Analyzing The Project Delay Causes in The South African Construction Industry

Volume 7, Issue 6, June – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Analyzing the Project Delay Causes in the South

African Construction Industry
ANTHONY OBODODIKE EKWUNO
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment
University of Johannesburg Bunting Road, Auckland Park
Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract:- Construction projects have experienced Keywords:- Construction, South Africa, Delay, Mitigation,
major delays in the past decades. Project setback is a big Ethics.
burden in setting up projects. Professionals have
established that delay in a project can only be controlled I. INTRODUCTION
if its symptom is detected and acknowledged. A project
has been described as a one-time undertaking that is Project setback has become a nightmare in the
established for a purpose. A questionnaire was designed establishment of a project. Projects have been regarded as
and used to obtain the stakeholders’ perceptions one-off development. According to Aziz (2013), a project is
regarding the causes of project setbacks. The objectives a once-off unique undertaking that is constructed on a
of this study are to establish and assess the project delay certain site under unrepeatable conditions. The study further
sources in the construction industry in South Africa, discloses that the construction project is a composite venture
detect the mitigation measures in the construction that is executed through human efforts and the availability
industry in South Africa, and ascertain different views of equipment and materials. The study regards construction
among stakeholders concerning project setbacks. This projects as a one-time venture in a specific area that remains
study tends to address the following two questions: unchangeable. A project can be successful only completed
‘What are the major causes of project delays in the within budget, time, quality, and owner’s satisfaction. The
South African construction industry? And what are the study uses the relative importance index to rank the various
mitigation measures against project delays in the South groups. The study advises that efficient communication
African construction industry? 54 causes of project should be established to minimize the issue of delay in
delays were established through the literature review. project execution. Agyekum-Mensah and Knight (2017)
Mitigation strategies against project delays were reveal that criticisms of project setbacks have negatively
identified. Mitigation strategies will help construction affected many construction projects in every country.
professionals to improve the successful delivery of According to the report, several studies on project delays
detected in the literature relied on ratings done by the
projects. The study has proved that every project
participants. Hamzah et al (2011) maintain that the inability
setback has a remedy. The three major stakeholders
collectively contribute to the factors causing project to finish projects within schedule has negative impacts on
delays. The study revealed that delays in one country those projects. The study maintains that once a project is
may be different from another country. This study behind schedule, there is a possibility of incurring extra
discovered that all the stakeholders are experienced and costs to the project. Banobi and Jung (2019) reveal that any
knowledgeable in terms of recognition of the factors delay caused by the contractor may hinder the contractor’s
creating project delays. The study gives a clear future opportunity in securing business opportunities.
indication of the major contributors to project delays for Panova and Hilletofth (2018) reveal that since construction
the benefit of the clients and contractors. This will serve projects are unavoidable, it is problematic to forecast the
as a guideline for the client and the contractor toward results of their execution in the future. Its success depends
completing the projects within time, quality, and budget. on how accurately the amount of equipment and materials
It will also eliminate the issue of unnecessary disputes and related flows are predicted. Akaranga and Makau (2016)
insist that researchers must maintain a good attitude in
among the parties to the project. However, this extensive
literature review will save future researchers enough investigating and circulating discoveries in all academic
time when conducting studies on similar topics. The writings. However, this study shows full consideration of
outcome of this study will assist both professionals and ethical principles in research work. To deal with the
academicians to understand the fundamental sources of aforementioned issues, the study tends to eliminate this
project setbacks and their relief strategies. This study awareness deficiency by treating the following fundamental
will help the risk planners of construction projects when questions:
dealing with the issue of project analysis, monitoring,  Identify the major sources of project delays affecting the
and controlling, as these are the critical factors for the construction industry in South Africa?
successful delivery of projects. The study will also benefit  Identify mitigation measures against these delays?
future college and university graduates whose intentions
The construction industry contributes immensely to
are to proceed to the working field after graduation. The
improving the South African economy but this has been
client policymakers who can revise or create policies
affected by project delays that manifest due to one reason or
based on the findings of this study will also benefit.
the other. This enormous economic contribution can only be
maintained through continuous addressing of this issue on
IJISRT22JUN1486 www.ijisrt.com 1096

