AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CAUSES OF SCHEDULE DELAY AND COST OVERRUN: THE CASE OF BAMACON ENGINEERING PLC

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the causes of schedule delay and cost overruns in BamaCon Engineering Plc which has faced a marvelous 143% schedule delay and 41% cost overrun. To address the two major issues of schedule delay and cost overrun, a case study research design was employed. The research used both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Both of them primary and secondary data were used to answer the research questions. Desk studies of twelve finished construction projects were assessed, and from the analysis it was found that 100% of the construction projects suffered by both time delays and cost overruns. The rate of time overrun ranges from a minimum of 7% to the maximum of 143% of the contract time and cost overrun ranges from a minimum of 2% to the maximum of 41% of the contract amount. A total of 133 questionnaires were distributed and 110 questionnaires were returned & collected which is overall response rate was 83% from BamaCon Engineering Plc office engineers, project managers and site engineers including client and consultant officers. A structured questionnaire in Likert scale was used in data collection system. The data obtained through questionnaire has been analyzed quantitatively using SPSS version 24. In further, the data obtained using interview has been analyzed qualitatively. The design is mixed approach. Thirty (30) project delay attributes were identified through detailed literature review. This research categorized the causes of delay under eight main groups of contractor related factors, client related factors, consultant related factor, other external related factor, project related factors, design related factor, material related factor, and labor & equipment related factors and then the data obtained were analyzed using the relative importance index(RII). Based on RII result, the findings of research are that the major causes of schedule delay causes include improper planning poor site management and supervision, incomplete drawing and detail design, poor contract management, unforeseen circumstances, mistakes, inconsistencies and ambiguities in specifications and drawings, shortage of construction materials required and low capability of the contractors’ specialized staff doled out to the project while the major causes of cost overrun are price escalation, quantity underestimation, design change, acceleration (speeding up), lack of quality, delayed caused by the owner and his/her specialist, poor cost management, additional work & rework, incomplete requirements and design. Finally, some recommendations have been delivered under this study on what actions should be taken to tackle the two major problems of schedule delay and cost overrun.