Higher
Educational Building projects
 The participant should have experience in contract management at any public building
construction project
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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

3.4. Data collection method

The required data were collected by using a well prepared and pretested questionnaire. A
questionnaire was developed in order to assess the perceptions of different parties involved in
the construction process in Ethiopia’s construction sector, for the evaluation of frequency of
occurrence and importance of the identified causes. Data gathering from large sample size
participants is time consuming and require high budget. To overcome such challenges, I prefer
to collect the required information by using questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into
three parts. The first part consisted of questions about the general profile, information and
background of the respondents. The second part comprised of questions regarding the most
frequent and important causes of construction delay were asked in two forms. The third part
focused on the most important and frequent effects of construction delay. The questionnaire was
designed to be a close ended questions including with few comment spaces. These type of
questions had a number of choices of possible answers and the respondents selected whatever
they feel was most appropriate. The reason for selecting a questionnaire method for my research
is because it has a merit of giving adequate time for informants to respond, not easily approached
respondents can be reached conveniently, large sample members can be addressed, and
economically cheap. Similarly, the closed ended questions were also selected because they are
easier to assess and answer considering how busy the respondents were.
In addition, unstructured one-to-one interview was conducted with selected individuals
represented major contracting parties and actively participated at different responsibility levels
in the construction of HEB projects. Meanwhile, contractual matters were reviewed by the
researcher to verify participants’ responses.

3.5. Data analysis

The data analysis is determined to establish the relative importance of various factors that
contribute to causes and effects of construction delays. Analysis of data consists of calculating
the Relative Importance Index (RII) and Ranking of factors in each category based on the
Relative Importance Index (RII).

= ……………………...Equation 3.1.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Where,
RII = Relative Importance Index,
, , , , = Number of respondents answer each factor
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 = weight given for each factor (ranging from 1 to 5),
A = highest weight (i.e. 5 in our case),
N = total number of respondents.
The importance indices were calculated for all delay causes and the delay causes were ranked
accordingly. In order to identify how project delay can be mitigated, it is important to identify
the responsible party. Therefore, the responsibility of the delay causes is illustrated in the factor
or category column.
Finally, the findings have been summarized and presented by using different diagrammatical
tools plus supported with further descriptions.
In addition, analysis for case study were conducted for selected higher educational building
projects those seriously hampered and affected by project delay. This helps the researcher to
show the critical causes and effects of delay in the Ethiopian context.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Introduction

The findings and discussion below is devised in three parts corresponding to the research questions
and also the sections of the questionnaire. The first part presents survey distribution and response
rates by sector organization, respondents’ designation and experience in the Ethiopian building
construction industry. The second part of the results and discussion contains the findings of the
questions directed towards identifying the importance of delay causes and raking in the level of their
severity. 51 potential delay causes were selected from previous studies and grouped in category wise.
These delay causes had a five point scale ranged from 1 to 5 in a level of importance from Non
important to Extremely Important cause to project delays and the results are discussed. In the third
part respondents were asked to identify the most important and frequent effect of construction delay.
Similarly to the causes, nine potential effects were selected from previous studies. These effects of
delay had also a five point scale ranged from 1 to 5 and the results of the questions are presented and
discussed accordingly.

4.2. Survey Distribution and Response Statistics

4.2.1. Survey Response

A total of 52 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents of different backgrounds

working on large construction projects. The distribution mainly focused to the people working
in project owners, contractors and consultants.
Out of 52 questionnaires distributed, 44 (84.62%) were returned. There were 3 (100%)
questionnaires from project owners and professionals from client side related to construction, 24
(80%) from contractors and their key staff, 2 (66.7%) from subcontractors, 15 (78.9%) from
consultants and engineers.

4.2.2. Statistics of Respondents

The following tables, Table 4.1 and 4.2 show the distribution profile of the respondents’
organization in terms of type and respondents designation respectively.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.1- Respondents Organizational profile

Questionnaire Distributed and Returned % of return
Representing Questionnaire Questionnaire Vs
Organization Distributed Returned distribution
Client (Project Owner) 3 3 5.77
Consultant (Engineer) 17 15 28.85
Contractor 29 24 46.15
Subcontractor 3 2 3.85
Total 52 44 84.62

Table 4.2 - Respondents Designation

Respondents Designation in the Company
Designation Number %age
Project Manager 10 22.73
Project Coordinator 3 6.82
Site Engineer 9 20.45
Office Engineer 7 15.91
RE (Resident Engineer) 10 22.73
Site Supervisor 5 11.36
Total 44 100%

The designation of the respondents shows a relatively wider variety of professionals which are
relevant to the construction delay analysis. The respondents have been assigned as senior project
managers, quantity surveyors, contract administrators, planning engineer and construction
supervisors.
Table 4.3 below shows respondents’ general and specific work experience in the construction
industry and building construction projects respectively.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.3 - Respondents Experience

General and Specific Experiences
General Specific
Number of Years %age %age
Experience Experience
0 to 5 years 0 0 0 0
6 to 10 years 6 13.64 12 27.27
11 to 15 years 8 18.18 7 15.91
16 to 20 years 11 25.00 9 20.45
Above 20 years 19 43.18 16 36.36

On the percentage of years of work experience of the respondents, (12) 27.27% of the
respondents have 5-10 years of work experience, (7) 15.91% of the respondents have 11-15 years
of work experience, (9) 20.46% of the respondents have 16-20 years of work experience, (16)
36.36% of the respondents have more than twenty (20) years of work experience in the building
construction sector.

4.3. The importance and ranking of delay causes by respondents

The construction delay is universally evident reality and is counted as a common problem in
construction projects. Delays in construction projects happen because of various factors and
causes. These causes classified by seven factor groups.
 Clients related factors  Equipment related factors
 Contractors related factors  Labor related factors and
 Consultant related factors  External factors
 Material related factors
In this respect the respondents were asked to rank the importance of delay causes using five points
scale (most important, important, moderately important, less important and not important).
Participants were also asked to add in the space provided for each factor group (Appendix B).The
importance and ranking of delay causes resulted by the research methodology of questionnaire
survey and evaluated by statistical formula for each factor group are shown below.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.4- Importance and ranking of Client related delay causes

Importance and ranking of Client related delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Finance arrangement and inadequate fund
3 0 10 10 21 0.809 1
allocation
Delay to effect progress payment 0 4 4 26 10 0.791 3
Slow Decision making 0 3 7 30 4 0.759 5
Unrealistic contract duration and imposed
3 0 7 24 10 0.773 4
requirement
Change and variation order during construction 0 4 10 11 19 0.805 2
Incapability of Client’s representative 7 6 13 14 4 0.609 8
Poor coordination and communication 6 4 20 4 10 0.636 7
Client interference 7 3 23 4 7 0.605 9
Delay in delivering the site to the Contractor 4 8 11 4 17 0.700 6

The respondents also suggested to consider bid award for lowest price is also one of the potential
cause of project delay, because the lowest bidders might be low qualified contractors.
Consequently, poor performance will occur that will affect the project schedule.
From Table 4.4 the results show that the respondent ranked the most important client related delay
causes in the construction of Addis Ababa Public projects were Financial arrangement and
inadequate fund allocation (RII=0.809), change and variation order during construction
(RII=0.805), Delay to effect progress payment (RII=0.791), unrealistic contract duration
(RII=0.773) and Slow decision making (RII=0.759)

Table 4.5 - Importance and ranking of Contractor related delay causes

Importance and ranking of Contractor related delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Inefficient planning and scheduling 0 4 9 14 17 0.800 1
Inadequate experience of contractor’s
6
technical staff 0 4 26 14 0 0.645
Poor coordination and communication 5 4 10 17 8 0.686 4
Rework due to error during construction 3 16 11 8 6 0.591 8
Delay in subcontractor’s work 0 9 20 15 0 0.627 7
Poor site management 2 8 9 19 6 0.686 4
Inappropriate construction method 0 8 13 13 10 0.714 3
Inaccurate cost estimation 4 0 14 17 9 0.723 2

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

As shown on the above table, the most important and highly ranked contractor related delay causes
in the construction of HEB projects, are inefficient planning and scheduling (RII=0.800), Inaccurate
cost estimation (RII=0.723), Inappropriate construction method (RII=0.714), poor site management
(RII=0.686), poor coordination and communication (RII=0.686), Inadequate experience of
contractor’s technical staff (RII=0.645), delay in subcontractors’ work (RII=0.627) and reworks
due to errors during construction (RII=0.591).