ISSN No:-2456-2165
an everyday basis (Jongo1 et al. 2019). Many problems identifying and analyzing the fundamental sources of project
experienced by projects are greatly affecting the successful setbacks and their relief strategies in the construction
completion of those projects. This issue has created a big industry in South Africa. Abdullah1 et al. (2018) reported
setback for those projects in terms of project duration and that the major factors delaying palm oil refinery projects in
budget overruns (Serdar1, Maksat2, and Syuhaida3 (2017). Malaysia are poor time management and wrong costing. The
Many studies have pointed out major sources of project study reveals that the three major contributors to project
setbacks within various countries, but projects are still being delays are engaging unskilled sub-contractors, poor
delayed now and then. However, the delay in any project planning/scheduling, and delays in subcontracted works.
leads to an increase in overhead expenses, and generally Agyekum-Mensah and Knight (2017) conduct research on
affects the cash flow, and creates the risk of insolvency project delay factors and identify 32 factors causing project
(Chen et al. 2019). Previous studies indicate that what delays and grouped them into 9 sections: insufficient
causes project delays in one country may be different in planning, design problems, poor information flow and
another country (Jongo1 et al. 2019). Therefore, this study communication, poor coordination, lack of knowledge,
specifically addresses the project delays in the South health and safety restrictions, wrong application of
African context. The study gives a clear indication of the construction methods, poor space and logistics management,
major contributors to project delays for the benefit of the and scope creep. Akaranga and Makau (2016) in their
clients and contractors. The outcome of this study will serve survey report emphasize that human beings experience
as an eye-opener to the parties involved in the project. This certain challenges when making ethical decisions in life.
will serve as a guideline for the client and the contractor The researchers caution that it is mandatory that every
toward completing the projects within time, quality, and research work must adhere to the 15% or less plagiarized
budget. It will also eliminate the issue of unnecessary material rule before it can be approved and included in the
disputes among the parties to the project. This study research repository. Amoatey and Ankrah (2017) conduct
establishes numerous project delay factors. However, this research on delay factors in Ghanaian road projects and
extensive literature review will save future researchers observe that 70% of road projects in Ghana experience
enough time when conducting studies on similar topics. The delays, while 52% of the projects are subject to cost
outcome of this study will assist both professionals and overruns. Banobi and Jung* (2019) focus on studying the
academicians to understand the fundamental sources of delay factors and their relief measures in the power projects.
project setbacks and their relief strategies in the South According to the study, many construction projects
African construction industry (Zidane and Andersen 2017). experience critical delays that generate a lot of losses. Chen
This study will help the risk planners of construction et al. (2019) conduct an investigation on delay factors in the
projects when dealing with the issue of project analysis, Chinese grain bin projects. After careful reviewing of
monitoring, and controlling, as these are the critical factors existing literature, it is found that little effort has been
for the successful delivery of projects (Sweis et al. 2019). shown in identifying the causes of grain bin project delays
The study will also benefit future college and university in China. Abdullah1 et al. (2018) report that project delays
graduates whose intentions are to proceed to the working could be minimized if quality practices are maintained
field after graduation. The client policymakers who can throughout the project lifecycle until the project objective is
revise or create policies based on the findings of this study achieved. According to Alzara et al. (2016), the use of
will also benefit. Finally, this research will be of benefit to experienced and knowledgeable contractors and consulting
all project managers, engineers, contractors, and other engineers can minimize project delays. Amoatey and
technical personnel whose practical experiences will be Ankrah (2017) conduct research on the factors creating
enhanced by these discoveries. project setbacks in Ghana. The study reports that project
delays can be mitigated if there is effective planning and
A. Objectives costing in the early stage of the project. Banobi and Jung
 This study focuses on: (2019) focus on studying project delay factors and their
 Establish and assess the project delay sources. relief strategies. Research suggests that three major factors
 Detect mitigation measures against these project that will help to minimize project delays are a strong
setbacks. commitment from the top management, creating realistic
 Ascertain different views among stakeholders project objectives, and good project scheduling. Durdyev
concerning project setbacks. and Hosseini (2018) focus on the comprehensive list of
project delay factors and discover that contractual
II. LITERATURE REVIEW relationships, project delivery systems, and culture must not
be overlooked in order to reduce project setbacks. Famiyeh
Delays in project delivery have been generating major et al. (2017) indicate that delays can be minimized if
problems in the construction industry. These delays have competent personnel is used in the project. Summarily, a
caused major budget and time overruns within the literature review has indicated that project delay is a
construction industry. It is discovered that a construction universal occurrence that does happen in every country and
project is a compound undertaking that needs the that the magnitude of this occurrence differs in many places.
collaboration of people and resources. According to Zidane These project delay factors can be attributed to the clients,
and Andersen (2017), the successful delivery of a project is consultants, and contractors as a whole. Literature also
evidence of efficiency. As a result, many researchers have confirms that the financial constraint and late payment for
shown much attention to finding the fundamental sources of work done pose a bigger risk to the overall project lifecycle
project delays. However, this study will concentrate on and that this issue is unique in developing countries. The

