VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2003
RETROSPECTIVE DELAY ANALYSIS IN CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS OF IRAQ
Mohammed T. Almusawi and Kadhim R. Erzaij
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Baghdad University, Iraq
E-Mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Construction projects are commonly acknowledged as successful when it is completed at the specific time, within
budget, and according to the specifications. The delay of projects has negative effects on the value of the contract because
it is related to the elements of the expensive resources which often lead to claims or arbitration. However, the projects that
investigated in this study included construction of ten hospitals with 400 beds in different cities of Iraq. A frequency,
severity and importance indexes were determined for 77 factors of delay divided into ten categorizations according to the
stages of the project, The results showed that the weakness of technical offers of companies nominated to assignment as a
result of adopting the principle of the lowest bid price in the government tendering and ineffective delay penalties by the
employer in addition to Poor planning and scheduling the project by the contractor were the major causes that delayed the
projects in the middle and southern Iraq.
Keywords: Iraqi construction project, delays, factors.
1. INTRODUCTION The construction industry is one of the largest
industries that generate money in the economy because it
represents a center for attracting financial and human
resources. The American Arbitration Association
(AAA2000) considered the construction industry is a
major user of its conflict avoidance and disputes solution
services. In Iraq, The construction sector has been greatly
affected by the wars and economic conditions that the
country has undergone for decades. In recent years, The
Iraqi government contributes to the development of the
construction sector in several ways by establishment of
strategic projects. One of these projects is the construction
of 10 hospitals with 400 beds which has a total cost of
1,500,000,000 USD in different cities of Iraq but the major
problem that hinders these projects is delayed. However,
the main objectives of this study is to identify the factors
which caused delay from the viewpoint the employers to
aid them in establishing adequate evaluation in the future
contracts by using quantitative data which determined in
this paper.
1.1 Previous studies
Many researchers defined the Construction delays
in different ways all agree that the delay is an increase the
project duration on the date agreed upon in the contract or
schedule (Stumpf 2000), (Assaf and Al-Hejji 2006). A lot
of articles and studies published to identifying and
analyzing the causes of delay in different countries. In
Saudi Arabia, Assaf and Al-Hejji (2006) conducted a
survey on time performance in large construction projects.
They identified Seventy-three causes of delay during the
study. change orders by the owner during construction was
the main cause for this research while Al-Khalil and Al-
Ghafly (1999), who studied the delay in the public water
and sewage projects, identified Sixty causes for delay,
Among the most significant causes that found are financial
difficulties by the contractor and cash flow problems,
difficulties in obtaining permits, and select the lowest
bidder without consideration the prequalification. Both the
researchers in Saudi Arabia used Frequent-severity scale
for ranking the causes of delay.
In Jordan, two studies were identified. Al
Momani (2000) presented a comprehensive study for 130
public projects, which included residential, office
buildings, medical centers, school buildings, and
communication facilities. The study showed that the main
delay causes related to: poor design, change orders,
weather conditions, the site conditions, late delivery, the
economic conditions, and increase in quantities. The
second study, conducted by Sweis et al (2008) who
identified and classified the causes of delays in residential
construction projects of Jordan which concluded that
delays can be caused by all parties involved in projects;
however, main causes came from financial difficulties
faced by the contractor, too many change orders by the
owner and poor planning and scheduling of the project by
the contractor.
Mezher and Taweel (1998) surveyed sixty-four
causes of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon
by using an important index scale. It was found that the
most important delay factors were financing and
scheduling of subcontractors, poor contractual
relationships, and design changes by owners. The
researcher recommended using innovative management
techniques and value engineering to be more effective and
efficient.
In Kuwait, Koushki et al. (2005) studied delays
and cost increases in private residential construction
projects. The three major factors contributing to time-
delays included change orders, financial constraints, and
owners’ lack of experience in construction works.
In turkey, eighty-three different delay factors
were identified and analyzed with the relative importance
index method by Murat G, et al (2013), the result of
analysis showed that inadequate contractor experience,
Ineffective project planning and scheduling and Poor site
management and supervision were the more effective
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2004
causes. Kazaz et al (2013) investigated Thirty-four factors
that causes delays in construction projects, According to
the results, “design changes” was found to be the most
predominant factor, followed by “delay of payments” and
“cash flow problems”.
Chan and Kumaraswamy (1997) examined the
relative importance of delay factors in Hong Kong. Five
major delay factors were identified: poor site management
and supervision, unforeseen site conditions, slow decision-
making involving all project parties. Alaghbari (2007)
reported the significant factors that causing delay in
building construction projects, financial problems were the
main factor and coordination problems are the second
most significant factor that delays the construction projects
in Malaysia.
1.2 Delays classification
Construction delays can be classified into many
categorizations, according to the liability of the
construction parties into excusable and non-excusable,
according to the occurrence into critical and non-critical,
they can be also classified according to the effects into
concurrent and non-concurrent delays.
Excusable delays can be categorized into
compensable and non-compensable. Excusable-
compensable delays are delays that beyond the control of
the contractor. Being the responsibility of the employer,
which, according to the contract documents, the contractor
is entitled to extend the time and recover the damages
associated with the delay, for a delay to be excusable-
compensable must be critical to the completion date
(Keane and Caletka 2008). Excusable-compensable delays
are usually due to omissions or acts of the employer or the
employer’s designer such as late notice to proceed in the
work, failure to provide proper financing, failure to
provide employer-furnished materials or components,
delays in reviewing or approval the drawings and delay in
approval the change orders.
Excusable, non-compensable delays also known
as “force majeure” delays. These delays are usually called
“acts of God” because they are not the responsibility or
fault of any specific party. Most contracts allow for the
contractor to obtain an additional time for excusable
delays, but not additional money (Alaghbari 2007).
Examples of excusable, non-compensable delays are
unusual delay in transportation, such as prohibition of
freight, unusual weather conditions and strikes.
Non-Excusable delays are the delay which caused
by the contractor’s actions and/or inactions, that prevent
the Contractor's claims from any extension of time or
compensation; the contractor may also be liable for
liquidated damages (Hafiz 2013) such as failure to submit
shop drawings and related materials to the employer for
approval according to the schedule.
The independent delays occur in isolation and do
not result from a previous delay. The independent delay
effect can usually be calculated on the total duration of the
project. These delays may cause a serial delay (Stumpf
2000).