Table 4.6 - Importance and ranking of Consultant related delay causes

Importance and ranking of Consultant related delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Inadequate experience of consultant 0 12 10 9 13 0.705 8
Poor coordination and communication 0 3 27 7 7 0.682 9
Mistakes and discrepancies in design
1
documents 0 0 4 22 18 0.864
Frequent change and variation order 0 4 7 6 27 0.855 2
Poor contract management 0 0 14 20 10 0.782 6
Change in material type and
7
specification 0 3 17 10 14 0.759
Inaccurate site investigation 0 0 9 24 11 0.809 5
Unclear and inadequate details in
3
drawings 0 0 10 16 18 0.836
Slow response and inspection 0 0 9 21 14 0.823 4

The results of the questionnaire survey showed that, the most important and highly ranked
Consultant related delay causes in the construction of HEB projects, are Mistakes and discrepancies
in design documents (RII=0.864), frequent change and variation order (0.855), Unclear and
inadequate details in drawings (RII=0.836), Slow response and inspection (RII=0.823), Inaccurate
site investigation (RII=0.809), Poor contract management (RII=0.782) and change in material type
and specification.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.7 - Importance and ranking of Material related delay causes

Importance and ranking of Material related delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Shortage of construction materials 4 7 0 14 23 0.859 2
Delay in material delivery 0 0 7 16 21 0.864 1
Change in material type during construction 0 4 10 13 17 0.795 3
Late procurement of materials 0 3 9 10 20 0.786 4
Rise in material price 0 7 10 17 10 0.736 5
Quality of materials 0 7 17 14 7 0.709 6
Inadequate material 0 14 10 6 14 0.691 7

The most important and highly ranked material related delay causes in the construction of HEB
projects, are Delay in material delivery (RII=0.864), Shortage of construction materials
(RII=0.859), Change in material type during construction (RII=0.795), Late procurement of
materials (RII=0.786), Rise in material price (RII=0.736), quality of materials (0.709) and
Inadequate material (RII=0.691)

Table 4.8 - Importance and ranking of Equipment related delay causes

Importance and ranking of Equipment related delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Shortage of construction Equipment 3 0 17 18 6 0.709 1
Equipment breakdown 3 10 14 10 7 0.636 2
Low level of operator’s skill 10 3 20 7 4 0.564 4
Low productivity and efficiency of equipment 7 6 17 14 0 0.573 3
Shortage of equipment parts 10 7 14 9 4 0.555 5

The most important and highly ranked equipment related delay causes in the construction of HEB
projects, are Shortage of construction Equipment (RII=0.709), Equipment breakdown (RII=0.636),
Low productivity and efficiency of equipment (RII=0.573), Low level of operator’s skill
(RII=0.564) and Shortage of equipment parts (RII=0.555).

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.9 - Importance and ranking of Labor related delay causes

Importance and ranking of Labor related delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Shortage of labor 0 4 23 10 7 0.691 2
Personal conflict among laborers 10 27 7 0 0 0.386 6
Low labor productivity 0 0 26 7 11 0.732 1
Non attendance 10 15 13 3 3 0.482 3
Labor injuries 9 10 25 0 0 0.473 4
Labor strikes 13 16 9 2 4 0.455 5

The most important and highly ranked labor related delay causes in the construction of HEB
projects, are Low labor productivity (RII=0.732), Shortage of labor (RII=0.691), Non-attendance
(RII=0.482), Labor injuries (RII=0.473), Labor strikes (RII=0.455) and personal conflict among
laborers is (RII=0.386).

Table 4.10 - Importance and ranking of External delay causes

Importance and ranking of External delay causes by RII value
Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5 RII Ranking
Delay in obtaining permit 7 14 6 16 1 0.555 4
Rise in price of material 4 3 17 7 13 0.700 1
Weather condition 10 13 15 6 0 0.477 5
Natural disasters 21 18 2 1 2 0.350 8
Regulatory changes 9 19 8 7 1 0.473 6
Unforeseen site condition 3 6 15 18 2 0.645 2
Delay in providing services from
3
utilities (water, electricity, etc) 8 7 14 12 3 0.577
Government policies 11 21 8 3 1 0.427 7

As shown on Table 4.10 above, the most important and highly ranked external factor of delay causes
in the construction of HEB projects, are Rise in price of material (RII=0.700), Unforeseen site
condition (RII=0.645), Delay in providing services from utilities (water, electricity, etc)
(RII=0.577), Delay in obtaining permit (RII=0.555), Weather condition (RII=0.477), Regulatory
changes (RII=0.473), Government policies (RII=0.427), and Natural disasters (RII=0.350).

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.11 - Importance Index for Most Important Factors from Overall Results
Rank Delay Causes RII Factor (Category)
1 Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents 0.864 Consultant
2 Delay in material delivery 0.864 Material/ Contractor
3 Shortage of construction materials 0.859 External
4 Frequent change and variation order 0.855 Consultant
5 Unclear and inadequate details in drawings 0.836 Consultant
6 Slow response and inspection 0.823 Consultant
7 Finance arrangement and inadequate fund allocation 0.809 Client
8 Inaccurate site investigation 0.809 Consultant
9 Change and variation order during construction 0.805 Client
10 Inefficient planning and scheduling 0.800 Contractor
11 Delay to effect progress payment 0.791 Client
12 Late procurement of materials 0.786 Contractor
13 Poor contract management 0.782 Consultant
Unrealistic contract duration and imposed
14 0.773 Client
requirement
15 Change in material type during construction 0.759 Consultant
16 Slow Decision making 0.759 Client
17 Rise in material price 0.736 External
18 Low labor productivity 0.732 Contractor
19 Inaccurate cost estimation 0.723 Contractor
20 Inappropriate construction method 0.714 Contractor

As shown on Table 4.11, from the overall results obtained from the questionnaire response, delay
causes that hamper the performance as well as timely delivery of the project are presented in the
level of their severity.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

4.4. Top Delay Causes

In Table 4.11 above, as ranked by the respondent, 20 most important factors causing delay in
construction project are summarized and presented.
Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents by the Consultants and delay in material delivery
by Contractors with RII=0.864 are suggested as the most important factor causing delay on building
construction projects. This is closely followed by an external factor of shortage of construction
materials in the market with RII=0.859. Frequent change and Variation Order, unclear and
inadequate details in drawings and slow response and inspection with RII=0.855, 0.836 and 0.823
by the Consultants also ranked 4th, 5th and 6th potential causes of delay respectively.
Furthermore financial arrangement and inadequate fund allocation by the Client and inaccurate site
investigation by the Consultant are ranked 7th and 8th with RII=0.809. Change and variation order
by the Client which is a potential cause for cost overrun ranked 9th with RII=0.805 and followed by
Inefficient planning and scheduling by Contractor with RII=0.800 has lots of effects on construction
projects..
There are many more causes, but we discussed the main and more important causes. These causes
lead to the effects on the construction projects.

10%
30%

25%

35%

Contractor
Consultant
Client
External

Figure 4.1 Percentage distribution of delay causes by origin agents

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Figure 4.1 above shows, besides the influence of unbalanced questionnaire distribution among
parties as shown in table 4.1 earlier, according to respondents’ ranking, out of the top twenty most
potential delay causes, 35% originated by the consultants, 30% originated by the contractors, 25%
ranked as originated by clients and delay causes originated by external factors ranked least by 5%.