ISSN No:-2456-2165
construction industry has experienced a series of project sources of evidence were used to collect the primary data.
delay challenges. The study maintains that the causes of This study considered only 65 peer-reviewed papers. The
project setbacks and their relief strategies differ depending research used a literature review and questionnaires to
on project progress. compare current and past factors that might result in project
setbacks all around the project lifecycle. The primary data
III. RESEARCH METHOD was collected using a literature review of published journals,
books, and articles. Google search engine was also used for
This study used a quantitative research method to fast and direct collection of data (Jongo1 et al. 2019).
gather primary data. Literature reviews and questionnaires Primary data was also collected through questionnaires. The
are used to explore the factors creating project delays. Any questionnaire was designed and distributed personally and
data collected through personal delivery was kept in a sealed through emails to the construction companies. Data was
envelope. All envelopes were kept together in a safe box gathered from the engineering consultants, clients, and
until the end of the data collection period before they can be contractors using questionnaires. The data collection
opened. No names or contact details were allowed on the focused mainly on the professionals working on the building
envelopes. However, this study did not permit cost projects, road and stormwater projects, and water and sewer
implications for the participants. Free envelopes were projects. Respondents answered the questions on their own
provided for the hard copy questionnaires. The literature time. This approach looked more relaxed than in face-to-
review enabled the gathering of existing data on the topic, face interviews. The participants would have enough time to
while the information gathered through surveys was used to think and take decisions. Questionnaires were designed to
verify the contents of the existing literature on the issue of consist of open-ended and closed questions. Participants
project delays. The quantitative data were collected based on were opportune to express personal views regarding the
possible ideas from the construction projects. To maintain study. Closed and open-ended questions were used to gather
quality, this study mostly considered only the research in the clear opinions of the respondents. Data was gathered for
peer-reviewed books, journals, and articles (Panova and five weeks starting from 21st September to 25th October
Hilletofth 2018). Due to the unforeseen circumstance of the 2020. The 5-point Likert scale factor below was used to rate
Covid-19 Pandemic, research data were collected using only data collected from the participants.
a quantitative research method. In data collection, several
Scale factor Weightage

Strongly agree 5
agree 4
Neutral 3
disagree 2
Strongly disagree 1
Table 1: Likert scale factor
IV. DATA COLLECTED FROM STAKEHOLDERS
● FROM CLIENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

S/No Causes of project delays 1 2 3 4 5
1 A wrong costing of the bill of quantities 0 0 0 13 2
2 Bad economic situations 0 0 1 11 3
3 Poor communication system 0 1 0 1 13
4 Financial problems 0 0 0 5 10
5 Unclear project objectives/scope 0 1 0 2 12
6 Late payment to contractors 0 1 0 2 12
7 Neglecting some parties to the project 0 1 1 3 10
8 Using unqualified subcontractors 0 1 1 4 9
9 Shortage of manpower 0 1 1 1 12
10 Unforeseen circumstances 2 8 1 4 0
11 Poor salaries for workers 0 12 1 2 0
12 Vandalism of materials and equipment 0 4 0 11 0
13 Work overloading on the contractors 1 3 0 7 4
14 Engaging inexperience engineers 0 3 1 2 9
15 Change of government 4 2 0 6 3
16 Complete abandonment of the project 0 0 0 11 4
17 Reworking of the completed job 0 0 3 8 4
18 Suspension of work 0 0 0 15 0
19 Unexpected variation orders 2 7 4 1 1
20 Underestimation of quantities of work 1 4 3 0 7
21 Use of lowest bidder system 4 8 0 3 0