The term “concurrent delays” is used to describe
two, or more, delays occurring at the same time, either of
which, if it occurs alone, would have affected the
completion date. Golanaraghi and Alkass (2012) defined
the Concurrent delays as two or more independent delays
which occur simultaneously or which overlap to some
extent causing a delay in the project. Concurrent delays
are the most challenging delays because of their
complicated nature. A party that needs to defend a claim
will find the importance of the concurrent delay as it may
be entitled to compensation claimed by the other party.
For others, which considered as concurrent delays, the
delays need not actually occur at the same time, so,
‘concurrent delays’ may occur in two cases: When there
are two, or more, independent delays during the same time
period. And during any part of performance the project
period, not necessarily at the same period time. Though
there is no universally accepted for the second definition
above, but some authorities in the UK and the US courts
corroborating with this concept when delay events arise at
different times but the impacts of them are felt at the same
time (Perera and Sutrisna 2013).
Delays which affecting in the Project completion,
or in some cases a milestone date, are known as critical
delays, the concept of "critical" delays arises from the
scheduling of the critical path method (CPM) (Trauner
2009) while delays that not affecting the completion of the
project or a milestone date are considered non-critical
delays.
2. CASE STUDY
Most constitutions refer to the human right to live
in a good environment that guarantees a healthy and happy
life. Through State, society guarantees this right by
providing individual health care by establishing different
kinds of health institutions such as hospitals, dispensaries
and treatment centers. In Iraq, until three decades ago, the
indicators of the health status in Iraq improved
substantially and health care services kept high standards.
During the year 1970, the number of beds allocated for
every 1000 people was close to the 2 beds. However, the
regime which ruled Iraq after that did not consider the
health care services to be a priority. The health system,
therefore, suffered from continued neglect and budgetary
allocations did not reflect population growth as well as
wars and economic conditions that the country has
undergone for decades, As a result, the health sector
witnessed progressive deterioration and health indicators
fell to levels comparable to some of the least developed
countries to reached 1.3 in 2003. After 2003, the country
faces enormous challenges; terrorism and political
conflicts which led to more neglect in health sector to
stabilize the number of beds at 1.2 during the year 2014
(word bank reports 1960-2012), (WHO report 2014).
In recent years, particularly after 2008, The Iraqi
government contributes to the development of the
construction sector in several ways by establishment of
strategic projects. One of these projects is construction of
ten hospitals with 400 beds which has a total cost of 1,
500, 000, 000 USD in different cities of Iraq but the major
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2005
problem that hinders these projects is delay. As-Planned
versus as-Built schedules comparison method was used to
show the delay that experienced by these projects which
summarized in Figure-1 below:
Figure-1. As-Planned VS As-Built Schedules Comparison of Case study.
2.1 Data collection
For this study, related data were collected to
identify possible delay factors in hospital construction
projects. Initially, 22 factors were gathered based on these
data. But there is not enough details in those factors, e.g.,
delaying the approval of shop drawings resulted in a
delayed project of 90 days, This factor did not give a full
description of why the approval of shop drawings was
delayed, many secondary factors may lead to this delay,
such as lack of clarity of details or design errors in the
drawings which submitted by the Contractor, inefficient of
the employer's consultant or because of the unclear
requirements of the employer. Because of insufficient
details and lack of data about delay factors the interviews
were conducted with the experts and the staff of the
resident engineer for each hospital. The interviews focused
on the causes of delay in hospital construction projects to
check the list of causes that identified from root-cause
analysis for collecting data in the previous stage in
addition to related literature which reviewed. Interviews
were conducted face to face with the engineering team
who represent of employer reveal whether the factors have
been observed in these projects and if there were more
causes that have occurred during the implementation of
projects. A list of (77) delay causes in hospital projects are
established, which is shows in Table-1, categorized
according to the work progress into (10) group,
Contractual process related causes, Design related causes,
Site preparation related causes, Construction equipment
related causes, Contractors staff related causes, Employers
staff related causes, Procurement of construction materials
related causes, Cash flow related causes, Procurement of
medical and operational equipment related causes, and
external factors related causes.
2.2 Design questionnaire The list of factors that identified from previous
stages was examined by using the closed questionnaire to
determine the degree of severity and frequency of
occurrence for each delay factor. The questionnaire
generally divided into two main parts. First one is related
to general information about practical experience,
Activity Name
projects
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
Project 4
Project 5
Project 6
Project 7
Project 8
Project 9
Project 10
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
100%, 30-Sep-16
90%,
93%,
90%,
90%,
13%,
12%,
12.5%,
33%,
90%,
As-planned Remaining work
As-built Completion percent
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2006
specialization, years of experience, etc. Second Part
included the list of the identified factors of delay in
hospital construction project. For each cause or factor two
questions were asked:
a) What is the frequency of occurrence for this cause?
And
b) What is the degree of severity of this cause on project
delay?
Both the frequency of occurrence and degree of
severity Divided into (4) answers, as shown in Figure-2
below. The answers that related to frequency of
occurrence are: Never (there is no delay for this reason),
occasionally (the delay is one or two times for this reason),
frequently (three or four times), constantly (for five times
or more) while the answers that relevant to the degree of
severity are: No effect, fairly severe, Severe, Very severe.
The assessment is made by comparing the causes with
each other.
frequency of occurrence degree of severity
Nev
er
Occ
asio
nal
ly
Fre
qu
entl
y
Co
nst
antl
y
No
eff
ect
Fai
rly
sev
ere
Sev
ere
Ver
y s
ever
e
Figure-2. Design of Questionnaire.
Table-1. Causes of delay.
No Contractual process related causes
1 Inadequate Iraqi conditions and instructions for turnkey projects.
2 Lack of Iraqi laws and regulations for clauses that allow direct contracting with international companies in
the field of hospital construction.
3 The reluctance of international efficient companies because of the security situation in Iraq.
4 The changes and amendments in government regulations.
5 weak conditions and specifications required by the employer for the purpose of qualifying companies during
the phase of study and analysis of tenders
6 The weakness of technical offers for companies that nominated to assignment as a result of adopted the
principle of the lowest bid price in the government tendering.
7 Delay of contractual processes due to routine and bureaucratic processes.
8 Difficulties in obtaining legal and financing permits from the other concerned authorities.
9 Poor qualification of contractual staff of the employer institution.
10 The contractual project period is unrealistic
11 The inclusion of contractual clauses to oblige the employer to facilitate the entry of contractor staff,
equipment and services import through border ports.
