![]() Unfortunately many construction projects are completed late. Invariably this negatively impacts the contractor’s reputation and costs both the contractor and their customer money. Often the contractor has to pay penalties for finishing late and they incur additional costs to remain longer on the project. The customer receives access to their facility late and usually faces additional costs for supervising the project for a longer period. A well prepared schedule which is regularly updated allows us to detect early when a project is running late. When we fall behind, the normal course of action is for the contractor to place more resources on the project or work extended hours in the hope of catching the lost time up. Unfortunately this doesn’t always help as the true cause of the slippage hasn’t been uncovered. In fact adding more people or resources to the project may even add to congestion making the problem worse – especially if they aren’t the right resources. Usually the longer the problem persists the worse the schedule slippage becomes and the less time remains to catch-up the lost time. When schedule slippage is detected it’s important to uncover the real reasons and then take action to rectify the problems. Sometimes the cause may be a minor bottleneck which could be fixed with small adjustments to the running of the project. Reasons for construction projects falling behind schedule There are many reasons for a project finishing late. In this article I’ll only focus on reasons caused by the contractor. These include:
Conclusion We will all at some stage fall behind schedule on our projects. It’s important we detect this slippage early. Then, don’t take the obvious choice and add more people to the project, but rather analyse the reasons for the slippage and then take the necessary action to rectify these issues. Spend some time in the field and watch what the team is doing. Where are the bottlenecks? How could we do things better? Make sure your team understands the key dates on their section of work and how it impacts the project as a whole. Of course, construction projects aren’t only finished late because of the contractor’s failings, it’s often caused by the customer or their team. My next article will deal with how customers can cause projects to finish late. It’s important to consider and address all the causes for a project running late so you can ensure slippage is caught up and the project is completed on time. To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below: 'Successful Construction Project Management: The Practical Guide' 'Building a Successful Construction Company: The Practical Guide' 'Construction Book reviews' To read more about the author visit the page 'Paul Netscher' Want to contact Paul Netscher please enter your details on 'Contacts' Find out how Paul Netscher can help you Order your books from Amazon Order your books from Amazon UK © 2016 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author. construction management construction project management
17 Comments
Brian Avallons
3/3/2016 08:03:43 pm
Great post! I do, however, think that you left out one critical element to why projects are completed late and it can be an element of at least 5 of your top 10.
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SUDIPTA SAHA RAY
8/3/2016 03:31:48 pm
Well explained
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Paul
8/3/2016 08:24:39 pm
Thank you for your comments.
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kathy
9/3/2016 01:04:52 am
I agree
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Stephen
9/3/2016 04:13:11 am
I like the general list of problems that can create scheduling failures but I've run into another that can cause serious delays in the completion of a project. The structural relationship between a subcontractor and the developer must be organized in such a way as to reduce delays in administrative processes. In a recent project where I was the lead QA/QC manager. I ran into a situation that created extensive delays in the continuation of work through requirements by the developer for time to analyze work completed at each step of an Inspection Test Plan. While a certain amount of time is required to confirm the submissions of QA/QC staff this lost time can seriously affect the time required to complete the project and can negatively affect the profitability of the subcontractor. This is totally significant if there are numerous hold points in a project and the developer is slow at signing off at each point. When we initially started the project the developer sent us a note requiring a full day to inspect our work at each hold point. As there were in excess of 20 hold points time lost would have amounted to almost three weeks with our numerous employees unable to work and yet costing us money. Thankfully I was able to renegotiate and reduce this inspection process to hours and the project went as smoothly as could be hoped. In future work I recommended to our company that the developers inspection process follow ours and time required to sign off be capped.
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Paul
9/3/2016 01:39:58 pm
Hi Stephen thanks for your comments. My next article will deal with client related delays and one of the points is about what you mention. If these extra hold points and inspection delays could not have been foreseen at time of tender then this should be reason for a variation claim and extension of time.
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12/3/2016 06:06:42 am
Enjoyed reading those points a good management team would help.
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Pfarelo
12/3/2016 03:33:25 pm
Agree
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Don
20/3/2016 12:22:24 am
Paul
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Paul
20/3/2016 11:25:59 am
Thanks Don. Unfortunately many projects suffer from the same problems.
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22/3/2016 05:19:27 pm
Excellent article- simple and lucid!
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Paul
23/3/2016 09:23:36 am
Hello Shyamal, thank you for your kind comments.
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Hafiz
23/3/2016 09:11:31 pm
Good article and well explained.
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Paul
25/3/2016 03:34:36 pm
Thank you Hafiz for your comments. It's essential project staff have the support from senior management. This could include helping to source additional resources. Often senior management visiting the project means a new set of eyes may see bottlenecks that the project team has missed. The visits should be supportive and not focused on allocating blame.
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2/11/2016 12:46:45 am
Is there any reliable public data that shows how late residential construction projects typically are?
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Paul
2/11/2016 10:26:00 am
Hello Steve, I haven't seen specific statistics regarding how late residential projects are. It would be interesting to see them. I suspect some could provide horrifying reading. Then of course we have projects handed over and yet the contractor's workers are still finishing off the project long afterwards.
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21/12/2020 10:04:16 am
You made a good point when you shared that it is wise to get new cranes as it will ensure an increase in productivity without causing any problems that will only reduce the efficiency of the work. Besides, it will help to make sure that the construction can be done within the required timeframe. I would like to think if a company is going to work on a construction project, it should consider getting new cranes from a reliable supplier.
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