MSc Project Management: Client Causes of Variation in UAE Construction

This dissertation investigates the client-related causes of variation in construction projects within the United Arab Emirates. The research explores the significant impact of client involvement on project outcomes, including delays, cost overruns, and overall project success. The study delves into the background of the UAE's construction industry, highlighting the importance of understanding variations due to the high volume of ongoing projects. It identifies the client as a crucial stakeholder and examines how their decisions, changes in requirements, and other inputs contribute to project variations. The dissertation reviews the research background, problem, aim, objectives, scope, and research questions to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic. The introductory chapter sets the stage by defining variations, outlining their causes, and emphasizing the need for effective project management to mitigate negative impacts. The work also includes a literature review and a detailed overview of the research methodology to identify key areas for improvement in the construction process.

Client causes of variation in construction projects in United
Arab Emirates
By
Student ID number:
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
MSc. Project Management
Faculty of Engineering & IT
Dissertation Supervisor:
July-2017

Declaration Release From
Student Name Student ID Programme
MSc. Construction
Management
Date
Jul 2017
Title:
Client causes of variation in construction projects in United Arab Emirates
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Acknowledgement
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Abstract
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keywords:
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Abbreviations
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement......................................................................................................................1
Abstract......................................................................................................................................2
Abbreviations.............................................................................................................................3
Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1: Introductory Chapter................................................................................................5
1.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................5
1.2 Background: The United Arab Emirates.....................................................................5
1.3 Research Background.......................................................................................................6
1.4 Research Problem.............................................................................................................8
1.5 Research Aim...................................................................................................................9
1.6 Research Objectives.........................................................................................................9
1.7 Research Scope..............................................................................................................10
1.8 Research Questions........................................................................................................11
1.9 Dissertation Overview....................................................................................................12
1.10 Summary......................................................................................................................12
Chapter 2: Literature Review...................................................................................................14
2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................24
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Research Background.............................................................................................................4
Research Problem...................................................................................................................5
Research Aim.........................................................................................................................7
Research Objectives...............................................................................................................8
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Research Scope......................................................................................................................9
Research Questions..............................................................................................................10
Summary..............................................................................................................................10
Literature Review.....................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................19
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Chapter 1: Introductory Chapter
1.1 Introduction
The aim of this research or dissertation research paper is to investigate client causes of
variation in the construction projects in United Arab Emirates. The understanding of this
aspect is important as it is directly associated with the failure or success of particular project.
The parties that are generally involved in the construction project are client, consultants, and
contractors. The variations in the construction projects occur due to various reasons and the
involvement of these three entities are considered as important (Abdul Rahman et al, 2012).
Variations are the deviations that occur within the projects from what has been agreed among
the stakeholders at the beginning of the project. The deviation from the actual planned project
can be of various forms such as removal of certain activity, reduction in the amount defined
for the budget, or any changes in what has been written in the contracts (Wang, 2000). Some
of the variations can be visible to the stakeholders, while others cannot be seen or assessed.
The current paper will investigate the variations in the project in the United Arab Emirates
using the various research techniques discussed in the research methodology section.
1.2 Background: The United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is the combination of seven states and is ruled by the Supreme
Council of Rulers. The seven states that are under the United Arab Emirates are Abu Dhabi,
Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Um al-Qaywayn , Fujayrah, and Ra’s al-Khayma. In the past
decades, the government has invested in various governments run construction projects. The
focus has been on improving the economic situation of the entire country by further bringing
them together with the help of infrastructural development.
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As briefed earlier, the variations can be signified by various forms of changes in the
construction projects. One of them can be changes in the schedule (Alzahrani and Emsley,
2013). Schedule refers to the overall duration that has been assigned for the completion of
project. The changes in the schedule can occur due to factors such as lack of resources, or the
sudden occurrence of any kind of risks (Aminbakhsh et al, 2013). It might be related to the
desire of some of the stakeholder to extend the deadline or stretch the duration without any
reason. In some cases, the variations occur when the parties vary on the requirements that
have been defined for the project. The requirements or the things that are to be achieved by
the end of the project are generally defined in the beginning of the project. However, due to
some changes in the mind of stakeholders or occurrence of any kind of situation leads to the
change in the requirements which eventually creates variations in the project.
The understanding of the client causes of variations in the construction projects in United
Arab Emirates will be at the core of this entire research paper. The next sub-section briefly
states the research background upon which the entire research study is based. The research
background is followed by the research problem that is likely to be resolved through the
conduction of this research. The research problem is followed by the research aim which
states where the entire research project is heading. The research objectives, after the research
aim discusses the aspects that will be touched while moving towards the achievement of the
research aim. The research scope will define the premise within which the research will be
conducted. The research scope is likely to help understand the limitations of this research
paper. The research questions discussed after the research scope will showcase the questions
that are to be answered by the end of this research project. This chapter has been summarized
in end under Summary section.
1.3 Research Background