12 Ineffective delay penalties by employer.
No Design related causes
13 Lack of technical capabilities by the contractor to complete the drawings.
14 Delays in setting the design requirement by the employer.
15 Misunderstanding of the scope of work by the contractor due to unclear the requirements of work.
16 Discrepancies between contract documents and employer requirements (RFB).
17 Lack of number and experience of employer's consultant to study the drawings.
18 Design changes by the employer during the design phase.
19 Lack of clarity of details or design errors in the drawings which submitted by the Contractor.
20 Poor coordination between the designer (contractor) and the employer's consultant.
21 Delay in arrival of approval drawings and updates by the employer's consultant to the work site.
22 Disparity between BOQ and design.
No Site preparation related causes
23 Delays in transmit the site to the contractor due to the security situation in the governorate.
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2007
24 Delays in initiate of work due to some obstructions such as buildings or Agricultural Land in the site.
25 Unforeseen site conditions and geologic factors.
26 The existence of sewer lines or electricity transmission lines passes through the site.
27 Delays in connecting the infrastructure services such as water, sewage, electricity and communications to the
site by the relevant ministries.
28 Insufficient data collection and survey before construction by the contractor.
No Construction equipment related causes
29 Difficulties in available of construction equipment due to lack of financing capability of the contractor.
30 Difficulty in providing of construction equipment because of Security arrangements by local authorities.
31 Lack of high-tech mechanical equipment
32 Equipment breakdowns.
No Contractors staff related causes
33 Poor in supervision and site management by the contractor.
34 Poor qualification, experience and skills of the contractor’s technical staff.
35 Insufficient number of labor because of lack of financing capability or poor coordination by the contractor.
36 Poor communication and coordination by the contractor with the suppliers and subcontractor involved in the
project.
37 Frequent change of subcontractors due to inefficiency of their work.
38 Disputes between the contractor and subcontractors.
39 Disputes between labors in the site.
40 Poor planning and scheduling the project by the contractor
41 Re - work due to design errors by the contractor.
42 Delay in issuing entry visas to foreign workers by ministry of interior.
43 Instructions of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs about determining the percent of foreign labors and
restrictions on their entry.
44 Accidents during construction due to mismanagement of occupational safety.
45 Slow in preparation of changes order requests by the contractor.
No Employers staff related causes
46 Poor qualification of supervision staff of the employer's institution.
47 Insufficient authorizations that awarded to the resident engineer in the site by the employer.
48 Slowness in decision making process by the employer.
49 Delay in solving the contractor claims by the employer.
50 Changes in the scope of work by the employer during the construction.
51 Suspension of work by employer.
52 Failure to allow the contractor to work for 24 hours (according to contract) due to lack of staff of the resident
engineer in the site.
53 Delay in performing inspection and testing by employer's consultant.
54 Delay in giving technical consultations or solving technical problems due to lack of number and experience
of employer's consultant in the site.
55 Poor coordination between employer's consultants and other parties in the work site regarding design and
technical matters.
No Materials and laboratory tests related causes
56 Failure in laboratory tests of construction materials, concrete or soil treatments by the contractor.
57 Shortage of construction materials in local markets.
58 fluctuations the price of materials
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2008
59 Changes in specifications and material types during construction by the employer.
60 Difficulty in providing construction materials due to lack of financial commitment of suppliers by the
contractor in previous transactions.
61 Difficulty in delivering the construction materials because of Security arrangement by local authorities.
62 Delays in the manufacture of special building materials required by work.
63 Poor storage of construction materials by the contractor.
64 Delay the results of laboratory tests due to lack of laboratories in Iraq.
No Cash flow related causes
65 Cash flow payments are delayed as a result of the lack of accuracy by the contractor in accounting the
completed works quantities.
66 Cash flow payments are delayed due to audits and administrative processes by the employer.
67 Cash flow payments are delayed due to the economic crisis.
68 Change the dollar's exchange rate against the contractual currency (Iraqi Dinar).
No Procurement of medical and operational equipment related causes
69 Delay in awarding the Letter of credit) L/C ( as a result of the contractor's delay in providing the certificates
of origin, Insurance or provide certificates differ from what is agreed upon.
70 Delay in awarding the Letter of credit) L/C ( because of processes of the banking system in Iraq.
71 Delay in awarding the Letter of credit) L/C ( due to Financial or administrative problems by the employer.
72 Delayed entry of medical equipment and operational equipment because of poor coordination of employer
with the authorities responsible for the border crossings.
73 Delayed entry of medical equipment and operational equipment due to security measures at the border
crossing points.
No External factors related causes
74 The effect of hot weather on construction activities.
75 The effect of rain on construction activities.
76 Public holidays and religious habits.
77 Effect of cultural and social factors.
3. METHOD OF ANALYSIS
In this study, Importance Index technique (II)
would be implemented. This technique summarizes by
calculated both the frequency index (FI) and severity
index (SI)after being converted to numerical values as
shown in Figure-3. Frequency index (FI) is a formula used
to rank the factors of delay according to frequency of
occurrence:
FI= ∑ (Fi×Pi) / ∑ (Pi) …… (1≤ FI ≤4). Severity index (SI) is a formula used to rank
factors of delay, based on the degree of severity:
SI= ∑ (Sj×Pj) / ∑ (Pj) ….… (1≤ SI ≤ 4).
The importance index (II) for each cause is
calculated as a formula of both frequency and severity
indices:
II (%) = (FI×SI / 16) ×100%
Where:
Fi: frequency weight (1, 2, 3 or 4).
Pi: number of participants who answered to option i.
Sj: severity weight (1, 2, 3 or 4)
Pj: number of participants who answeredto option j.
scale Frequencyofoccurrence Degreeof severity
1 Never No effect
2 Occasionally Fairly severe
3 Frequently Severe
4 Constantly Very severe
Figure-3. Frequency and severity scale.
3.1 Data accuracy
The aim of this section is to give an explanation
about the strength of respondents’ experience, and the
degree of reliability of the data presented by them. In order
to verify the accuracy of the questionnaire and ensure that
all factors are directly or indirectly connected to the study
objective, the opinion of experts and specialists in the field
of hospital construction was adopted while Cronbach's
alpha (α) was used to measure the internal consistency between the questions of questionnaire.
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2009
3.1.1 Respondents’ experience Sixty-one of professionals who working in the
field of hospital construction in the ministry of health
answered the questionnaire survey which was distributed
among them, consist of Resident Engineer staff,
Controlling and monitoring Departments and their
managers in many specializations. Figures (4), (5) and (6)
show their years of experience, Specialty and job position.