4.5. The Importance and Ranking of Effects of Delay by respondents

The desire to finish a project on time, under the planned budget, and with the highest quality is
common goals for all contracting parties, including the Owner, Contractor and Consultant. Delay
usually result in losses of one form or another for everyone. The causes lead to the effects of delay
on construction projects. The nine effects of delay identified were:
1) Time overrun
2) Cost overrun
3) Wastage and underutilization of resources
4) Tying down of Client’s capital due to non-completion of the project
5) Abandonment of the project
6) Dispute between parties
7) Reduced profit or total lose
8) Arbitration
9) Litigation and court case
In this respect the respondents asked to rate their agreement on the effect of delay by correlating to
delay causes using five points scale (Strongly disagree, disagree, slightly disagree, agree and
strongly agree) having a score from 1 to 5 respectively. Participants were also asked to correlate
the effects with causes of delay and space is provided to give their comment (Appendix B).The
importance and ranking of effects of delay resulted by the research methodology of questionnaire
survey and evaluated by statistical formula for each factor group are shown below.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 4.12 - Importance and ranking of effects of delay

Importance and ranking of effects of delay by RII value
Str. Sligh. Str.
Effects Disagree Agree RII Ranking
Disagree Disagree Agree
Time Overrun 0 0 0 8 36 0.964 1
Cost overrun 0 0 0 24 20 0.891 2
Wastage and underutilization 0 0 13 17 14 0.805 3
of manpower & resources
Tying down of Clients’ capital 0 4 11 23 6 0.741 5
Abandonment of the project 6 8 17 11 2 0.577 7
Dispute among parties 0 6 3 27 8 0.768 4
Arbitration 0 10 16 18 0 0.636 6
Litigation and Court case 0 13 25 6 0 0.568 8

Results from Table 4.11 shows that Time overrun ranked the highest with RII of 0.964, while cost
overrun or increase in final cost of the project is ranked second with RII of 0.891. Wastage and
under- utilization of man-power and resources has RII value of 0.805. Time in every phase of
project life is really essential, when a contract is done and the date is given, the effect of delay really
affects time and money. Dispute among parties involved is ranked forth with RII value of 0.768.
Time affects every other factor, the increase in final cost; more money has to be spent. Delay will
also cause wastage and underutilization of man power and resource. Tying down of client capital
due to non-completion of the project is ranked fifth with RII of 0.741 because; the client cannot get
the intended service if the work is not completed on time. Abandonment of the project was ranked
seventh with RII values and 0.577. Arbitration and litigation were ranked sixth and eighth with RII
values of 0.636 and 0.568 respectively. There is a close interrelation among these three effect.
Dispute among parties involved can induce litigation and arbitration and if the decision of the
arbitration panel is not acceptable to either of the parties involved, this can lead to big time legal
battle which can truncate the progress of the work..
The correlation between the causes and effects of delay shows that the time overrun refers to late
completion or late delivery, from the time specified or agreed by all parties, of construction project.
The main causes for the time overrun are financial problems, late payments for the completed work
and ongoing work, change orders, inefficient planning and scheduling, poor site management, delay
in material delivery, etc.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Cost overrun refers to the increased costs of labor, working force, materials and equipment etc. The
main causes for the cost overrun are change orders, mistakes in the contract, changes in drawings,
inaccurate cost estimation, etc.
Wastage and underutilization of resources refers to idle manpower, lower productivity of workers
and equipment, etc. The main causes for the underutilization of resources are late procurement and
material delivery, slow response and approval, change orders, inadequate material supply, changes
in drawings, weather condition, unforeseen site condition, etc.
Disputes among parties refer to the disagreement between different parties in the construction
project. The main causes for disputes are slow or late payments for completed or ongoing work,
poor communication and coordination, client interference.
Litigation and court cases refers to a legal proceeding in a court to solve the problems and it takes
a long time to solve the problems. The main causes of litigation and court cases are late or no
payments for completed work, rise in material price, etc.
Abandonment refers to stopping every work or suspending the project for long time. The main
causes for abandonment are regulatory changes, finances and payments, natural disasters etc.

4.6. Summary of Findings

The outcome of analysis from this study can be said to be of great relevance to the construction
industry. Majority of the respondents are fully involved in the construction industry with at least 10
years of construction experience, meaning that the respondents have wealth of knowledge and could
supply the necessary information on the question sent out in the questionnaires. The professionals
represented were the Contractors having the highest percentage of 52.5% followed by the
Consultants having 35% then the Clients having 7.5% and Subcontractors having the least
percentage of 5%.
There are many factors that induce delay on construction projects, however in this study the factors
are limited to 52 factors causing delay and they were ranked according to the Relative Importance
Index. The factors includes: lack of funds to finance the project to completion, changes in drawings,
lack of effective communication among the parties involved , lack of adequate information from
consultants, slow decision making, unrealistic contract duration and variations. Also, project
management problem, mistake and discrepancies in contract document, equipment availability and

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

failure, mistakes during construction, bad weather, fluctuation in prices of building materials, and
ineffective planning and scheduling, low labor productivity and many more.

Analysis was also carried out on the effect of delay on the project work. Time overrun, increase in
final cost of project, wastage and under-utilization of man-power and resources, tying down of
client capital due to non-completion of the project, dispute among parties involved were ranked
highest. Time is factor that is very essential in all activities that has to be carried out, in the contract
document a specific time phase is given for delivery of project and if the time is being exceeded
more money is often spent which could lead to increase in final cost of project and also wastage
and under-utilization of man-power and resources. The client’s capital has to be withheld due to
non-completion of the project which could result into dispute, litigation and arbitration among the
workers and management. Also delay can lead to reduced profit for Contractor and abandonment
of building project by the client.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

5. ANALYSIS OF CASE STUDIES

The AAU is building a total of 29 educational building projects since September 2004. Among
these 16 were completed and the remaining 13 are under construction.
Since the title of this study directly related to Educational Building projects owned by the Addis
Ababa University, the case study narrowed its focus on selected representative projects.
Accordingly, five projects are selected to show the significance of this work. The selection criteria
for these projects are accessibility of the required information for case studies and their exposure
for excessive delays. The selected projects are comprises of the completed ones, ongoing projects
and those critically suffering by abandonment and/or termination of the contract.

Table 5.1- Selected projects for case study

S. No Project Name Contractor Consultant
1 Black Lion Hospital Maintenance of
Technical & HIK Wings NKH Construction CDSCo
2 Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology Asmelash & Sons
Construction PLC CDSCo
Fasil Giorghis
MIDROC
3 AAU-IES New Library Building Consulting
Construction
Architect

Natural Science Faculty, Library Complex MAGERCON

4 Building Construction CDSCo

5.1. Black Lion Hospital, Maintenance of Technical & HIK Wing Project
The Maintenance of Technical & HIK Wing Project is located in the Black Lion Hospital Medical
Faculty Compound. The project comprises of a maintenance of HIK Wing, which is under
construction by a local contractor NKH construction. (See Appendix C-1 for project details and
information). The project commenced on May 27, 2013 and supposed to be completed on May 26,
2014 with a contract period of 365 days. The initial contract amount of the project was ETB
89,001,607.88 but revised to ETB 111,132,773.14 including a supplementary works amounting to
ETB 22,131,165.26. The amount of work executed until December 31, 2015 was ETB
81,730,815.50 which is 73.54% of the contract amount. The project is delayed by 582 days
excluding the time required to complete the project in the future.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

As per the data collected from the Consultant, Contractor and Employer, the major causes of delay
on this project are originated by the Employer, Contractor and Consultant.