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22 Market inflation 13 1 1 0 0
23 Uncontrolled accident and injuries 10 5 0 0 0
24 Engaging unskilled sub-contractors 0 0 0 9 6
25 Lateness in land acquisition 4 2 2 5 2
26 Community unrest 0 2 0 10 3
27 Conflicts among the team members 1 10 1 3 0
28 Lateness in delivery of materials and equipment 2 0 0 11 2
29 Poor planning/scheduling 0 0 2 8 5
30 Unrealistic project period imposed by the client 3 9 0 3 0
31 Poor monitoring and control 0 0 0 10 5
32 Legal disputes between parties 0 4 0 9 2
33 Use of weak competitors 2 12 0 1 0
34 Health and safety restrictions 11 4 0 0 0
35 Delays in subcontracted works 0 2 0 12 1
36 Lateness in approving design Documents by the client 2 3 0 10 0
37 Lack of government full commitment to the projects 3 3 0 7 2
38 Lateness in issuing permits to start work 0 0 0 9 6
39 Delay in performing inspections and approval by the consultant 0 0 0 10 5
40 Design errors/changes 0 0 0 6 9
41 Consistent construction errors and defective works 0 0 0 11 4
42 Late relocation of existing services 2 5 0 6 2
43 Lack of safety measures on-site 3 12 0 0 0
44 Government complicated policy 4 11 0 0 0
45 Using sub-standard equipment and materials 0 2 0 11 2
46 Contractors delays in paying salaries to their workers 0 3 1 9 2
47 Poor coordination of the work by parties on the project 1 5 0 6 3
48 Inaccurate construction details 0 0 0 11 4
49 Poor project management 0 0 0 11 4
50 Frequent equipment breakdown 0 12 0 3 0
51 Lack of direction on the project 0 6 6 2 1
52 Negligence of industrial relations 1 5 0 7 2
53 Lack of sufficient materials and equipment on-site 0 2 0 10 3
54 Slow in decision making 4 9 1 1 0
● FROM CONSULTANTS’ PERSPECTIVE

3 Poor communication system 0 9 0

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36 Lateness in approving design Documents by the client 1 7 0 10 0
46 Contractor’s delays in paying salaries to their workers 0 0 0 17 1
● FROM CONTRACTORS’ PERSPECTIVE
3 Poor communication system 2 5 5 9 1

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36 Lateness in approving design documents by the client 0 0 2 20 0
46 Contractor’s delays in paying salaries to their workers 0 3 9 10 0
Table 1
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION projects is a delay. 54 causes of project delays were

identified in the study and ranked in line with their relative
The research result section is where the report of the importance as indicated in table 4 on page 7. Ranking
findings of the study is recorded. It is regarded as the number 1 signifies the most critical cause of delays.
completeness of outcomes, instead of the conclusions or Ranking decreases according to relative importance. The
recommendations drawn from them. Publishing results of least rank signifies the least critical cause of project delays.
research is very important to provide instructions for future In addition to 54 identified project delay factors, during the
studies. The result section indicates the results of the investigation, consulting engineers reported that
quantitative research methodology conducted. It also misunderstanding the scope of work, client issuing
contains a discussion of how the analysis confines the instructions directly to the contractors, and the use of
research questions. As this study has primarily embraced an quantity surveyors to decide on design standards should also
interpretative technique, the only statistical analysis in this be considered. Contractors also maintained that project
study is to give descriptive or illustrative statistics that assist managers’ poor relationship with the subcontractors and
to discover preferences amongst the research population. inspectors should also be considered as a critical cause of
However, this created a suitable platform from which to project delays. The relief strategies were detected from the
begin the quantitative questions which assist to simplify the existing literature. Cronbach initiation was used to establish
responses from the stakeholders. The present study is an the authenticity of research questionnaires. The result
endeavor to have knowledge about the level of reveals that the response from the client has the alpha value
understanding of the clients, contractors, and consultants of 0.75, the consultant has the alpha value of 0.80, and the
regarding the project setbacks. 96 participants were selected. contractor has the alpha value of 0.70 as indicated in table 6
The scheduled questionnaire contained information such as on page 11. Since the minimum acceptable alpha is 0.70,
job title and type of stakeholder, awareness level using a this means that the 55 returned research questionnaires fall
Likert point scale of 1 to 5 as well as open-ended questions. within the minimum acceptable value. However, this shows
Out of these 96 questionnaires distributed, 55 filled that the research instrument is reliable. From data collection
responses were returned to the researcher. 15 responses were and analysis, it is quite clear to say that conflict is like a
collected from the clients. 18 responses were collected from cough, if you do not treat the root cause, it will appear again.
the consultants. 22 responses were collected from the In other words, delay in a project is a disease. If the root
contractors. All the respondents were linked to the cause of this delay is not identified and tackled, it will keep
construction industry. The results acquired from the study on appearing every now and then.
were put through statistical analysis. It was observed from
the quantitative data analysis that the main issue facing