Figure-4. Study Sample based on job position.
Figure-5. Study Sample based on Specializations.
Figure-6. Study Sample based onyears of experience.
3.1.2 Data reliability
Cronbach's alpha (α)is going to be used to check
the reliability of collection data. The Statistical Product
and Solutions Services (SPSS) software version 25 has
been used as a tool by using the formula:
α = 𝑁 . 𝐶̅�̅� + (𝑁 − 1). 𝐶̅
Where:
N: The number of items. 𝐶̅: Average covariance between item-pairs. �̅�: Average variance.
The results for two part of questionnaire, frequent
of occurrence and degree of severity, were 94.5 and 94.9
respectively. Pallant J. (2007) considered the value of (α)
above 70 % is acceptable while Gliem (2003) considered
the value more than 90 % is excellent.
3.1.3 Degree of agreement
Spearman's Correlation coefficient isa non-
parametric analysis used to measure the strength of
agreement and direction of the relationship between
different factors, or parties. The correlation coefficient
values are between -1 and +1, where +1 represents a full
agreement relationship, while -1 result is a full
disagreement relationship. For this research, the
Spearman’s correlation coefficient is used to explain the
degree of agreement among different parties who
answered the questionnaire in addition to that the
measuring and comparing the relationship between the
answers of two parties for a single delay factor is applied,
while neglecting the answer of the third party. The parties
who have been checking their answers are; the resident
engineers, controlling and monitoring engineers. The
formula which used to calculate Spearman's correlation is
shown below.
𝑟 = 1 − [(6 ∑ 𝑑2)𝑛3 − 𝑛 ]
Where: 𝑟𝑠: Spearman correlation coefficient between two
parties 𝑑: Difference between ranks assigned to variables
for each factor 𝑛: Number of pairs of rank
The results show that there is a strong agreement
between each two groups of stockholders in ranking delay
factors where the highest degree of agreement was
between monitoring staff and resident engineers, followed
by the agreement between monitoring and controlling staff
while the lowest degree of agreement was between
resident engineers and controlling staff, however these
results were between (0.6 - 0.75).
Mamagers
18%
Monitoring
18%
Other
engineers
64%
Civil
44%
Mechanica
l
19%
Medical
equipment
7%
Elictrical
27%
Architect
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
5 - 9.5 10 - 14.5 15 - 19.5 20 - 24.5 25 - 29.5 ≥ 30
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2010
4. RESULTS The following discussions will discuss the
important causes of delay in context each category in
hospital construction projects of Iraq, these categories
included causes related to contractual process, causes
related to design, causes related to site preparation, causes
related to construction equipment, causes related to
contractor’s staff, causes related to employer’s staff,
causes related to construction materials and laboratory
tests, Causes related to cash flow, Causes related to
procurement of medical and operational equipment in
addition to causes related to external factors. Ranking of
overall causes of delay according to their importance
index, frequent index, severity index are shown in Table-2
except of Al-Mosul project, where the security situation
had the greatest impact in delay and interruption.
However, these results included the projects in middle and
southern Iraq. The major delay factor that hinders these
projects were the weakness of technical offers for
companies that nominated to assignment as a result of
adopted the principle of the lowest bid price in the
government tendering. And ineffective delay penalties by
employer that inclusion in contractual process related
causes in addition to Poor planning and scheduling the
project by the contractor which inclusion in contractor
staff related causes.
4.1 Causes related to the contractual process
The avoidance of delays in projects, losses and
disputes requires a comprehensive understanding of the
potential risks so that appropriate contract conditions and
selecting the best method of bidding can be prepared. 12
factors of delay were identified which includes the causes
that occurred during the contracting phase or which have
extended their effect to the subsequent stages of design
and construction, the results showed that the weakness of
technical offers for companies that nominated to
assignment as a result of adopted the principle of the
lowest bid price in the government tendering is the main
cause (II88.28) followed by Ineffective delay penalties by
employer and reluctance of international efficient
companies because of the security situation in Iraq and
(II= 86.08 and 83.89) while the lack of Iraqi laws and
regulations for clauses that allow directing contracting
with international companies in the field of hospital
construction, weak conditions and specifications required
by the employer for the purpose of qualifying companies
during the phase of study of tenders and Inadequate Iraqi
conditions and instructions for turnkey projects were the
least significant factors, however the Figure-7 shows the
important index for contractual factors of delay.
4.2 Causes related to design Design process should keep the duration of a
project, cost reduction and better quality of the final work;
however, it may increase the complexity of projects and
make it more difficult to manage. In these case studies, the
concept of fast-track became a reality during the
implementation phase, which required more accurate and
the highest level of quality to avoid the risks caused by
design errors. Ten factors of delay were examined which
led to delayed completion of design work or which led to
delay construction work associated with the design. As
shown in the Figure-8 the result explained that lack of
technical capabilities by the contractor to complete the
drawings, Disparity between bill of quantities with design
and lack of number and experience of employer's
consultant in study the drawings were the most significant
factors with (II= 69.43, 66.35, 64.3) respectively while
misunderstanding of the scope of work by the contractor
due to unclear the requirements of employer was the least
significant factor with (28.70) in addition to design
changes by the employer during the design phase and
Delays in setting the design requirement by the employer.
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2011
Figure-7. Causes related to contractual process.
Figure-8. Causes related to design.
4.3 Causes related to site preparation
Most international Standard contract Documents
agreed that the work site should be ready and any legal
problems or physical obstacles must remove before
starting the work. Although the design of the projects has
already started on the specified contractual date but all of
these projects have suffered from the delay of construction
on the site, six factors delay have been identified and their
effect is sequentially as following; insufficient data
collection and survey before construction by the
contractor, Delays in connecting the infrastructure services
such as water, sewage, electricity and communications to
the site by the relevant ministries, Delays in initiate of
work due to some obstructions such as buildings or
Agricultural Land in the site of the project, The existence
of sewer lines or electricity transmission lines passes
through the site, Delays in transmit the site to the
contractor due to the security situation in the governorate,
Unforeseen site conditions and geology factors. The
Figure-9 shows the important index of causes that related
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
The
wea
knes
s of t
he te
chni
cal o
ffer
s of t
he c
ompa
nies
nom
inat
ed fo
r the
ass
ignm
ent…
Inef
fect
ive
del
ay p
enal
ties
by
em
plo
yer
.