Table 5.2- Particulars of Maintenance of Technical and HIK Wing Project

Project Particulars
Client [Owner] Addis Ababa University
Consultant CDSCo
Contractor NKH Construction
Specific Location Black Lion Hospital
Contract Type Admeasurement [Unit rate]
Initial Contract Amount ETB 89,001,607.88
Addition [Supplementary works] ETB 22,131,165.26
Revised Contract Amount ETB 111,132,773.14
Initial Contract Period 365 Days
Total Amount of Work executed until Jan 2016 81,730,815.50
Executed Vs Contract 73.54%
Time elapsed up to Jan 2016 947 Days
Elapsed time Vs Contract 176.35%
Total days delay beyond contract period 582 Days
Time extension granted based on claim #1 & #2 172 Days
Unjustifiable delay Days + Time for remaining works

5.1.1. Causes of Delays at Black Lion Hospital, Maintenance of Technical &

HIK Wing Project
5.1.1.1. Client Related Causes of Delays
5.1.1.1.1. Delay to deliver the site to the Contractor
The Contractor has submitted his claim for extension of time due to the reason that Client’s failure
to give possession of the site (delay to release the rooms). In their claim the total days requested
was 117 days (32% of the contract period). As the scope of the works is predominantly maintenance
of the hospital building, the Client need to evacuate and made accessible the rooms to the Contractor
within the mobilization period. The Contractor has commenced the work in the area where partially

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

released. The Consultant has evaluated the Contractor’s claim and approved only 86 days (23.56%
of the contract period).
The Contractor also submitted his 2nd claim for time extension after 79 days of the 1st one citing the
same reason which is delay to give possession. In the 2nd time extension claim they requested a total
of 115 days but similarly the Consultant granted only 86 days. As per the approved schedule the
Contractor planned to execute 56.83% of the total contract amount between the periods February
to May 2014 but the actual achievement was only 2.13%. In both claims the Contractor didn’t
accompanied any financial compensation claim.

5.1.1.1.2. Unrealistic Contract Duration

As mentioned above the scope of works of the project is mainly maintenance and renovation of the
hospital building. The Client is cognizant of the building situation and the level of their capacity to
deliver all of the site to the Contractor.

5.1.1.2. Consultant Related Causes of Delays

5.1.1.2.1. Inaccurate Site Investigation and inadequate details in drawings
The Consultant at his part act as the Owner’s representative to carry out:
 site investigation,
 preparation of design documents, contract and technical specifications,
 estimate and advise the Client to determine contract durations and
 Administer the contract during construction.
The Contractor in his time extension claim requested an additional time 28 days for protection of
electrical power cables, mechanical, water supply, gas and steam pipes, which are neither specified
in the contract specification nor shown on the drawings. Besides, the additional works instructed to
protect these utility lines, the Contractor also mentioned that he couldn’t proceed the works as per
the approved working schedule, as a consequence of the unforeseen site condition and subsequent
variation orders.

5.1.1.3. Contractor Related Causes of Delays

5.1.1.3.1. Ineffective Planning and Scheduling
As shown on Table 5.1 the project is extended by 582 days (159.4% of the contract time) beyond
the contract period. According to Contractor time extension claims #1 and #2, the Consultant

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

approved 172 days out of the requested 231 days. Therefore, the Contractor is accountable for the
remaining 410 days. This implies that the Contractor’s ineffective planning (in terms of resource
and work break down) coupled with failure to revise the schedule regularly in view of the project
situation contributed for the delay.

5.1.1.3.2. Poor site organization and Low performance

The other cause of delay that belongs to contractor’s responsibility was low performance in the area
where accessible to perform and poor site organization in accordance with the availability of the
working area as it was understood that the whole of the area cannot be released at once in such type
of maintenance works. Hence reasons mentioned in claim #1 couldn’t support his claim. The
Consultant stated under his comments on claim #1 and monthly progress report
“Though, most of the working area was released and accessible for the
works, the contractor could not commence in full scale and perform as
scheduled except minor activities.”

5.1.2. Observation at Maintenance of Technical & HIK Wing Project

 There has been a serious deficiency in site investigation and provision of sufficient
information to the Contractor in relation to unforeseen utility lines.
 There has been a tendency to keep claims pending without addressing them timely.
Therefore, it has been observed that there is a backlog of unsettled time extension
claim.
 Both time extension claims were not accompanied by claim on cost compensation.
Therefore, it has been observed that the Contractor has believed that financial
compensations will not be accepted.
 There has been a deficiency in claim presentation and emphasizing with supporting
documents.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

5.2. Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology Project

The Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology Project is located in the compound of Samba Nekersa.
The project is under construction by a local contractor Asmelash and Sons Construction PLC. The
project commenced on January 01, 2012 and supposed to be completed on June 24, 2013 with a
contract period of 540 days. The initial contract amount of the project was ETB 179,944,468.08 but
revised to ETB 217,486,711.21 including a variation works amounting to ETB 37,542,243.13. The
amount of work executed until December 31, 2015 was ETB 216,788,184.57 which is 120.48% of
the contract amount. The total number of days elapsed until December 31, 2015 was 1426 days
(264% of the initial contract period). The project is delayed by 886 days excluding the time required
for remaining works.
As per the data collected from the Consultant, Contractor and Employer, the major causes of delay
on this project are originated by the Employer, Contractor and Consultant.
Table 5.3- Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology Project

Project Particulars
Client [Owner] Addis Ababa University
Consultant CDSCo
Contractor Asmelash and Sons Construction PLC
Specific Location Samba Nekersa
Contract Type Admeasurement [Unit rate]
Initial Contract Amount ETB 179,944,468.08
Addition [Supplementary works] ETB 37,542,243.13
Revised Contract Amount ETB 217,486,711.21
Initial Contract Period 540 Days
Total Amount of Work executed until December 2015 216,788,184.57
Executed Vs Contract 120.48%
Time elapsed up to December 2015 1426 Days
Elapsed time Vs Contract 264.07%
Total days delay beyond contract period 886 Days
Time extension granted based on claim #1 & #2 508 Days
Unjustifiable delay 378 days + Time for remaining works

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

5.2.1. Client Related Causes of Delays

5.2.1.1. Delay to effect progress payment to the Contractor
After verified by the Consultant for the entitlement of progress payment the Client delayed to effect
the total sum of payment amounting to ETB 15,237,455.26 for 35 days beyond the time stipulated
in a contract.

5.2.1.2. Change and variation order during construction

The Client initiated a variation order for additional works which was not originally included in the
design as well as the contract documents. The variation work amounts to ETB 37,542,243.13
accordingly the Contractor was granted a time extension of 196 days to be added on the contract
period for the varied works.

5.2.2. Consultant Related Causes of Delays

5.2.2.1.1. Poor Contract Management
The Consultant at his part act as the Owner’s representative to manage the contract during the
construction period, evaluate delay causes, evaluate delays as occurred and provide mitigation
advice or take appropriate action as per the contract conditions and applicable standards, but due to
failure to do accordingly the project suffered by extended delay.
.
5.2.2.1.2. Slow Response
As stated above, the Consultant took a responsibility to manage the contract as well as evaluate the
performance in a periodic basis. This will enable them to see the delay events as it occurred.
Accordingly the Consultant required to notify the contractor and the Employer as early as possible.
But the Consultant could not act as required.

5.2.3. Contractor Related Causes of Delays

5.2.3.1. Ineffective Planning and Scheduling
As shown on Table 5.3 the project is extended by 886 days (164% of the initial contract time)
beyond the contract period. According to Contractor time extension claims #1 and #2, the
Consultant approved 508 days out of the requested 992 days. Therefore, the Contractor is
accountable for the remaining 484 days. The main reasons contributing to the delay that couldn’t

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

support his claim were Contractor’s ineffective planning and failure to revise the master schedule
regularly in view of the project situation.

5.2.3.2. Low Labor Productivity

Besides the schedule deficiency to perform as planned, the contractor couldn’t provide the required
manpower and materials.
Furthermore, the productivity level of project workers also lower than the standard output used for
performance evaluation.

