Wang, T K; Ford, D N; Chong, H Y and Zhang, W (2018) Causes of delays in the construction phase of Chinese building projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 25(11), pp. 1534-1551. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: Delays during construction are one of the common scenarios in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to identify the primary causes of delays in the construction phase of building construction projects in China. Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaire survey approach was adopted across the four typical cities in China, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen. In total, 115 sets of valid responded questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Findings: The results show that the causes of variations, delays in progress payments, exceptionally low bids and subcontractors' poor performance and communication issues were the most important causes of delays in China. Originality/value: This research is the first questionnaire survey on the causes of delays in the construction phase of building construction projects in China. The comparative analysis shows two unique causes of delays in the Chinese construction industry, such as “difficulty in claiming indemnity” and “unreasonable upfront capital demanded by client.” It also reveals different ranked causes of delays as per distinguished political and economic situations in China. The research findings can be referred by construction projects in other countries that are funded or partnered with China.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; project management; risk management; scheduling |
| Index terms: | Beijing, risk management, causes of delay, construction phase, construction industry, project management, construction project, variation, methodology, questionnaire, China, subcontractor, scheduling, Shanghai, building construction, indemnity, survey, comparative analysis |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, project delivery, operations research, practitioner, data collection methods, risk assessment, industry analysis, liability law, project controls, building construction, production management, Geography, contractual condition, project management theory and practice, research methods |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Contract Administration, Time Control, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Construction Technology, Roles and Professions, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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