The
relu
ctan
ce o
f in
tern
atio
nal e
ffic
ient
com
pani
es b
ecau
se o
f the
secu
rity
situ
atio
n…
Del
ay o
f co
ntr
actu
al p
roce
sses
due
to r
outi
ne
and
bure
aucr
atic
pro
cess
es.
The
con
trac
tual
pro
ject
per
iod
is
unre
alis
tic
Poo
r q
ual
ific
atio
n o
f co
ntr
actu
al s
taff
of
the
emp
loy
er i
nst
ituti
on
.
The
incl
usio
n of
con
tract
ual c
laus
es to
obl
ige
the
empl
oyer
to fa
cilit
ate
the
entry
of…
Diff
icul
ties i
n ob
tain
ing
lega
l and
fina
ncin
g pe
rmits
from
the
othe
r aut
horit
ies…
The
chan
ges
and
am
end
men
ts i
n g
over
nm
ent
regu
lati
on
s.
lack
of I
raqi
law
s and
regu
latio
ns fo
r cla
uses
that
allo
w to
dire
ct c
ontra
ctin
g w
ith…
wea
k co
nditi
ons a
nd sp
ecifi
catio
ns re
quire
d by
the
empl
oyer
for t
he p
urpo
se o
f…
Inad
equ
ate
Iraq
i co
nd
itio
ns
and
in
stru
ctio
ns
for
turn
key
pro
ject
s.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Lack
of t
echn
ical
cap
abili
ties b
y th
e co
ntra
ctor
to…
Dis
par
ity b
etw
een
BO
Q a
nd
des
gin
.
lack
of c
larit
y of
det
ails
or d
esig
n er
rors
in th
e…
Poor
coo
rdin
atio
n be
twee
n th
e de
sign
er (c
ontra
ctor
)…
Lack
of n
umbe
r and
exp
erie
nce
of e
mpl
oyer
's…
Poor
coo
rdin
atio
n be
twee
n em
ploy
er's
cons
ulta
nts…
disc
repa
ncie
s due
to c
ontra
ct d
ocum
ents
and
…
Des
ign
chan
ges b
y th
e em
ploy
er d
urin
g th
e de
sign
…
Del
ays i
n se
tting
the
desi
gn re
quire
men
t by
the…
mis
unde
rsta
ndin
g of
the
scop
e of
wor
k by
the…
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2012
to site preparation in addition to causes related to
construction equipment.
4.4 Causes related to construction equipment
The complex nature and strategic importance of
these projects should lead to the provision of high-tech
machinery to perform high quality work within the
planned time. Four delay factors have been defined. As
explain in Figure-9 results showed that the difficulties in
available of construction equipment due to lack of
financing capability of the contractor was the higher delay
factor from others (II=63.83) followed by Lack of high-
tech mechanical equipment and equipment breakdowns
while the difficulties in providing of construction
equipment because of Security arrangements by local
authorities was the lowest delay factor (II=21.6).
Figure-9. Causes that related to site preparation in and
construction equipment.
4.5 Causes related to contractor’s staff The contractor’s staff related causes considered
the biggest of others because of the case studies was turn-
key projects and the most responsibilities of risk lies with
the contractor. Thirteen delay factors have been identified,
Poor planning and scheduling the project by the
contractor, insufficient number of labor because of lack of
financing capability or poor coordination by the contractor
and Poor qualification, experience and skills of the
contractor’s technical staff were the most three causes in
this categories. While Disputes between labors in the site
was the least factor However, the Figure-10 shows the
important index of causes that related to contractor’s staff.
Figure-10. Causes that related to contractor’s staff.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Diff
icul
ties i
n av
aila
ble
of c
onst
ruct
ion…
Insu
ffic
ient
dat
a co
llect
ion
and
surv
ey b
efor
e…
Lac
k o
f hig
h-t
ech m
ech
anic
al e
qu
ipm
ent
Eq
uip
men
t bre
akdo
wn
s.
Del
ays i
n co
nnec
ting
the
infr
astru
ctur
e se
rvic
es…
Del
ays i
n in
itiat
e of
wor
k du
e to
som
e…
The
exis
tenc
e of
sew
er li
nes o
r ele
ctric
ity…
Diff
icul
ty in
pro
vidi
ng o
f con
stru
ctio
n…
Del
ays i
n tra
nsm
it th
e si
te to
the
cont
ract
or d
ue…
Un
fore
seen
sit
e co
nd
itio
ns
and
geo
log
y f
acto
rs.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Poor
pla
nnin
g an
d sc
hedu
ling
the
proj
ect b
y th
e…in
suff
icie
nt n
umbe
r of l
abor
bec
ause
of l
ack
of…
Po
or
qual
ific
atio
n,
exp
erie
nce
and
skil
ls o
f th
e …
Poor
in su
perv
isio
n an
d si
te m
anag
emen
t by
the…
dis
pu
tes
bet
wee
n t
he
con
trac
tor
and s
ub
con
trac
tors
.
Poor
com
mun
icat
ion
and
coor
dina
tion
by th
e…Fr
eque
nt c
hang
e of
subc
ontra
ctor
s due
to…
Del
ay in
issu
ing
entry
vis
as to
fore
ign
wor
kers
by…
Inst
ruct
ions
of t
he M
inis
try o
f Lab
or a
nd S
ocia
l…Sl
ow in
pre
para
tion
of c
hang
es o
rder
requ
ests
by
the…
Re
- w
ork
due
to d
esig
n e
rro
rs b
y t
he
con
trac
tor.
Acc
iden
ts d
urin
g co
nstru
ctio
n du
e to
…D
ispu
tes
bet
wee
n l
abo
rs i
n t
he
site
.
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2013
4.6 Causes related to employer’s staff Although the projects are turn-key, the contracts
and work conditions have defined responsibilities for the
employer's staff. This category includes ten factors related
to employer’s staff. Based on the result, Insufficient
authorizations that awarded to the resident engineer in the
site by the employer was the higher rank (II: 74.01)
followed by Poor qualification of supervision staff of the
employer's institution and Slowness in decision making
process by the employer while the factor that related to
failure to allow the contractor to work for 24 hours
(according to contract) due to lack of staff of the resident
engineer in the site, changes in the scope of work by the
employer during the construction, and Suspension of work
by employer were the least significant. The Figure-11
summarizes the ranking of causes related to employer's
staff.
Figure-11. Causes related to employer’s staff.