5.3. Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) New Library Building Project

The IES New Library Building Project is located in the main campus of the Addis Ababa
University. The project consisted of a three storey library building, intended to be used by local and
international researchers. The Contract for the Construction of Addis Ababa University, Institute
of Ethiopian Studies New Library Building Project was signed on August 19, 2009 between Addis
Ababa University (The Employer) and MIDROC Construction Ethiopia P.L.C. (The Contractor).
In addition to the main contracting parties, the Client and the Contractor, a financing entity took
part in the contract as a Financer. The project commenced on 25 September 2009 and agreed to
complete on March 21, 2011 with a contract period of 540 days. The initial contract amount of the
project was ETB 33,199,268.65 (Thirty three Million One Hundred ninety nine Thousand two
Hundred sixty eight and Cents 65/100) including 15% VAT. Until April 2011 the project
performance was 71.7%. Since then the project caused to delay due to the reasons which will be
shown under chapters 5.3.1 – 5.3.3. As the contracting parties failed to resolve the issues, the project
remain vulnerable to delay and finally abandoned for nearly 66 months. Currently, the parties are
in a process of amicable termination.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Table 5.4 - Particulars of AAU-IES Library Building Project

Project Particulars
Client [Owner] Addis Ababa University
Financer Sheik Dr. Mohammed Hussien Ali Al Amudi
Consultant Fasil Ghiorgis Consulting Architects
Contractor MIDROC Construction Ethiopia PLC
Specific Location Addis Ababa University Main Campus
Contract Type Admeasurement [Unit rate]
Initial Contract Amount ETB 33,199,268.65
Addition [Variation works] ETB 2,291,362.86
Revised Contract Amount ETB 35,490,631.51
Initial Contract Period 540 Days
Total Amount of Work executed to date 23,606,843.70
Executed Vs Contract 71.7%
Time elapsed up to January 2016 2317 Days
Elapsed time Vs Contract 429.07%
Total days delay beyond contract period 1777 Days
Time extension granted variation and claim #1 312 Days
Unjustifiable delay 1465 days + Time for remaining works

5.3.1. Causes of Delays at AAU-IES New Library Building Project

5.3.1.1. Client Related Causes of Delays
5.3.1.1.1. Financial Arrangement and Inadequate Fund
As per the data collected from the Consultant, Contractor and Employer, the major causes of delay
on this project originated by the Employer and the Consultant. The bid for the construction of IES
library building project was conducted on January 2007 and suspended without decision until the
contract signing date. Two years later, the contract document prepared with the same amount
offered in the bid document. At signing of the agreement, the Contractor requested to adjust the
unit prices based on the existing market price. By the time, the prices of major construction
materials were inflated by 72% as detailed in Contractor’s financial claim. The Client, on the other

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

way, insisted to commence the work in the meantime to work on price adjustment. The Consultant
took the assignment to prepare a revised contract agreement for signing. Until the project abandoned
on September 2011 the adjustment issue were not finalized.

5.3.1.1.2. Slow Decision Making

The Contractor requested the Client to prepare the contract document based on the adjusted unit
prices on September 2010, November 2010 and April 2011 but the Client failed to make decision
and/or instruct the Consultant to fulfil his obligation until the third request was submitted.

5.3.1.2. Consultant Related Causes of Delays

5.3.1.2.1. Mistakes and Discrepancies in Design Documents
At the beginning of the project the quantities of concrete, reinforcement bars and form work
increased by 100% from the contract amount as a result of Consultant’s error during preparation of
bill of quantities. This error causes the project cost to increase by 11%.

5.3.1.2.2. Poor Contract Management

The Consultant at his part act as the Owner’s representative to administer the contract during
construction, prepare variation and revised contract documents, but due to failure to do accordingly
the project suffered by extended delay.
.
5.3.1.2.3. Slow Response
As stated above, the Consultant took a responsibility to prepare revised contract document based
on the current market price as early as possible. But the Consultant could not prepare the document
as required.

5.3.1.3. Contractor Related Causes of Delays

5.3.1.3.1. Ineffective Planning and Scheduling
The monthly progress report prepared by the Consultant showed that Contractor’s monthly
performance for the last six months, November 2010 to April 2011, was much below the schedule.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

5.3.1.3.2. Low productivity and efficiency

Even for activities that the contractor could perform due to shortage of required skilled and non-
skilled labor and very low companies wage, the contractor could not perform as a result low
productivity and inefficiency.

5.3.1.3.3. Very slow material delivery

According to the schedule prepared by the contractor and approved by the consultant, there are
many activities which didn’t related to a price adjustment and the contractor could perform. But a
very slow material delivery or failure to deliver the required materials with the required quantity
totally interrupts the project progress.

5.3.2. Effects of Delays on AAU-IES Library Building Project

All these causes of delays led the project to extended completion time, huge cost overrun (increase
by 358%) the current estimate to complete the project is ETB 56,122,234.60, extra time to complete
the project, abandonment of the project and furthermore, termination and financial compensation
of ETB 7,938,932.81 based on cost compensation claim during termination.
5.4. Natural Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project
The Library Complex Building (LCB) Project is located at the Science Faculty campus of the Addis
Ababa University. The project consisted of a seven storey building with one basement. The Contract
for the Construction of LCB Project was signed on November 12, 2009 between Addis Ababa
University (The Employer) and MAGERCON Construction (The Contractor). The project
commenced on 26 November 2009 and agreed to complete on May 10, 2011 with a contract period
of 530 days. The initial contract amount of the project was ETB 62,127,694.98 (Sixty Two Million
One Hundred Twenty Seven Thousand Six Hundred Ninety Four and Cents 98/100) excluding
VAT. Until April 9, 2014, when the contract termination came in to effect, the contractor could
perform only ETB 21,388,645.19 which was 34.4% accomplishment with an elapsed time of 1595
days (301%) of the contract period. At the initial period of construction the contractor requested a
time extension of 65days through time extension claim No. 1 for delayed possession of site.
Accordingly, 62 days were granted for the reasons evidenced by the contractor. Since
commencement of the works the project exhibited progressive delays every month due to the
reasons which will be shown under chapters 5.4.1 – 5.4.3. The contractor was notified by successive

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

notices to improve its performance but no action had been taken until the contract termination came
in to effect on April 2014 after the total abandonment for 941 days. Currently, the project was
awarded to another contractor with a contract amount of ETB 61,918,466.00 to complete the
remaining works.

Table 5.5- Particulars of Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project

Client [Owner] Addis Ababa University

Consultant CDSCo

Contractor MAGERCON Construction

Specific Location Science Faculty Campus

Contract Type Admeasurement [Unit rate]

Initial Contract Amount ETB 62,127,694.98

Addition [Variation works] None

Revised Contract Amount ETB 62,127,694.98

Initial Contract Period 530 Days

Total Amount of Work executed until April 2014 21,388,645.19

Executed Vs Contract 34.4%

Time elapsed up to April 2014 1595 Days

Elapsed time Vs Contract 301%

Total days of delay beyond contract period 1065 Days

Time extension granted variation and claim #1 62 Days

Unjustifiable delay 1003days

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

5.4.1. Causes of Delays at Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project

5.4.1.1. Client Related Causes of Delays
5.4.1.1.1. Unclear Criteria to Assign Consultants
Majority of the AAU projects are designed, supervised and managed by a single government owned
consulting firm, CDSCo, without any bid or competition. This resulted the service expected from
the consultant declined from time to time.

5.4.1.2. Consultant Related Causes of Delays

5.4.1.2.1. Poor Contract Management
The Consultant at his part act as the Owner’s representative to manage the contract during the
construction period, evaluate delay causes, evaluate delays as occurred and provide mitigation
advice or take appropriate action as per the contract conditions and applicable standards, but due to
failure to do accordingly the project suffered by extended delay.
.
5.4.1.2.2. Slow Response
As stated above, the Consultant took a responsibility to manage the contract as well as evaluate the
performance in a periodic basis. This will enable them to see the delay events as it occurred.
Accordingly the Consultant required to notify the contractor and the Employer as early as possible.
But the Consultant could not act as required.
5.4.1.3. Contractor Related Causes of Delays
5.4.1.3.1. Ineffective Planning and Scheduling
The monthly progress report prepared by the Consultant showed that Contractor’s monthly
performance and Net cash flow of the last nine months indicates a negative result. This indicates
that i) the contractor performance is nil and ii) the cash outflow is higher than that of the inflow.
No inflow is a result on nonperformance.

5.4.1.3.2. Inadequate Cost Estimation

Though the tender evaluation procedure for the selection of the contractor followed two stages
assessment process, Contractors mostly provide a lowest price to win a bid and secure the work. A
danger of “bid award for lowest price” significantly affected this project.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

After collection of the required information from the consultant, interview has been conducted with
the contractor technical personnel. The main reason for the delay as well as the abandonment of the
project was foreign currency devaluation that occurred in the year 2010. The contractor had 17
projects during the time when exchange rate was changed and most of them were awarded with a
very marginal and fragile contract prices.

