Literature Review: Analyzing Delay and its Effects on Construction

This literature review analyzes delay in construction projects, examining its causes, effects, and potential mitigation strategies. It defines delay analysis as a forensic tool for assessing the root causes of project delays and forecasting their impact on completion. The review identifies factors contributing to delays, including budget inaccuracies, labor challenges, and communication breakdowns. It also explores the effects of delays, such as total abandonment, time overruns, cost overruns, and litigation. The review recommends approaches to minimize delays, such as setting realistic goals, holding regular team meetings, and gathering the right resources. The study concludes that effective delay analysis and proactive mitigation strategies are crucial for successful construction project management, and Desklib offers additional resources for students.

Literature Review
(Delay analysis and its effects in
construction industry)

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Main Body...................................................................................................................................................3
Concept of delay analysis in construction industry and method of delay analysis...................................3
Factors causing delay in the projects of the construction industry...........................................................4
Recommend the suitable delay analysis approaches to minimize the delay in projects and its effect on
the construction sector.............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
Literature review is about analyzing the available information that has already been
collected by authors, publishers and more which tend to develop detailed knowledge &
understanding regarding the selected topic. Further, it is useful in terms of making critical
analysis of the topic so that the overall study can be complete in an efficient manner. Basically, it
covers second-hand information that has already been collected by different authors, publishers
and more in order to conduct the project in a systematic manner. To complete literature review,
information is gathered from various sources like books, publications, websites, articles and
more which further lead the investigator towards developing valuable knowledge in order to
reach at meaningful conclusion significantly (Lambora, Gupta & Chopra, 2019). In present
context, the study is based on analysis of delay in execution and completion phase of the projects
within construction industry. For this purpose, information has been covered from different
sources that will guide investigator in effectively completion of project work.
Main Body
Concept of delay analysis in construction industry and method of delay analysis
According to Paray & Kuman (2020), delay is the truth of construction industry which
could lead towards disputes regarding setting responsibility of individuals of delay. It has
developed need to delay analysis to assess the main cause of delay based on the facts of project.
Delay analysis is also known as forensic analysis which is useful in terms of assessing the actual
delay on project and further forecast the impact of such delay on project completion. Further, it is
used to analyze the reason of delay or evaluating expected impacts of the respective events. The
main reason of delay analysis is to identify reason of such delay. In this regard, there are
numerous techniques/ methods of delay analysis that can be used by project managers are
mentioned below:
As-planned vs. As built: It is considered as one of the basic or simplest method of
analysis where no changes are made within the program. It is based on observation which
provides straightforward comparison between actual and planned performance of work

significantly (Hussain, & et. al., 2019). This method can be performed with rudimentary based
data in an efficient manner.
As Built But For (Collapsed As-Built): This is a retrospective method that is also
named as collapsed as-built (CAB). There is dependence on reconstruction of the as-built
program. After-the-event analysis in forensic work, it is normally restricted (Umer, & et. al.,
2018). In addition to this, the respective method has a limited prospective ability which is helpful
in resolution of disputes.
Windows Analysis: This method is also known as time slice wherein construction period is
braked into discrete time increments and also analyzes the impact of delay attributable to each
project participants. The respective method is suitable in terms of gaining reliable, accurate
results in significant manner. Ashworth, A., & Perera, S. (2018),
Factors causing delay in the projects of the construction industry
According to Sedky, (2017), delay in the project caused great frustration and might also
incur huge cost while a project is postponed. Here, delays can be happened from numerous
reasons such as equipment failures, labor shortages, weather, missing or incorrect data and so on.
In current context, the major reasons of project delay are mentioned underneath:
Budget Inaccuracies: Wrong estimations for a construction work might create massive
impacts. Sometimes, projects are kept closed for weeks, months or even years. With the help of
accurate estimation, it is possible to ensure that there is enough money for wages, materials and
so on. Here, financial projects and planning makes the project effective (Ashworth, & Perera.
2018). In addition, after completion of estimation, contractors only need a suitable way to get the
project within their construction management platforms to start the work.
Labor Challenges: One of the other major challenge for delay in construction is labor.
Past recession left mark on the industry as skilled worker were fired during the downturn within
the industry. Additionally, younger generations were less likely to demonstrate inclination
towards construction careers (Famiyeh, & et. al., 2017). In the present era, technology is
changing by aligning with HR and labor management workflows across construction
organizations.
Lacking good communication: To complete a project successfully, there is requirement
to maintain proper communication between project managers and other team members. If the
communication is poor, it is quite complex to complete the project in timely manner. Whether

