Perera, B A K S; Sirimewan, D C and Senadeera, A D (2021) Management of variations in the public-sector building construction projects in Sri Lanka. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 19(6), pp. 1601-1619. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Many public-sector building projects in developing countries are prone to variations owing to the changes made to their original project scopes, and economic depressions and stagnations. Cost and time-overruns are consequences of such variations. Thus, variation management in these projects is important. Hence, this paper aims to analyse the methods of managing variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka. The study adopted a mixed research approach. Seventeen expert interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the causes and consequences of the variations, and the strategies that will help manage those variations. Manual content analysis and mean weighted rankings (MWR) were used to analyse the collected quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The employer, consultant, contractor and several other factors are mostly responsible for the variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka. Cost and time-overruns, rework and demolition and disputes are the major consequences of such variations. The study findings reveal that a detailed employer's brief, clearly defined project objectives, a comprehensive design and set of specifications, and preliminary investigations are the strategies that will mostly minimise the variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka. The study proposes strategies to avoid or minimise the adverse impact of variations, which the industry practitioners can adopt for variation management in public-sector building projects. The study theoretically contributes to knowledge by revealing how variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka can be managed by identifying their causes and consequences.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | developing countries; disputes; specifications; variations; consultant; contractor; employer; interview; questionnaire survey; content analysis; Sri Lanka |
| Index terms: | strategy, content analysis, rework, building construction, overrun, survey, interview, developing country, specification, variation, questionnaire, practitioner, dispute, depression, project scope, investigation, Sri Lanka |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, scope management, dispute resolution, practitioner, operations management, data analysis and analytics, management, Geography, contractual condition, development economics, project controls, health conditions and diseases, building construction |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Legal Issues, International Construction, Time Control, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here