5.4.1.4. External Causes of Delays

5.4.1.4.1. Regulatory Changes
In 2010 the foreign currency exchange rate devaluated significantly. The influence of the
devaluation rate by 33% on construction inputs. As a regulation, the government couldn’t allow to
consider for ongoing projects. Contractors, who took projects with a very marginal price, became
a victim of the incidence.

5.4.2. Effects of Delays at Science Faculty Library Complex Building Project

All these causes of delays led the project to abandon for ten years and finally the Contractor was
terminated as a result of nonperformance.
The followings were the effects of the delays as Library Complex Building project at the Natural
science Campus:
 Abandonment for extended time resulting the client failed to provide the required services
 Termination of contract
 Cost overrun. As a result of termination the new contract was signed with other contractor
with an amount of ETB 61,918,466.00 for the remaining work to complete.
 Time overrun

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

6. CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter includes the conclusions and recommendations that would help in solving the
occurrence of delay and its effects at the construction of educational building projects in Addis
Ababa University. The first objective of this study was to identify the existence of delays and
explore its relationship with project’s successful completion. The second objective was to identify
the causes and principal factors responsible for the occurrence of delays in Addis Ababa University
educational building construction projects. Discussing the effect of delays on the construction of
higher educational building projects in Addis Ababa was the third objective and the last one was to
formulate recommendations to avoid or minimize delays and its consequential effects.

6.1. Conclusions
Based on the literature reviews, the results of questionnaire responses and case studies the following
conclusions are drawn.
A. The following causes are identified as a potential delay causes on the projects
1. Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents, frequent design change and variation
order during construction, unclear and inadequate details in drawings, slow response and
inspection, poor contract management, inaccurate site investigation and change in
material type during construction as consultants’ responsibility;
2. Delay in material delivery, inefficient planning and scheduling, late procurement of
materials, low labor productivity, inappropriate cost estimation and improper
construction method as contractor’s responsibility;
3. Finance arrangement and inadequate fund allocation, change and variation order during
construction, delays to effect progress payment, unrealistic project duration and slow
decision making as client’s responsibility
4. Shortage of construction materials and rise in material prices as external causes.
5. Unanticipated Government regulation change in exchange rate devaluation
6. Consultant’s inability and failure to manage the contract as per the conditions and
standards of the specification.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

7. Findings of the case study witnessed none of the projects completed within the contract
period. The total delay ranges from 200% to 329% of the initial contract times excluding
the time required to complete the projects.
8. The AAU hired CDSCo for many of its projects to provide consultancy and supervision
services. In fact CDSCo is a well experienced leading grade 1 consultancy firm in the
country. But the quality of the service they are providing as well as the frequency and
level of mistakes they are doing is apparent to their experience, particularly in design,
document preparation and level of accuracy and contract management of educational
building projects.
B. Time overrun, cost overrun, Inferior quality deliverables, loss of unutilized (idle) resources
and tying down of client’s capital, abandonment and contract termination are the effects of
the delay encountered so far.
C. Besides all, other non-quantifiable delay damages that cannot be stated in terms of money
such as inferior quality end product, inability to provide service and/or loss of client
opportunities.

6.2. Recommendations
These delays are badly affecting the construction of the Addis Ababa University educational
building projects and it is needed to find a solution for countering the delays. The solution to avoid
and/or to counter delays is to avoid and lessen the causes related with delays, and in result there
will be lesser effects of delays on the educational building projects.

It is suggested to deal with the causes and find a solution so that these causes not happen or happen
very less. Based on the findings of the research, the following recommendations were proposed.

6.2.1. Expectations from Contractors

 Contractors should prepare proper plan and achievable schedule using the appropriate
scheduling techniques and revise as appropriate.
 Contractors should apply effective site management system for different activities of the
project so as to avoid rework of activities and low labor productivity that will result time
and cost overruns.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

 To avoid time and cost overruns, Contractors should setup sufficient storage area or prepare
procurement plan to properly utilize advance payments and secure required construction
materials especially that are scarce in the local markets.
 Contractors should give due attention for time value of money.
 Contractors should carefully estimate the costs during pricing and proper working
methodology to be adopted.

6.2.2. Expectations from Consultants

The survey results indicated that the majority of delay factors are relevant to Consultants.
Therefore, the following corrective measures are expected from consultants
 Consultants should produce a clear, conclusive and adequately detailed design and working
drawings as early as possible (prior to tender preparation).
 The consultant for most of the AAU projects, CDSCo, should be able to produce a refined
product and provide a quality service as they are a leading Grade 1 consulting firm.
 In order to avoid delays caused by change orders and design changes during construction,
all changes should be done before the start of construction and client should clearly define
its demand.
 Consultants should have clear and all-inclusive understanding on client necessities and
complete project information to avoid unnecessary suspension and delay to project
activities.
 Consultants should manage the contract impartially and in accordance to the contract
conditions and requirements.
 Consultants should respond as quickly as possible to contractor and client questions and
requests for clarification to avoid associated delays

6.2.3. Expectations from Clients

 The client should determine the required duration of project and impose realistic duration
to avoid time and cost overruns.
 Clients must have strong economical ability and financial arrangement for project, effect
progress payments on time

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

 Client must give proper time and priority on its construction project and tacking
appropriately time verdict.
 The Client should minimize change orders and make timely decisions as much as possible
to avoid cost and time overruns.
 The communication and coordination between the stake holders also have to be improved.
 The Client should exercise to work with various consultancy firms, this will provide them
competitive consultancy fee, adequate consultancy service and better achievement.

6.2.4. Expectations from Regulatory Bodies

 The government should consider a cost compensation at least for ongoing projects.
 Regulatory bodies require to set measures against to non-performance, delay damages and
default of consultants.
 Regulatory changes to be discussed among all concerned stakeholders prior to
implementation.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

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Construction Projects.” International Journal of Project Management vol12 issue 4 (1994),
pages.254-260
29. Neal Morris, Pinsent Masons: “Dealing with Delay.” Press article, Feb.2007
30. Rizwan U.Farooqui, Syed M.Ahmed, and Muhammad Saqib: “ Delays in Construction
– An Empirical study of Contractors’ perceptions in Pakistan Construction industry” paper
31, page 256-270 July 11-13, 2007
31. Robel Assefa (2015), Schedule Delay Identification and Assessment On Addis Ababa’s
Light Rail Transit Construction, Addis Ababa institute of Technology Master of Science
Thesis
32. Sidney M.Levy (2002), Project management in construction, fourth edition, K K
Chitkara, (2003). Construction Project Management. Planning, Scheduling and Monitoring
33. Stephen O ogunlana, Krit Promkuntong and Vithool Jearkjirm: “Construction Delays
in a Fast-Growing Economy: Comparing Thailand with other economies.” International
Journal of Project Management, volume 14, issue 1, Feb. 1996, pages 37-45
34. Syed M.Ahmed, Salman Azhar and Mr. Mauricio Castillo & Ms.Pragnya
Kappagatula: Construction Delays in Florida: An Empirical Study, 2005
35. Toufic M.Mezher and Wissam Tawil: “Causes of Delays in the Construction Industry of
Lebanon.” Engineering Construction and Architectural Management Journal volume 5,
issue 3, 1998, pages 251-260
36. Trauner, T. J., W. A. Manginelli, J. S. Lowe, M. F. Nagata and B. J. Furniss (2009)
Construction Delays: Understanding Them Clearly, Analyzing Them Correctly, Elsevier
Inc USA.