4.7 Causes related to construction materials and
laboratory tests
In this group, nine factor causes were examined,
the result which summarizes in Figure-12 show that the
Poor storage of construction materials by the contractor
was the most important factor (66.85) follows by
Difficulty in providing construction materials due to lack
of financial commitment of suppliers by the contractor in
previous transactions in addition to failure in laboratory
tests of construction materials, concrete or soil treatments
by the contractor. While the results show that the
difficulties in delivering the construction materials
because of Security arrangement by local authorities,
fluctuations the price of materials and delay the results of
laboratory tests due to lack of laboratories in Iraq were the
lowest affecting factor.
4.8 Causes related to cash flow Four delay factors were investigated in this
category, as shown in Figure-13, Financial payments
delayed by the employer due to the economic crisis was
the most important factor (II=52.75) following by Change
the dollar's exchange rate against the contractual currency
(Iraqi Dinar), Cash flow payments are delayed as a result
of the lack of accuracy by the contractor in accounting the
completed works quantities and finally Cash flow
payments are delayed due to audits and administrative
processes by the employer.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Insu
ffic
ient
aut
horiz
atio
ns th
at a
war
ded
to th
e…
dela
y in
giv
ing
tech
nica
l con
sulta
tions
or s
olvi
ng…
dela
y in
arr
ival
of a
ppro
val d
raw
ings
and
upd
ates
…
Poor
qua
lific
atio
n of
supe
rvis
ion
staf
f of t
he…
Slow
ness
in d
ecis
ion
mak
ing
proc
ess b
y th
e…
Del
ay in
the
solv
ing
of c
ontra
ctor
cla
ims b
y th
e…
Del
ay in
per
form
ing
insp
ectio
n an
d te
stin
g by
…
Su
spen
sio
n o
f w
ork
by e
mp
loy
er.
chan
ges i
n th
e sc
ope
of w
ork
by th
e em
ploy
er…
failu
re to
allo
w th
e co
ntra
ctor
to w
ork
for 2
4…
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2014
Figure-12. Causes related to construction materials and
laboratory tests.
4.9 Causes related to procurement of medical and
operational equipment
Although the contractor is responsible for the
risks that delay the arrival of medical and operational
equipment but the contract included the employer's
liability for some of those responsibilities. Five delay
factor were identified as shown in Figure-13, the result
show that the delay of entry the medical and operational
equipment because of poor coordination of employer with
the authorities responsible for the border crossings was the
most significant cause (II= 50.62) follow by delay in
awarding the Letter of credit L/C as a result of the
contractor's delay in providing the certificates of origin,
Insurance or provide certificates differ from what is agreed
upon.
4.10 Causes related to external factors
This group included four factors that led to delay,
two of them are related to the climate and others related to
holidays and social factors, although the importance of
these factors is limited, but it was necessary to examine
them because they are influential in other countries. The
Figure-13 shows the important index of these factors.
Figure-13. Causes related to cash flow, procurement of
medical and operational equipment and external factors.
5. CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of the study, the origin of
delay problems is related to the contractual processes. Six
contractual factors were among the top ten factors
influencing projects, although their impact was indirect
but had a strong effect on other factors in design and
implementation. This requires a comprehensive review
and a good understanding of the instructions of the
contract. Recently, the new standard tender documents
have been applied in the field of government contracts and
this proves some of the results of this study. Despite the
reluctance of international efficient companies to work in
Iraq because of the security situation, the results prove that
the effect of security situation factors in middle and
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Poor
stor
age
of c
onst
ruct
ion
mat
eria
ls b
y th
e…
Diff
icul
ty in
pro
vidi
ng c
onst
ruct
ion
mat
eria
ls…
failu
re in
labo
rato
ry te
sts o
f con
stru
ctio
n…
Del
ays i
n th
e m
anuf
actu
re o
f spe
cial
bui
ldin
g…
Cha
nges
in sp
ecifi
catio
ns a
nd m
ater
ial t
ypes
…
Shor
tage
of c
onst
ruct
ion
mat
eria
ls in
loca
l…
Del
ay th
e re
sults
of l
abor
ator
y te
sts d
ue to
lack
…
flac
tuat
ions
the
pri
ce o
f m
ater
ials
Diff
icul
ty in
del
iver
ing
the
cons
truct
ion…
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Fina
ncia
l pay
men
ts d
elay
ed b
y th
e em
ploy
er…
Del
ayed
ent
ry o
f med
ical
equ
ipm
ent a
nd…
Del
ay in
aw
ardi
ng th
e L
/C a
s a re
sult
of th
e…C
hang
e th
e do
llar's
exc
hang
e ra
te a
gain
st th
e…C
ash
flow
pay
men
ts a
re d
elay
ed a
s a re
sult
of…
Del
ayed
ent
ry o
f med
ical
equ
ipm
ent a
nd…
Cas
h flo
w p
aym
ents
are
del
ayed
due
to a
udits
…D
elay
in a
war
ding
the
L/C
due
to F
inan
cial
or…
Del
ay in
aw
ardi
ng th
e L
/C b
ecau
se o
f…Th
e ef
fect
of h
ot w
eath
er o
n co
nstru
ctio
n…P
ub
lic
holi
day
s an
d r
elig
iou
s hab
its.
Th
e ef
fect
of
rain
on
con
stru
ctio
n a
ctiv
itie
s.
Eff
ect
of
cult
ura
l an
d s
oci
al f
acto
rs.
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2015
southern Iraq is less significant comparison with the
others. However, all results of the study are detailed in
Table-2 and finally we can say that the middle and
southern Iraq is a good environment to work and
investmentif the international efficient companies decided
to work in this country.
REFERENCES
Alaghbari W., et al. 2007. The Significant Factors Causing
Delay of Building Construction Projects in Malaysia.
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management.
14(2): 192-206.
Al-Khalil, M. and Al-Ghafly M. 1999. Important Causes
of Delays in Public Utility Projects in Saudi Arabia.
Construction Management and Economics. 17(2): 647-
655.
Al-Momani A. H. 2000. Construction Delay: A
Quantitative Analysis. International Journal of Project
Management. 18(3): 51-59.
2001. American Arbitration Association (AAA), 2000
Annual Report, June 21.
Assaf S. A. and Al-Hejji S. 2006. Causes of Delay in
Large Construction Projects. International Journal of
Project Management. 24: 349-357.
Chan D. W. and Kumaraswamy M. 1997. A comparative
study of causes of time overruns in Hong Kong
construction projects. International Journal of Project
Management. 15(1): 55-63.
