Abstract

Construction delays are disruptive and expensive. This study assesses the causes of delays by focusing on actions and inactions of project participants and external factors. The study analyzed quantitative data from completed building projects to assess the extent of delays, and data obtained from a postal questionnaire survey of construction managers to assess the extent to which 44 identified factors contributed to overall delays on a typical project they have been involved with. The findings showed that the factors could be prioritized. However, Pareto analysis revealed that 88% of the factors (representing 39 highest priority factors) were responsible for 90% of the overall delays. This suggests that there is no discernable difference among the different delay factors and none really stands out as contributing to a large percentage of the problem. A one-sample t test further confirmed that most of the factors are important contributors to delays. The results suggest the interdependent nature of construction activities and roles of project participants. The overall ranking of the factors and ranking within each factor category provide useful information for construction industry practitioners, policy makers, and researchers when devising ways of combating delays. The results also indicate areas of construction industry practice that require improvement.