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APPENDIXES

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Appendix A

Research Proposal

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1. ABSTRACT
Delay in construction project completion is a global phenomenon that occurs in the construction
industry and considered as one of the most common problems causing a multitude of negative
effects on the project and its participating parties especially where the government projects are
concerned.
Construction projects are characterized by advanced technologies, multiparty participation, and
frequent owner-desired changes. Coupled with uncertainties and complexities in the physical,
financial, and economic environment in which most projects are performed. Such conditions have
made completing projects on schedule and on budget a difficult task to accomplish, often leading
to claims on cost compensations and time extensions.
The construction activities in Ethiopia are increasing, most of public projects are facing problems
related to delays in completion time, requiring higher budget than estimated, the final deliverables
become inferior in quality, detrimental variations and reworks and dissatisfaction by other party
lead to disputes.
Therefore, it is found important to assess the critical cause and effects of delay on projects’
successful completion and healthy relationship among the stakeholders.
The research work will address the following research questions
1. What are the real causes of project delays in the Higher Educational Building Construction
Projects?
2. How do construction project delay related to the project’s successful completion?
3. What is the stakeholders’ response for the effect of construction delays over successful
completion?
4. How does construction delays influence projects’ performance criteria and successful
completion?

So, this thesis will examine delay factors in an integrated manner and to determine how critical
delay causes are most influential in project performance. This will provide owners, Consultants and
construction organizations involved in construction projects with the foundation on which such
strategies – on how to avoid delays - can be developed in the future.
This thesis focuses on Higher Educational Building Construction Projects in Addis Ababa, which
were assessed for delay causes and examines the corresponding effects identified and provide

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

recommendation based on the findings to improve project performance within the higher education
building projects as well as the general public construction projects.

Key words: Educational building construction projects, Construction Delays, Causes of Delay,
Effects of delay, Addis Ababa University

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

2. BACKGROUND
Construction delay defined as the time over run either beyond completion date specified in a
contract or beyond the date that parties agree upon for delivery of a project [1]. Delay in
construction involves during different stages of the construction process (Pre-Construction and
Construction phases). It can be caused by different parties in a contract and also be internal or
external. N. Hamzah et al., (2011) under his study on Factors Contributing to delay Project
Construction in Higher Learning Education, identified 22 factors of delay and out of which seven
of them categorized as critical factors for delay in his study.
Critical causes of delays classified:
 Insufficient capital
 Late progress payment
 Delay in work approval and Slow decision making
 Contractor’s management failure
 Scarce construction materials
 Design change, New instruction and additional works

Delay in Construction projects results:

 Delay in completion of the project (time overrun)
 Cost overrun due to failure to complete the project timely
 Delivery of inferior quality products (works)
 Rework and variation
 Dispute among stakeholders

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

3. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Delays in a construction project is counted as a common problem and became a cause for projects
to be completed with huge cost overrun (requiring higher budget than estimated), extended
completion time, the final deliverables are inferior in quality and contract termination.

In the recent time it was an accepted to have delays in construction projects completion time. For
the client, construction delay is a loss of revenue, lack of productivity, dependency on existing
facilities, etc. For the contractor, construction delay is the higher costs, longer work duration,
increased labor cost, higher material and equipment costs etc. Completion of construction projects
on specified time or time agreed by the parties indicates their efficiency. The delays in construction
projects happen because of various factors or causes. These causes lead to the delay in construction
completion, and this delay leads to negative effects on the construction project.
In Ethiopian construction projects, it is very rare that construction projects are completed on the
time specified or agreed upon. There are many higher educational building construction projects in
Addis Ababa, which suffered delay or in some cases suffered suspension or abandonment.

4. RESEARCH QUESTION
On the basis of the above stated facts, the following would be the research questions.
1. What are the real causes of project delays in the Higher Educational Building Construction
Projects?
2. How do construction project delay related to the project’s successful completion?
3. What is the stakeholders’ response for the effect of construction delays over successful
completion?
4. How does construction delays influence projects’ performance criteria and successful
completion?

5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
5.1. General objectives
The general objective of this study is to assess the major causes of delays on building projects in
the Ethiopian Construction Industry and its influence on the successful completion of the project.
The primary objective is to identify the principal factors responsible for delays in the Addis Ababa
Higher Educational Building Projects, their effect on the progress as well as timely delivery.

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

5.2. Specific Objectives

1. To explore construction project delays related to project successful completion.
2. To identify the delay factors that currently exist in the construction of higher educational
building projects by exposing the most common fundamental problems affecting project
delivery performance.
3. To briefly survey the construction project delays and their potential causes from different
stakeholder’s perspective.
4. To identify the success factors which are most influential in avoiding or preventing delay
factors.

6. LITERATURE REVIEW
6.1 Contract
Contract is a written agreement between or among two or more parties whereby each party promises
to do or not to do something and agrees to terms (conditions and Warranties) set out in the contract.
Conditions of Contract are terms in which parties in the contract are governed / administered with.
That is, it is an administrative law which is the legally binding part of the contract. These promises
and terms shall be enforceable by law and incorporates the rights, obligations and Remedial rights
of each contracting parties.
6.2 Project Planning and Scheduling
Project scheduling is a written or graphical representation of the Contractor’s plan for completing
a construction project that emphasizes the elements of time and sequence. However, construction
planning is a fundamental and challenging activity in the management and execution of construction
projects. Construction planning involves the choice of technology, the definition of work tasks, the
estimation of the required resources and durations for individual tasks, and the identification of any
inter-relationship among the different work tasks [1]
Construction project planning is a method of determining “What” is going to be done, “How” things
are going to be done, “Who” will be doing activities and “How Much” activities will cost. In this
sense planning does not cover scheduling, which addresses the “When” to do, but once planning is
completed scheduling can be done.

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6.3 Construction Project Delay

Construction delay defined as the time overrun either beyond the contract date or beyond the date
that the parties agreed upon for delivery of a project. This involves some cost consequences and
may cause adversarial construction relationship between parties involved [2].

6.4 Classification of Delay

Different researchers classified delay in different ways. The most common and comprehensive
classification of construction delays are: [3]
 Excusable and non-excusable delays
 Compensable and non-compensable delays
 Concurrent delays
6.5 Significant Factors that Cause Delay
In a study of the significant factors that cause delay of construction projects, Alaghbari, Kadir,
Salim and Ernawati (2007) classified the factors into four major factors, namely, contractor factor,
consultant factor, client factors and external factors.

6.6 Effects of Delay in Construction Projects

The timely completion of a construction project is seen as a major criterion of project success.
While on the contrary, the inability of a project to be completed in accordance with the proposed
time schedule maybe as a result of delay.
Unmet responsibility by either party or failure to manage contractual matters in a standard way
hampers the project successful progress and completion.
The most common effects of delay in a project are:
1. Delay in completion of the project and extension of time (delay damages)
2. Project cost overrun due to failure to complete the project timely
3. Delivery of inferior quality products (works)
4. Dispute among stakeholders and adverse relationship
5. Termination and abandonment of projects
6. Liquidated damage for delays in construction projects

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7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
7.1 Study design
The methodology considered and adopted for this research work focus on literature review
and, structured questionnaire survey was designed and employed to assess the knowledge
and practice on the cause and effects of delays in the construction projects. It also uses a
mixed research method (both quantitative and qualitative methods) in the data collection
process. The quantifiable responses will be analyzed through a quantitative method as the
name implies. The qualitative data gives more emphasis to the non-quantifiable responses
and it is chosen due to its flexible nature. In recent time, the responses gathered through
questionnaires are becoming less reliable as the respondents did not give due attention to
the outcomes, it is essential to strengthen through interviews and face to face discussions.
Therefore, the qualitative method used to support the quantitative data that was collected in
the research. Finally, based on the obtained data and results of the analysis, conclusions and
recommendations are provided.

7.2 Study area

The study area of this research will be Addis Ababa. It is selected because the research title indicates
the focus area of this research is higher education building construction projects located in the
metropolis.