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A. Numerical results
ID Type of participant No. of respondents Percentage %

1 Client 15 27
2 Consultant 18 33
3 Contractor 22 40
Total 55 100
Table 3: Profile of participants and related details
Table 3 above shows the details of the returned were computed and tabulated in table 4 below. This was
questionnaires. The roots of project setbacks were analyzed used to ascertain the major project delay factors differently.
and ranked according to their significance level. The RII for The RII was quantified using the formula below:
three stakeholders, namely, client, consultant, and contractor
RII = ∑W = 5n5 + 4n4 + 3n3 + 2n2 + 1n1

AxN 5N
Where;
RII = Relative importance index
W = Value assigned to individual delay factor
A – Maximum value, that is 5
N - Overall number of participants.
n – Number of responses under a particular rating (e.g., n5 is the number of partakers rating strongly agree).
For example, from clients’ perspective in table 4 below,
For delay factor ID: 1, RII = 5x2 + 4x13 + 3x0 + 2x0 + 1x0 = 10+52+0+0+0 = 0.83
5x15 75
The same procedure was used to calculate RII for the to determine the degree of effect by each delay factor, five
rest of the ratings. Using weighted means, the results were Likert scales are classified by the uniform intervals:
summed up and weighted by 3 (number of stakeholders) as
tabulated in Table 4 below to simplify the analysis. This is 00.0 ≤ strongly disagree effect (SDE) ≤ 20.0
used to compare the degree of awareness between the 20.0 ≤ disagree effect (DE) ≤ 40.0
stakeholders regarding the major project sources. According 40.0 ≤ neutral effect (NE) ≤ 60.0
to Tareq and Yasser (2018) and Hatkar and Hedaoo (2016), 60.0 ≤ agree effect (AE) ≤ 80.0
80.0 ≤ strongly agree effect (SAE) ≤ 100
ID Delay factor Client Consultant Contractor Overall Degree

of effect
RII RII RII Mean RII Rank
1 A wrong costing of the bill of 0.83 0.87 0.85 0.85 6 SAE
quantities
2 Bad economic situations 0.83 0.78 0.75 0.78 12 AE
3 Poor communication system 0.79 0.64 0.62 0.68 21 AE
4 Financial problems 0.93 0.93 0.93 0.93 2 SAE
5 Unclear project objectives/scope 0.67 0.76 0.84 0.75 15 AE
6 Late payment to contractors 0.93 0.83 0.91 0.89 3 SAE
7 Neglecting some parties to the 0.81 0.71 0.70 0.74 16 AE
project
8 Using unqualified subcontractors 0.88 0.80 0.69 0.79 12 AE
9 Shortage of manpower 0.92 0.80 0.84 0.85 6 SAE
10 Unforeseen circumstances 0.49 0.62 0.53 0.54 28 NE
11 Poor salaries for workers 0.47 0.72 0.43 0.54 28 NE
12 Vandalism of materials and 0.69 0.62 0.77 0.69 20 AE
equipment
13 Work overloading on the contractors 0.73 0.79 0.44 0.65 24 AE
14 Engaging inexperience engineers 0.83 0.62 0.74 0.73 17 AE
15 Change of government 0.63 0.42 0.39 0.48 30 NE
16 Complete abandonment of the 0.93 0.99 0.99 0.97 1 SAE
project
17 Reworking of the completed job 0.87 0.86 0.92 0.88 4 SAE
18 Suspension of work 0.93 0.99 0.99 0.97 1 SAE

