2.3 Causes of Delay
There are general agreement that delays in the construction industry are linked to high levels of fragmentation (Alashwal and Fong 2015), disjointed project delivery with low levels of collaboration (Fulford and Standing 2014) and the use of competitive procurement and reliance on sub-contracting (Hartmann and Caerteling 2010). Olawale and Sun (2015) agree, adding that design changes during the construction process can lead to delays, with Naoum (2016) maintaining that factors such as ineffective project management, a lack of leadership and the method of procurement can lead to delays. Myers (2016) implies that the industry has evolved into a fragmented sector due to the use of project-based work loads and the cyclical nature of these workloads.
It is argued that the result of these issues is that projects are typically delivered late and over-budget, which has a negative impact on the relationship with clients, profitability and the reputation of the industry (Arashpour and Arashpour 2015; Larsen et al., 2015). Furthermore it is submitted that this also affects the value-added by the industry to clients and to society (HM Government 2013; Egan 1998).
3 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this research is to explore the causes and effects of delays in construction projects in the UK. The objectives of the study are to
Consider the extent of delay as a problem in the construction industry
Explore the underling factors for delay from the main contractor perspective
Assess the impact of these delays in terms of time, cost and quality
Determine the tools/processes that could be used to reduce delays
Ascertain the barriers to implementing these tools/processes.
4 Methodology
This research seeks to add to the discourse on delays in the construction industry with a target audience of academic research and with the intention of providing construction professionals active in the industry with an insight into this problem. It is therefore important that the research is carried out in a logical, defensible and transparent manner (Fellows and Liu 2015). As such this research will be conducted in stages, starting with confirmation of the research approach and strategy, followed by the data collection and analysis methods (Bryman and Bell 2011). It is confirmed that this research is underpinned by quantitative reasoning as this is consistent with the researcher’s scientific and technical background (Farrell 2011).
4.1 Research Approach and Strategy
This dissertation focuses on delays in the construction industry, asking a specific question, namely
“What are the key causes of delay in construction projects and what are the main impacts of these delays?”
It is evident therefore that the research is a deductive rather than in inductive study (Biggam 2015).
Based on the outline review of literature in the previous section, it is submitted that this question can be divided into a series of linked sub-questions to guide the selection of the optimal strategy for this study. These include
Why does fragmentation affect the efficiency of project completion?
Is there a link between the method of procurement and delays?
What role does the project manager/project management play in delays?
Is delay influenced by the design team and /or client decisions?
What measures are typically used to plan the project programme?
There are a range of research strategies which could be used to answer these questions including case study research which Naoum (2012) argues provides a flexible approach to research, enabling the researcher to consider the p