The existence of variations among the construction project activities is inevitable, and any
effort to eliminate the variations is unlikely to be successful. The variations have impacted
almost all the associated individuals or entities with the construction projects. The individuals
or entities can be project owner, the individual who has monetary investment in the project;
the consultant, these are the individuals or entities who acts as bridge between the owner and
contractors; and the contractors, who are the individuals or entities who undertake the
construction project activities (Brockmann, 2012). The variations associated with the project
are defined as the difference between the time when the particular tasks has to be completed
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and the time that was actually invested to complete that task. In any form of civil or private
construction projects, it is expected in the beginning that the task will be completed within
the defined duration and allotted project budgets. However, this is not how things turnout
every time. The changes in the activities, resources, and other factors are always observed
(Guo and Shang, 2012). The projects that are of huge size, the changes can be observed easily
and their impacts are huge.
It is important that the variations in the construction projects are understood clearly to ensure
that the variations can be reduced or controlled, if not completely eliminated. The changes in
the construction projects occur due to various reasons. The variations in construction projects
have negative impact on the entire economy of the particular country along with the
individuals who are engaged in the construction projects such as consultants, contractors, and
the owners (Halwatura and Ranasinghe, 2013). The variation in the construction activities is
an issue. The occurrence of deviations, being a common phenomenon, is the indication that
the entire construction sector is being challenged with certain causes that are to be identified
and appropriately managed.
In general, the works that are started by the engineers or the contractors for the particular
client, if faces any kind of changes in the schedule, resources, or other aspects, then such
alteration results into the unnecessary extension of the entire project duration and the budget
that has been spent on the project. This is very demotivating for all the stakeholders (Hobbs
and Besner, 2016). If the government is investing in particular civil construction project
considering that the project will be completed in certain time period and within the defined
budget, and if it does not happen, then it is likely that the credibility of the government in the
eyes of the pubic falls down. This situation is not only with the government projects. If the
private construction projects are considered, then it can be stated if the projects fail to be
completed within the certain duration and within the defined budget, then it is likely that the
parties will never meet again to work on other similar projects due to the lack of credibility or
faith in one another (Hwang and Ng, 2013). Therefore, it can be stated from here that the
completion of construction projects within the defined duration and given budget is necessary
to ensure that the credibility is built and better projects are developed.
The United Arab Emirates has witnessed numerous construction projects in past few decades
as it is clearly visible the way entire country has developed its infrastructure (Kang and Kim,
2015). Moreover, not only the government, but the private entities have largely invested in
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the construction projects around the country. At present, there are hundreds of construction
projects that are on-going and there are many yet to come in existence. In such scenario, it is
important that the variations in construction projects are understood to ensure that the future
or existing projects progress successfully.
1.4 Research Problem
The variations in the construction projects are a major challenge for all the construction
activities that are being conducted in the United Arab Emirates. The construction projects
face challenge in appropriately managing the construction projects and leading the project
activities towards successful completion. The variations in the construction projects have
been considered as the challenge that is being faced by the stakeholders. There are various
studies that have been conducted with reference to the variations in the construction projects
(Lee et al, 2015; Lindhard, 2015; Muhammad et al, 2015). The projects have resulted into
poor quality output, completion of the projects far from their intended duration, and the
excess expenditure of money on the project which is generally beyond the recommendation
of any of the associated stakeholders. In the United Arab Emirates, some of the projects are
still on hold because the duration of the project passed beyond thinking and now require
unprecedented amount of investment which is not acceptable to any of the stakeholders.
One of the major reasons behind the increased investment in the construction projects from
the one estimated is the continuously changing economic situation of the country and the
world (Taroun, 2014). It has been identified that in some cases, the construction projects are
of such a huge duration that the prices of raw materials are witnessed to varying much during
that duration. These fluctuations generally increase the overall cost of investment in the
project from what has been intended. There are multiple studies undertaken to ensure that
causes of variations are understood. However, it can be observed that many of the researches
have been generic and provide limited core understanding of the issue. The lack of specificity
in the causes that are resulting in the research project variations is likely impacting the
decisions that are made the stakeholders that are associated with the construction project
management.
The client of any construction project is an integral part as it is the sole investor in the project
and for whom the other two major stakeholders – consultants and contractors – conduct the
various activities (Walker, 2007). Therefore, it becomes important that the requirements of
the clients are met while attempting to complete the construction project activities. It has
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been identified that the effective coordination among these individuals or entities are
important to ensure that the project completes successfully and within the planned resources.
However, it has been witnessed that the challenge in the project variation occurs when there
is some input from the client when the project is progressing. This creates major challenge in
completing the project within the stipulated time and defined budget. Therefore, it becomes
an important aspect to understand the client causes of variation in construction projects. As
the focus of the current research project is the United Arab Emirates, therefore it is likely that
the client of causes of variations will be understood from this country’s point of view.
The variation challenges can occur from any side or anywhere, either it can occur due to the
changes in the external environment which might be related to the economic, political,
environmental, societal, technological, or others, or it can be internal to the construction
project that is from the stakeholders (Walker, 2007; Wambeke et al, 2017). The focus of the
current research project is to understand the client causes of variations, therefore limited
focus will be given on the other associated factors that are likely to cause the variations. The
reason is that it is important to understand one important reason for the project variations
appropriately then generalizing the entire research project objectives that is less likely to
yield any fruitful output.
1.5 Research Aim
The aim of this research is to understand the client causes of variation in the construction
projects in the United Arab Emirates. Understanding the client causes of variation is
important to understand as it is likely to give insight into areas that are leading to the
variation in the construction projects. The client of any construction projects is an integral
part and understanding this aspect is likely to help reduce the magnitude of variations
occurring from this aspect. In general, the clients are found to be suggesting changes when
the construction projects have taken off or the construction projects are about to complete
(Yan and Chen, 2013). Such changes create issue for the other stakeholders such as the
contractors or the consultants. The issue is associated with the various aspects of the projects
such as required changes in the human resources, extension of the budgets, extension of
timeline, and other such aspects. Therefore, it has been considered to pursue this aim through
this research project.
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