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19 Unexpected variation orders 0.49 0.41 0.81 0.57 26 NE
20 Underestimation of quantities of 0.71 0.60 0.81 0.70 19 AE
work
21 Use of lowest bidder system 0.43 0.53 0.48 0.48 30 NE
22 Market inflation 0.24 0.50 0.74 0.49 29 NE
23 Uncontrolled accident and injuries 0.27 0.38 0.44 0.36 34 DE
24 Engaging unskilled sub-contractors 0.88 0.81 0.69 0.79 12 AE
25 Lateness in land acquisition 0.59 0.66 0.64 0.63 25 AE
26 Community unrest 0.79 0.89 0.85 0.84 7 SAE
27 Conflicts among the team members 0.48 0.47 0.67 0.54 28 NE
28 Lateness in delivery of materials and 0.75 0.87 0.87 0.83 8 SAE
equipment
29 Poor planning/scheduling 0.77 0.62 0.88 0.75 15 AE
30 Unrealistic project period imposed 0.44 0.51 0.75 0.56 27 NE
by the client
31 Poor monitoring and control 0.87 0.74 0.80 0.80 11 SAE
32 Legal disputes between parties 0.72 0.83 0.77 0.77 14 AE
33 Use of weak competitors 0.40 0.47 0.57 0.48 30 NE
34 Health and safety restrictions 0.25 0.48 0.49 0.40 32 NE
35 Delays in subcontracted works 0.76 0.83 0.84 0.81 10 SAE
36 Lateness in approving design 0.64 0.61 0.78 0.67 22 AE
documents by the client
37 Lack of government full 0.63 0.79 0.75 0.72 18 AE
commitment to the projects
38 Lateness in issuing permits to start 0.88 0.49 0.81 0.72 18 AE
work
39 Delay in performing inspections and 0.87 0.73 0.84 0.81 10 SAE
approval by the consultant
40 Design errors/changes 0.92 0.73 0.81 0.82 9 SAE
41 Consistent construction errors and 0.85 0.88 0.80 0.84 7 SAE
defective works
42 Late relocation of existing services 0.61 0.46 0.56 0.54 28 NE
43 Lack of safety measures on-site 0.36 0.38 0.44 0.39 33 DE
44 Government complicated policy 0.35 0.44 0.47 0.42 31 NE
45 Using sub-standard equipment and 0.77 0.70 0.75 0.74 16 AE
materials
46 Contractor’s delays in paying 0.73 0.81 0.66 0.73 17 AE
salaries to their workers
47 Poor coordination of the work by 0.67 0.77 0.64 0.69 20 AE
parties on the project
48 Inaccurate construction details 0.85 0.87 0.91 0.87 5 SAE
49 Poor project management 0.85 0.68 0.82 0.78 13 AE
50 Frequent equipment breakdown 0.48 0.81 0.70 0.66 23 AE
51 Lack of direction on the project 0.57 0.64 0.69 0.63 25 AE
52 Negligence of industrial relations 0.65 0.66 0.79 0.70 19 AE
53 Lack of sufficient materials and 0.79 0.82 0.85 0.82 9 SAE
equipment on-site
54 Slow in decision making 0.39 0.76 0.75 0.63 25 AE
Table 4: Ranking stakeholders’ responses based on the weighted RII
The above outcome shows that stakeholders have factors affecting project performance (Tareq and Yasser
different views regarding delay factors. This case refers me 2018). These factors may create a crucial budget and time
to a usual proverb that says “a man’s meat may be another overruns if they eventually happen to occur. When the RII
man’s toxin’. This means that problem to a stakeholder may of all the stakeholders is summed up, the three give an equal
be different from other stakeholders. The top 16 factors value of 36.86 each. This is evidence that the research
ranking strongly agree effects (SAE) are the most influential instrument is stable and reliable.

