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Abstract
Construction delays can be defined as the late completion of works compared to the planned schedule or contract schedule. Construction delays can be minimized only when their causes are identified. The objective of this study is to identify the major causes of construction delays in India; in particular the Manipal Town. This study is carried out based on literature review and a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed based on the forty two factors of delays under six distinct categories targeting the contractors, clients and consultants. The Likert's scale of five ordinal measures is used in this survey. The level of importance of each factor of delays is established by computing Relative Importance Indices (RII).The analysis is made using Microsoft Excel. The major cause of delay out of 42 causes is identified in the category of Owner Related Factors which is due to delay in payments having RII-0.812
Key Words: Construction delays, Questionnaire, Likert scale, Factor of delays, Relative importance indices
Introduction
Delay is generally acknowledged as the most common, costly, complex and risky problem encountered in construction projects. Because of the overriding importance of time for both the owner (in terms of performance) and the contractor (in terms of money), it is the source of frequent disputes and claims leading to lawsuits.
Delays caused by the client such as late submission of drawings and specifications, frequent change orders and incorrect site information generates claims from both the main contractors and subcontractors which many times entail lengthy code battles with huge financial repercussions. Delays caused by contractors can generally be attributed to poor managerial skills. Lack of planning and a poor understanding of accounting and financial principles have led to many a contactors downfall.
Delays can be minimised when their causes are identified. Identification of the factors that contributed to the causes of delays has been studied by numerous researchers in several countries. Delay is a situation when the contractor, consultant and client jointly or severally contributed to the non-completion of the project within the original or the stipulated or agree contract period.
Construction delays are for the most part costly and completing projects on time is beneficial to all the parties. Therefore, it is essential to identify the actual causes of delay...