Gliem J. A. and Gliem R.R. 2003. Calculating,
Interpreting, and Reporting Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability
Coefficient for Likert-Type Scales, Midwest Research to
Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community
Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Golanaraghi S. and Alkass S. 2012. Modified isolated
delay type technique, Construction Research Congress
2012, ASCE. pp. 90-99.
Hafiz S. M. 2013. Simple Delay Analysis Methodologies
Selection Advisor for Construction Practitioners
(DAMSA). International Journal of Education and
Research. 1-8.
kazaz A., et al. 2013. Causes of Delays in Construction
Projects in Turkey. Journal of Civil Engineering And
Management. 18(3): 426-435.
Keane P. J. and Caletka A. F. 2008. Delay Analysis in
Construction Contracts, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Koushki et al. 2005. Delays and cost increases in the
construction of private residential projects in Kuwait,
Construction Management and Economics. 23(3): 285-
294.
Mezher T. M. and Taweel W. 1998. Causes of delays in
the construction industry in Lebanon. Engineering,
Construction and Architectural Management. 5(3): 252-
260.
Murat G, et al. 2013. Quantification of Delay Factors
Using the Relative Importance Index Method for
Construction Projects in Turkey. Journal of Management
in Engineering. 29(2): 133-139.
Pallant J. 2007. SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step
Guide to Data Analysis using SPSS for Windows, third
edition. Open University Press, USA.
Perera N. A. and Sutrisna M. 2013. The Theory of
Criticality in Concurrent Delays, SLQS UAE 29th get-
together. 2013: 30-35.
Stumpf G. R. 2000. Schedule delay analysis. Cost
Engineering Journal. 42(7): 32-43.
Sweis G., et al. 2008. Delays in Construction Projects: The
Case of Jordan. International Journal of Project
Management. 26(6): 665-674.
Trauner t. 2009. construction delays: understanding them
clearly, analyzing them correctly, 2nd, USA, Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Word bank, Statistical reports 1960-2012,
http://www.albankaldawli.org/
Word Health Organization (WHO), Statistical report 2014,
http://apps.who.int/en/.
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2016
Table-2. Ranking Causes of delay.
No delay factors
frequency severity
important
index category
mean St.dev. mean St.dev.
1
The weakness of the technical offers of the
companies nominated for the assignment as a
result of the adoption of the principle of lowest
bidder price in the government tendering.
3.73 0.52 3.78 0.45 88.28 contractual
2 Ineffective delay penalties by employer. 3.59 0.76 3.84 0.52 86.08 contractual
3 Poor planning and scheduling the project by
the contractor 3.66 0.54 3.69 0.50 84.28 contractor staff
4
The reluctance of international efficient
companies because of the security situation in
Iraq.
3.62 0.66 3.70 0.59 83.89 contractual
5
Insufficient number of labor because of lack of
financing capability or poor coordination by
the contractor.
3.56 0.79 3.56 0.85 79.09 contractor staff
6 Delay of contractual processes due to routine
and bureaucratic processes. 3.50 0.75 3.60 0.72 78.75 contractual
7 Insufficient authorizations that awarded to the
resident engineer in the site by the employer. 3.34 0.85 3.54 0.79 74.01 employer staff
8 The contractual project period is unrealistic 3.30 0.94 3.49 0.85 71.91 contractual
9 Poor qualification of contractual staff of the
employer institution. 3.16 0.87 3.60 0.70 71.06 contractual
10 Lack of technical capabilities by the contractor
to complete the drawings. 3.28 0.83 3.38 0.85 69.43 design
11 Poor storage of construction materials by the
contractor. 3.26 0.85 3.28 0.92 66.85 materials
12 Disparity between BOQ and design. 3.28 0.85 3.23 0.91 66.35 design
13 Poor qualification, experience and skills of the
contractor’s technical staff. 3.15 0.91 3.36 0.91 66.11 contractor staff
14
The inclusion of contractual clauses to oblige
the employer to facilitate the entry of
contractor staff, equipment and services import
through border ports.
3.12 0.91 3.39 0.91 66.07 contractual
15 Poor in supervision and site management by
the contractor. 3.11 0.90 3.33 0.94 64.78 contractor staff
16 Lack of clarity of details or design errors in the
drawings which submitted by the Contractor. 3.13 0.77 3.28 0.78 64.30 design
17 Disputes between the contractor and
subcontractors. 3.15 0.75 3.25 0.70 63.85 contractor staff
18
Difficulties in available of construction
equipment due to lack of financing capability
of the contractor.
3.11 0.90 3.28 0.97 63.83 equipment
19 Difficulties in obtaining legal and financing
permits from the other authorities concerned 3.20 0.93 3.18 0.94 63.54 contractual
20 Poor communication and coordination by the
contractor with the suppliers and subcontractor 3.13 0.70 3.22 0.76 62.99 contractor staff
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2017
involved in the project
21 Insufficient data collection and survey before
construction by the contractor. 3.08 0.74 3.27 0.80 62.95 site preparation
No delay factors
frequency severity important
index category
mean St.
dev. mean
St.
dev.
22 Frequent change of subcontractors due to
inefficiency of their work. 3.07 0.89 3.25 0.87 62.19 contractor staff
23
Delay in giving technical consultations or
solving technical problems due to lack of
number and experience of employer's
consultant in the site.
3.02 0.83 3.17 0.87 59.70 design
24 The changes and amendments in government
regulations. 3.02 0.94 3.16 0.99 59.65 contractual
25 Lack of high-tech mechanical equipment 3.03 0.87 3.10 0.93 58.73 equipment
26
Lack of Iraqi laws and regulations for clauses
that allow directing contracting with
international companies in the field of hospitals
construction.
3.02 1.16 3.10 1.12 58.41 contractual
27 Poor coordination between the designer
(contractor) and the employer's consultant. 3.00 0.81 3.08 0.88 57.84 design
28 Lack of number and experience of employer's
consultant. in study the drawings. 2.82 0.91 3.22 0.92 56.63 design
29 Delay in issuing entry visas to foreign workers
by ministry of interior. 2.95 0.81 3.07 0.84 56.54 contractor staff
30
weak conditions and specifications required by
the employer for the purpose of qualifying
companies during the phase of study and
analysis of tenders
2.87 0.91 3.15 0.88 56.44 contractual
31
Instructions of the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs about determination the
percentage of foreign labors and restrictions on
their entry.
