MSc Project: Client Causes of Variation in UAE Construction Projects

This dissertation investigates the client-related causes of variation in construction projects within the United Arab Emirates. The research examines the impact of client involvement, financial decisions, and approval methods on project outcomes. Through a literature review, the study identifies key variables influencing project variations, such as changes in project scope, client finance, and stakeholder intentions. The methodology includes both primary and secondary research, employing techniques like questionnaires to gather data. The findings highlight eleven independent variables significantly affecting project variation. The analysis explores the implications of these factors on project timelines, budgets, and overall success, offering recommendations for mitigating the negative impacts of client-related issues. The study contributes to the understanding of project management in the UAE's construction sector.

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 Form
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
The current research paper was to set to investigate client causes of variation in the
construction projects in United Arab Emirates. The past literatures were studied and a brief
primary research was conducted. The study led to the finding of eleven independent variables
that are more likely to impact the dependent variable, project variation. As the goal of the
project was to identify the client causes of variation, therefore, all the eleven causes are
deeply related to the client in some way or the other. The study led to the understanding that
involvement of the client with the project, either more than required or lesser, leads to the
project variation.
Keywords:
Project Variation, Cross Tabulation, Client Causes
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Abbreviations
None
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement......................................................................................................................1
Abstract......................................................................................................................................2
Abbreviations.............................................................................................................................3
Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................7
1.1 Background: The United Arab Emirates.....................................................................7
1.3 Research Background.......................................................................................................8
1.4 Research Problem...........................................................................................................10
1.5 Research Aim.................................................................................................................11
1.6 Research Objectives.......................................................................................................11
1.7 Research Scope..............................................................................................................12
1.8 Research Questions........................................................................................................13
1.9 Dissertation Overview or Structure................................................................................14
1.10 Summary......................................................................................................................15
Chapter 2: Literature Review...................................................................................................16
2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................16
2.1.1 Understanding Project Variation.............................................................................16
2.1.2 Project Variation Types...........................................................................................17
2.2 Causes of Project Variation............................................................................................17
2.2.1 Project Activity Change and Variation...................................................................17
2.2.2 Client’s Finance and Variation................................................................................18
2.2.3 Consultants’ Actions and Variations.......................................................................19
2.2.4 Project Planning and Variation...............................................................................19
2.2.5 Project Contractor and Variation............................................................................20
2.2.6 Stakeholder Intention and Variation.......................................................................21
2.2.7 Project Complexity and Variation...........................................................................22
2.2.8 Project Size and Variation.......................................................................................23
2.2.9 Employee Inclusion and Variation..........................................................................23
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2.2.10 Method of Client Approval and Variation............................................................24
2.2.11 Methods for Procurement and Variation...............................................................24
2.2.12 Client Satisfaction and Project Variation..............................................................25
2.3 Variation Impact.............................................................................................................26
2.3.1 Variation Impacting Final Output...........................................................................27
2.3.2 Project Variation Impacting Employee Safety........................................................28
2.4 Conceptual Framework..................................................................................................28
Chapter 3: Research Methodology...........................................................................................31
Primary and Secondary Research.........................................................................................31
Research Design...................................................................................................................32
Saunder’s Research Onion...................................................................................................32
Philosophical Stances.......................................................................................................33
Approaches.......................................................................................................................34
Strategies..........................................................................................................................35
Choices.............................................................................................................................36
Time Horizons..................................................................................................................37
Techniques and Procedures..............................................................................................37
Pilot Study............................................................................................................................39
Ethical and Moral Considerations........................................................................................39
Chapter 4: Results....................................................................................................................40
Chapter 5: Research Discussion and Analysis.........................................................................47
Chapter 6: Recommendation and Conclusion..........................................................................48
6.1 Recommendations..........................................................................................................48
6.2 Conclusions....................................................................................................................49
References................................................................................................................................52
Appendix..................................................................................................................................56
Research Questionnaire........................................................................................................56
Table of Figures
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Figure 1: Framework................................................................................................................28
Figure 2: Research Onion (Saunders et al, 2009)....................................................................32
Figure 3: Public or Private Sector............................................................................................39
Figure 4: Role Played...............................................................................................................40
Figure 5: Witnessed Variation.................................................................................................41
Figure 6: Project size and variation..........................................................................................41
Figure 7: Lack of Finance........................................................................................................43
Table of Tables
Table 1: Identified Causes from Literature Review.................................................................29
Table 2: Questionnaire Pilot Test.............................................................................................38
Table 3: Chisquare...................................................................................................................42
Table 4......................................................................................................................................43
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Chapter 1: Introduction
The aim of this dissertation 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 (De Meyer et al, 2002).
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 investigates the variations in the project in the United Arab Emirates using
the various research techniques discussed in the research methodology section.
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.
1.1 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 mentioned 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.
UAE has been selected as the country of investigation as the researcher is willing to keep the
premise of investigation limited to certain region. Moreover, UAE has been the hub of
numerous construction projects and researches which will give ample opportunity to conduct
the investigation. In addition to this, the resources available to the researcher limit the
extension of the research to the external locations as the focus is to conduct primary research
also. The current research topic is interesting as it is likely to support the various stakeholders
in the construction industry in understanding the causes of the variation and take appropriate
measures to handle those causes.
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.
1.3 Research Background
The existence of variations among the construction project activities is inevitable as there are
many external and internal factors in play which impact the project progress (De Meyer et al,
2002). 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 client, the individual who has monetary investment in
the project; the consultant, these are the individuals or entities who acts as bridge between the
client 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 and the time that was actually invested to complete that task. In any form of civil
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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 clients (Halwatura and Ranasinghe, 2013). 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.
Many infrastructural developments have been done in the country (Ponzini, 2011). Moreover,
not only the government, but the private entities have largely invested in 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
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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 which will be discussed in the literature review section.
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
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.
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