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S/No Delay factor Mitigation measures
1 Suspension of work All parties on the project must stick to the contractual agreement especially in
terms of time, money, and quality
2 Complete abandonment The client must ensure consistent payment of work done. Late payment or non-
of the project payment of work done may give rise to total abandonment of the project due to
lack of finance.
3 Financial problems The client and contractor should ensure that adequate funding is available
before embarking on a project
4 Late payment to The client should prioritize early payment of work done to contractors. The
contractors client must maintain consistent payment work done to contractors to minimize
the financial crisis
5 Reworking of the A competent and experienced project manager must be engaged to oversee the
completed job project implementation to reworking exercise.
6 Inaccurate construction A competent and experienced engineer must be engaged to oversee the project
details implementation. The engineer must ensure construction drawings are clear and
precise
7 Stakeholders should engage an experienced quantity surveyor to handle the
A wrong costing of the costing of the bill of quantities to avoid underestimation of the bill of
bill of quantities quantities, which will affect the project performance at the later stage.
8 The contractor must ensure enough manpower on site. The early arrangement
Shortage of manpower should be done prior to commencement of job activities
9 The community must be notified of the project in the initial stage. Local
Community unrest communities need to be engaged in areas they are suitable for.
10 Consistent construction Effective quality control must be in place. It is the sole responsibility of
errors and defective everyone to avoid defects. Hence, it is a collaborative effort to ensure there are
works no defects on the job.
11 Lateness in delivery of The contractor should place an order for materials and equipment on time to
materials and equipment ensure early delivery to the site.
12 The competent design engineer must be engaged to handle the design work.
The engineer must proofread the drawings after designing them before sending
Design errors/changes them for approval.
13 Lack of sufficient An early arrangement for the procurement of enough materials and equipment
materials and equipment must be in place to avoid sudden shortage.
on-site
14 Delays in subcontracted Engaging unqualified subcontractors should be discouraged. Select contractors
works based on knowledge and experience.
15 Delay in performing Consulting engineer should create a favourable time table for early project
inspections and approval inspection. Inspection should be done as soon as the job activity is ready for
by the consultant that. The competent engineer must be engaged to carry out inspection activities
16 Close project monitoring and controlling are encouraged. As a project manager,
Poor monitoring and you need to maintain traces of the commitments of all stakeholders in the
control project
Table 5: Mitigation measures against the top 16 project delay factors
Table 5 above shows the relief strategies against the top 16 project delay factors according to the literature review. This
proves that every risk affecting the successful delivery of a project has different means of resolving it. However, this study shows
that any problem affecting the successful project delivery has a solution.

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B. Graphical Results
Top 16 delay factors

1.2
1
0.97 0.97 0.93
Mean RII
0.8 0.89 0.88 0.87 0.85 0.85

0.84 0.84 0.83 0.82 0.82 0.81 0.81 0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
Figure 1 Top 16 delay factors
Fig. 1: Chart representation of top 16 delay factors
From figure 1 above, it is noticed that the suspension c) Validation

of work and the abandonment of the project are the most Taherdoost, (2016) defines validity as the level of
critical issues among the 16 delay factors affecting the accuracy of an idea in a quantitative study. It simply
successful delivery of a project. Both of them are of equal means computing what is intended to be computed.
importance. The least factor among the 16 critical delay Implementation of the findings is an evidence-based
factors in figure 1 above is poor monitoring and control. practice. Consideration must be accorded to the rigor
This chart is used to simplify this analysis. of the research and not just the outcome of the study.
Rigour indicates the degree of quality maintained in
C. Proposed Improvements the study. In this case, Rigour means the extent to
which the researchers have worked to strengthen the
a) Recommendations for future studies quality of studies. This can only be attained through
Further studies on factors creating project setbacks the computation of reliability and validity.
are required within privately funded projects to Reliability measure the quality of work in a
ascertain the difference in factors creating project quantitative study. It shows the correctness of the
setbacks in government-funded projects and that of questionnaires. Reliability links to the consistency of
privately funded projects. a measure. Cronbach's α measures inner consistency.
b) Recommendations to minimize future project delays It has ranged from 0 to 1 and the agreed reliability is
The clients should ensure early payment of all debts 0.70 and above. Cronbach’s Alpha with the rate of
and installments to circumvent or minimize delays. 0.70 and over stipulates that all the variable
Consulting engineers should ensure that all design indicators measurements denote allowable internal
works are well perused prior to final submission for consistency (Olaniyi 2019). An alpha value of 0.00
approval. There is a need to have an experienced indicates no uniformity in estimation while a rate of
permanent engineer representative on-site in order to 1.00 shows faultless consistency in estimation.
monitor and control the work activities to ensure Cronbach’s Alpha (α) was calculated using the
quality is maintained. The contractor should ensure formula below:
the scope of work is clear and precise before α =1- kr
proceeding to work. (1 + (k -1) r