7.3 Target Participants

In this study determined numbers of volunteer participants are expected to be included. As this
study is intended to get in-depth information about the knowledge and practice of construction
contract administration, it is good to have enough sample size. The participants that are going to be
included in this research will be selected based on the following inclusion criteria’s.
 The participant must be registered GC or BC of Grade 3 or above, Consultants and project
Owners.
 Individual participants must be professional engineers/architects and to be willing to
participate in the research
 It is preferable that the participants should be those involved in the construction of Higher
Educational Building projects

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

 The participant should have experience in contract management at any public building
construction project

7.4 Data collection method

The required data will be collected by using a well prepared and pretested questionnaire. Data
gathering from large sample size participants is time consuming and require high budget. To
overcome such challenges, I prefer to collect the required information by using questionnaire. The
items that would be included in the questionnaire are developed by the researcher, collected from
different resources and modified for the sake of this research. The reason for selecting a
questionnaire method for my research is because of different reasons. It has a merit of giving
adequate time for informants to respond, not easily approached respondents can be reached
conveniently, large sample members can be addressed, and economically cheap.
In addition, a one-to-one interview will be conducted with selected individuals representing
Construction firms, Consultants, Clients, Individual professionals and subcontractors who involved
in the construction of Higher Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa. Similarly to the survey
questionnaire, interview questions will be prepared and developed by the researcher. Meanwhile,
the researcher will review contractual matters to verify participants’ responses.

7.5 Method of data analysis

During the data collection period, I will make the preparation, clearing, and checking for
completeness of the collected data through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The collected
data by using in-depth interview will be first transcribed in to a written form. After the transcription
and editing process, the participants’ responses will be arranged and organized based on their
similarities. And then, the researcher will make the content analysis process mainly by considering
the research questions.
Finally, the findings will be summarized and presented by using different diagrammatical tools plus
supported with further descriptions.
In addition, analysis for case study will be conducted for selected higher educational building
projects those seriously hampered and affected by project delay. This will help the researcher to
show the critical causes and effects of delay in the Ethiopian context.

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8. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Project planning and scheduling is a basis for smooth execution and successful completion of the
project. Proper planning, execution and monitoring will save the life of the project and reduces the
risks associated with delay, cost overrun and quality issues. Failure to manage delay causes and
their factors accordingly hamper the project completion and the stakeholders’ relationship. So, this
research will give good picture about the causes and effects of project delays.
Second, in most cases, public construction project are vulnerable for cost overrun, delay to complete
as scheduled, inferior quality products and disputes caused by unmet responsibilities by either party.
All these and other unstated conditions are aggravated by poor time management and improper
planning besides from other causes. So, this research will contribute to fill the gap in the
construction practice.
Third, based on the output of this study, the researcher will provide practical mitigation strategy in
controlling delays in the higher educational building project and helps all contracting parties to
consider its effects during design stage. Therefore, this research will contribute to fill the gap related
to project delays in the industry.

Finally, this research will contribute in the field of construction management. It will add more
information on the most frequent and critical causes of delay and to tackle the problems as early as
possible.

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9. Time Table
Activities Time in Days Day No.
Planning and Proposal writing 5 1-5
Getting approval 2 7
Literature Review Always 1-40
Preparation of questionnaires and distribution 5-15 20
Data collection 7-10 31
Data Analysis 5 36
Writing the first draft of the report 5 40
Writing the final draft of the research document and
submission 7 45

10. Budget
Items/Activities Amount in Birr
Advisor consultation 10,000
Secretarial Work 3,000
Stationeries, photocopy and duplication 1,500
Expense for Participants 2,000
Telephone Expense 1,500
Internet Expense 500
Transportation 1,500
Other expenses 500
Total 20,500

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

REFERENCE

[1] K K Chitkara, (2003). Construction Project Management. Planning, Scheduling and

Monitoring
[2] Assaf S. A. & Al-Hejji S. (2006). Causes of delay in large construction project. International
J Project Management. 24 (4): 349-57.
[3] Trauner, T. J., W. A. Manginelli, J. S. Lowe, M. F. Nagata and B. J. Furniss (2009)
Construction Delays: Understanding Them Clearly, Analyzing Them Correctly, Elsevier Inc
USA.
[2] N. Hamzah et al., (2011). Factors Contribute to Delay Project Construction in Higher Learning
Education Case Study, Research journal of Engineering and Technology. 5(11). 3112-3116
[3] Mengesha Wubishet Jekale. (2004). Performance for Public Construction Projects in
Developing Countries: Federal road and Educational Building Projects in Ethiopia
Norwegian University of Science and Technology: Doctoral Thesis 2004; 45-47
[5] Robel Assefa (2015), Schedule Delay Identification and Assessment On Addis Ababa’s Light
Rail Transit Construction, Addis Ababa institute of Technology Master of Science Thesis
[6] Kothari, C., (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd revised edit. New
age international limited, New Delhi.

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Appendix B

Questionnaire Survey

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Questionnaire

“Cause and Effects of Delay on Addis Ababa University Educational

Building Projects”

To the respondents,

This survey is part of academic research that aim to assess the major causes of delays on building
projects in the Ethiopian Construction Industry and its influence on the successful completion of
the project. The primary objective is to identify the principal factors responsible for delays in the
Addis Ababa Higher Educational Building Projects, their effect on the progress as well as timely
delivery.

With this survey, I would like to investigate the critical delay factors that currently exist in the
construction of higher educational building projects in order to improve the building construction
delivery process. In the long term, this research could help the contracting parties to complete
projects on time, within budget and highest quality. All the information you provide will kept in
strict confidentiality and it will be only used for academic research. Please answer each questions
carefully. There is no right or wrong answer. If you are unsure of an answer, please respond with
your best estimate. I value your participation and thank you for the commitment of time, energy
and effort. If you have any further questions, I can be reached at the address below.

Sincerely,

Shewaferahu Tilahun
Post Graduate Candidate, Construction Technology and Management
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT)
Addis Ababa University
Tel.: +251 911 219 129
Email: [email protected]

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Part 1: Information and Experience

1) Name: (Optional)

2) Company Name

3) Email:

4) Which organization do you represent?

Client [Owner]

Consultant

Contractor

Others

5) Respondent Designation in the Company

Owner Project Manager Site Engineer

Resident Engineer Site Supervisor Others

6) Years of Work Experience (General)

0 to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11 to 15 years

16 to 20 years Above 20 years

7) Years of Work Experience (building Construction projects)

0 to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11 to 15 years

16 to 20 years Above 20 years

8) Project Size

1 to 100 Million 101 to 200 Million 201 to 300 Million

301 to 400 Million 401 to 500 Million Above 500 Million

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Delay Causes 1 2 3 4 5
Inadequate experience of Consultant
Poor Communication and coordination
Mistakes and discrepancies in design
documents
Consultant Related Poor contract management
Frequent chang and varaion orders
Inaccurate site investigation
Unclear and inadequate details in drawings
Slow response and inspection
Shortage of construction materials
Delay in material delivery
Change in material type during construction
Material Related Late procurement of materials
Rise in material prices
Quality of material
Inadequate material
Shortage of equipment
Equipment breakdown
Low level of operator's skill
Equipment Related
Low productivity and efficiency of
equipment
Shortage of equipment parts
Shortage of labors
Personal conflict among labors
Low labor productivity
Labor Related
Non attendance
Labor injuries
Labor strikes
Delay in obtaining permit
Rise in price of materials
Weather Condition
Natural Disasters
External Factors Regulatory changes
Unforeseen site conditions
Delay in providing services from utilities
(such as water, electricity, etc)
Government Policies

If you have comments regarding the causes of delay and/or their importance, please specify here:

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 Thesis on Causes and Effects of Delay on Educational Building Projects in Addis Ababa University

Part 3: Effects of Delay in Construction projects

Please rank effects of delay below in what you consider to be the most influential effect of delay.
The five point scale ranged from 1 to 5.
1= Strongly Disagree
2= Disagree
3= Slightly Disagree
4= Agree
5= Strongly Agree
Importance and Ranking of Delay
3.1) Effects

1 2 3 4 5
Sl. Str.
Effects S. Disagree Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
Time Overrun
Cost Overrun
Wastage and underutilization
of manpower and resources
Tying down of Client's capital
due to non-completion of the
project
Abandonment of building
project
Dispute between parties
involved
Reduced profit or total loss
Arbitration
Litigation and court case

3.2) If you have comments regarding delay effects, please specify here:

3.3) What is your general comment regarding causes of delays and their effect on the building
construction project:

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