2.97 0.86 2.97 0.87 55.03 contractor staff
32 Financial payments delayed by the employer
due to the economic crisis. 2.81 0.80 3.00 0.98 52.75 cash flow
33
Delay in arrival of approval drawings and
updates by the employer's consultant to the
work site.
2.85 0.88 2.93 0.90 52.25 design
34
Poor coordination between employer's
consultants and other parties in the work site
regarding design and technical matters.
2.80 0.80 2.98 0.89 52.21 design
35
Delayed entry of medical equipment and
operational equipment because of poor
coordination of employer with the authorities
responsible for the border crossings.
2.73 0.90 2.96 0.93 50.62
Medical and
operational
equip.
36 Discrepancies due to contract documents and
employer requirements (RFB). 2.62 0.98 3.07 0.99 50.15 design
37
Difficulty in providing construction materials
due to lack of financial commitment of
suppliers by the contractor in previous
transactions.
2.72 0.88 2.95 0.98 50.09 materials
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2018
38
Delay in awarding the L/C as a result of the
contractor's delay in providing the certificates
of origin, Insurance or provide certificates
differ from what is agreed upon.
2.74 0.69 2.88 0.82 49.33
Medical and
operational
equip.
39 Slow in preparation of changes order requests
by the contractor 2.77 0.80 2.74 0.91 47.40 contractor staff
40 Re - work due to design errors by the
contractor. 2.61 0.92 2.90 0.94 47.27 contractor staff
41 Poor qualification of supervision staff of the
employer's institution 2.56 0.98 2.95 0.90 47.16 employer staff
No delay factors
frequency severity important
index category
mean St.
dev. mean
St.
dev.
42 Change the dollar's exchange rate against the
contractual currency (Iraqi Dinar). 2.68 0.88 2.80 0.88 46.93 cash flow
43 Slowness in decision making process by the
employer. 2.60 0.94 2.87 0.87 46.58 employer staff
44 Delay in the solving of contractor claims by the
employer. 2.66 0.91 2.79 0.91 46.26 employer staff
45 Design changes by the employer during the
design phase. 2.60 0.81 2.83 0.96 46.04 design
46 Accidents during construction due to
mismanagement of occupational safety. 2.59 0.99 2.79 1.11 45.12 contractor staff
47 Equipment breakdowns. 2.61 0.80 2.74 0.96 44.60 equipment
48
Cash flow payments are delayed as a result of
the lack of accuracy by the contractor in
accounting the completed works quantities.
2.62 0.72 2.72 0.85 44.43 cash flow
49
Delayed entry of medical equipment and
operational equipment due to security
measures at the border crossing points.
2.63 0.84 2.68 0.92 43.95
Medical and
operational
equip.
50 Cash flow payments are delayed due to audits
and administrative processes by the employer. 2.56 0.92 2.66 0.96 42.45 cash flow
51
Failure in laboratory tests of construction
materials, concrete or soil treatments by the
contractor.
2.52 0.85 2.66 0.98 41.90 materials
52 Delays in setting the design requirement by the
employer. 2.48 0.87 2.68 0.83 41.65 design
53 Delays in the manufacture of special building
materials required by work. 2.52 0.87 2.57 0.96 40.61 materials
54 Inadequate Iraqi conditions and instructions for
turnkey projects. 2.51 0.99 2.57 0.96 40.35 contractual
55 Delay in awarding the L/C due to Financial or
administrative problems by the employer. 2.54 0.97 2.50 0.99 39.62
Medical and
operational
equip.
56 Delay in awarding the L/C because of
processes of the banking system in Iraq. 2.45 0.85 2.55 0.89 39.04
Medical and
operational
equip.
57 Disputes between labors in the site. 2.41 1.02 2.52 1.04 38.02 contractor staff
VOL. 14, NO. 10, MAY 2019 ISSN 1819-6608
ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.
www.arpnjournals.com
2019
58
Delays in connecting the infrastructure services
such as water, sewage, electricity and
communications to the site by the relevant
ministries.
2.38 0.83 2.40 0.99 35.64 site preparation
59 The effect of hot weather on construction
activities. 2.36 0.93 2.39 0.94 35.31 external
60 Public holidays and religious habits. 2.28 0.84 2.25 0.94 31.99 external
61
Delays in initiate of work due to some
obstructions such as buildings or Agricultural
Land in the site of the project.
2.20 0.91 2.30 0.94 31.51 site preparation
62
Misunderstanding of the scope of work by the
contractor due to unclear the requirements of
work.
2.15 0.99 2.14 0.94 28.70 design
63 Delay in performing inspection and testing by
employer's consultant. 2.03 0.93 2.10 0.96 26.66 employer staff
No delay factors
frequency severity important
index category
mean St.
dev. mean
St.
dev.
64 Suspension of work by employer. 1.90 0.89 2.15 0.95 25.52 employer staff
65 Changes in the scope of work by the employer
during the construction. 2.07 0.95 1.95 0.96 25.18 employer staff
66 Changes in specifications and material types
during construction by the employer. 1.95 0.88 2.07 0.91 25.18 materials
67 The existence of sewer lines or electricity
transmission lines passes through the site. 1.92 0.80 1.92 0.95 22.99 site preparation
68 The effect of rain on construction activities. 1.92 0.69 1.92 0.76 22.99 external
69 Shortage of construction materials in local
markets. 1.84 0.80 1.97 0.98 22.57 materials
70
Difficulty in providing of construction
equipment because of Security arrangements
by local authorities.
1.79 0.82 1.93 1.00 21.60 equipment
71 Delay the results of laboratory tests due to lack
of laboratories in Iraq. 1.82 0.89 1.89 0.91 21.44 materials
72 Effect of cultural and social factors. 1.79 0.80 1.82 0.94 20.32 external
73 fluctuations the price of materials 1.78 0.74 1.81 0.88 20.17 materials
74
Difficulty in delivering the construction
materials because of Security arrangement by
local authorities.
1.84 0.88 1.75 0.96 20.13 materials
75
Failure to allow the contractor to work for 24
hours (according to contract) due to lack of
staff of the resident engineer in the site.
1.69 0.99 1.74 1.12 18.34 employer staff
76 Delays in transmit the site to the contractor due
to the security situation in the governorate. 1.61 0.80 1.80 1.00 18.11 site preparation
77 Unforeseen site conditions and geology factors. 1.57 0.76 1.79 0.90 17.58 site preparation