Identification of Critical Delay Factors in Execution of Construction Projects in India

The Indian construction industry plays a imperative role in the national economy. In the recent past quite a lot of ambitious projects have been undertaken by central as well as the state governments. It is highly unfortunate that most of the proposed infrastructure projects are plagued by severe time overruns which have a propensity to escalate the costs involved and make the efforts futile. Any construction project can be divided into three main phases, i.e. project conception, project design and project construction or execution phase. It is observed that mainly the project delays occur during the construction or execution period, where many unforeseen factors are continually drawn in. This study therefore aims to recognize the critical factors responsible for schedule delays in construction projects in India. A questionnaire consisting of ten critical factors was formed and distributed to professionals engaged in construction projects across India. A total of eighty five respondents consisting 33 clients, 10 consultants and 42 contractors took part in the survey. The Mean Score was calculated for each of the factor considering various groups of respondents and subsequently ranking of the factors was carried out. Lack of human resources- skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled, poor site management and lack of coordination and control emerged as the top three factors.