the communication is with owner, client or filed officer, it is important to keep every person
updated with latest knowledge in terms of change orders, redesigns, data about job costs and so
on (Saieg & et. al., 2018). However, it is not easy to maintain effective communication as
managers and team members need to maintain proper coordination for this purpose.
Effect of delay analysis in construction project on the construction sector
Acoording to Ansah, & Sorooshian, (2017), it is analyzed that delay in the construction
projects puts a profound impact in terms of enhancing total abandonment, time overrun, cost
overrun and litigation. Here, the effect of delays in construction projects are mentioned as under:
Total abandonment: It is the phase where the project is stopped by as the contractor
does not have significant amount of time to complete the project. There are different causes of
constructions which are bifurcated in five categories which comprises government policies,
public delivery system, economic conditions, mismanagement & financial issues. It is analyzed
that poor costed projects are often abandoned along with such projects with no starting and
ending points.
Time Overrun: It is a major effect of construction delay. There are certain other factors
which are likely to contribute towards time overrun like contract management, site situation and
inadequate planning (Adam, Josephson, & Lindahl, 2017).
Cost Overrun: In case of construction projects, there are also challenges related to cost
overrun which is about increment in the overall cost. There is requirement to rework on cost
overrun. It is possible to correct the construction related mistakes by incurring high cost. Here,
15% of construction work is the cost which incur as construction overrun.
Litigation: One of the major impacts of construction delay is litigation. When arbitration
is not likely to work, the justice is granted through court system. In this regard, contractors and
consultants are responsible for litigation (Wang, & Kim, 2019). It is considered as one of the
most important & significant reason of construction delay.
Recommend the suitable delay analysis approaches to minimize the delay in projects and its
effect on the construction sector.
According to Dallasega, Rauch, & Linder, (2018), delay analysis is related to identity
suitable ways which caused delay in terms of completion of project. While undertaking a project,

ample of constraints are faxed by project managers and team members which might cause delay
in completion of project. Through above-information, it is identified that there are numerous
challenges are faced by project managers while completing a particular project work in terms of
cost overrun, time overrun, litigation and more. In order to deal with such challenges, there is
requirement to adopt certain suitable approaches which are mentioned as under:
Setting realistic goals: To avoid the delay in projects, it is imperative to set realistic
goals. It is a significant factor in terms of determining whether one will be able or not to
complete the project in timely manner. Rather setting ambitious goal to put a better impression
on clients, it is advisable to set realistic goals that can be easily attain by the project managers
with the help of other team members.
Hold a team meeting: It is analyzed that lack of communication also caused delay in
project work. Therefore, it is important to hold meetings in timely manner to exchange necessary
information with different stakeholders like employees, executives, clients and more. It is
required to spent some time in discussing the goals of project with an aim to maintain clarity
(Ma, Cai, & Cai, 2018).
Gather right resources: Gathering necessary amount of resources is important for
effective and timely completion of project work. In this regard, the project manager is required to
gather necessary amount of financial resources, labor, equipment’s and more as it will allow
them to attain pre-defined goals successfully.
Conclusion
After going through the above-mentioned information, it is found that delay analysis to
assess the main cause of delay based on the facts of project. Delay analysis is also known as
forensic analysis which is useful in terms of assessing the actual delay on project and further
forecast the impact of such delay on project completion. Delay in the project can occur due to
ample of reasons such as lack of labor, budget constraints and more. In the above-study, impact
of delay analysis has been identified in terms of litigation, cost overrun, time overrun and more.
It is monitored that there are numerous ways such as setting realistic goals, holding meetings and
more which might prove helpful to project manager in terms of dealing with the possible impact
of delay in construction management.

References
Books and journals
Adam, A., Josephson, P. E. B., & Lindahl, G. (2017). Aggregation of factors causing cost
overruns and time delays in large public construction projects: Trends and
implications. Engineering, construction and architectural management.
Ansah, R. H., & Sorooshian, S. (2017). Effect of lean tools to control external environment risks
of construction projects. Sustainable cities and society, 32, 348-356.
Ashworth, A., & Perera, S. (2018). Contractual procedures in the construction industry.
Routledge.
Dallasega, P., Rauch, E., & Linder, C. (2018). Industry 4.0 as an enabler of proximity for
construction supply chains: A systematic literature review. Computers in industry, 99,
205-225.
Famiyeh, & et. al., (2017). Major causes of construction time and cost overruns: A case of
selected educational sector projects in Ghana. Journal of Engineering, Design and
Technology.
Hussain, & et. al., (2019). Green, lean, six sigma barriers at a glance: a case from the
construction sector of Pakistan. Building and Environment, 161, 106225.
Lambora, A., Gupta, K., & Chopra, K. (2019, February). Genetic algorithm-A literature review.
In 2019 international conference on machine learning, big data, cloud and parallel
computing (COMITCon) (pp. 380-384). IEEE.
Ma, M., Cai, W., & Cai, W. (2018). Carbon abatement in China's commercial building sector: A
bottom-up measurement model based on Kaya-LMDI methods. Energy, 165, 350-368.
Saieg & et. al., (2018). Interactions of building information modeling, lean and sustainability on
the architectural, engineering and construction industry: a systematic review. Journal of
cleaner production, 174, 788-806.
Umer, & et. al., (2018). The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the construction
industry: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International archives of occupational
and environmental health, 91(2), 125-144.
Wang, Q., & Kim, M. K. (2019). Applications of 3D point cloud data in the construction
industry: A fifteen-year review from 2004 to 2018. Advanced Engineering
Informatics, 39, 306-319.
Online
Selecting the Best Delay Analysis Technique, (2017).[Online]. Available through :<
https://www.projectmanagement.com/contentPages/article.cfm?ID=365314&thisPageURL=/
articles/365314/Selecting-the-Best-Delay-Analysis-Technique/>

DELAY ANALYSIS IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, (2020). [Online]. Available through :<
https://www.irjet.net/archives/V7/i10/IRJET-V7I1079.pdf/>