ISSN No:-2456-2165
Where; r = mean inter-indicator correlation or average of correlation
k = Overall number of participants from each stakeholder, coefficients
which are 15, 18, 22 in this case.
Pearson correlation (r) = n (∑xy) – (∑x)( ∑y)

[n∑x2 - (∑x2)2][n∑y2 – (∑y2)2]
Where; relationship. An indication of -1.00 means an absolute
n = number of respondents from stakeholders, which is 15, pessimistic relationship. An indication larger than 1.00 or
18, and 22 in this case less than -1.00 shows that there is an error in the correlation
x = number of questionnaires estimation. Values range between a calculated figure higher
y = number of responses from each stakeholder, which is 15, than 1.00 or smaller than -1.00 indicates the existence of an
18, 22 error in relationship quantification. A relationship of 0.00
indicates no direct connection between the movements of
The values of Pearson correlation (r) lie between -1.00 the variables.
and 1.00. An indication of 1.00 means an absolute optimistic
No. of participants (K) Correlation coefficients (r) Cronbach’s Alpha (α)

15 0.02 0.75
18 0.02 0.80
22 0.03 0.70
Table 6: Tabulating the Cronbach’s Alpha values
The rate that is acquired for an alpha normally contribute to project delays in different ways. The study
stipulates the percentage of the authenticity of the discussed the necessity for ethical consideration in research
questionnaire. For instance, the rate of 0.70 indicates 70% of work. Cronbach Alpha ascertains the reliability of research
the scores are authentic, while 30% indicates an error score. questionnaires. The study has proved that every project
It must be noted that Cronbach’s initiation does not furnish delay has a remedy. The correlation coefficient (r)
authentic measurements of an individual or independent determines whether the linear relationship in the sample data
participants. It gives reliable estimates for summed scales or is strong enough to use to model the relationship in the
subscales. If it happens to be used for individual or selected population.
independent units, the reliability of those units may remain
unspecified. However, it must be understood that this BIOGRAPHY
formula is only appropriate in social and behavioural studies
that deal with characters, personalities, perceptions, views, Anthony Obododike Ekwuno is the managing member
feelings, and interpretations of people’s environment. of the Tobeko Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd. South Africa.
He has acquired over 25 years of experience in civil
VI. CONCLUSION engineering. Mr. Ekwuno holds a higher national diploma in
civil engineering from the Federal Polytechnic, Bida in
The conclusion is the final chapter of the study that Nigeria. Mr. Ekwuno also acquired a master of science in
intends to assist the readers to understand why this research civil engineering from the University of East London,
should matter to them after they have completed reading the United Kingdom. He gained a Master of Philosophy in
research paper. This part of the research study is not merely Engineering Management from the University of
a summary of the research points. This study identified and Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr. Ekwuno has been
analyzed major factors creating project setbacks and their recognized as a Professional Engineering Technologist by
relief strategies. It measured the difference in the view of the Engineering Council of South Africa. He is also a
perceptions among stakeholders regarding factors creating professional member of Project Management, South Africa.
project setbacks. 54 factors were detected and compiled for Mr. Ekwuno is a member of an Institution of Professional
further assessment. Data gathering in this study focused only Engineering Technologists, South Africa. Mr. Ekwuno has
on government-funded projects. The result indicated that all been recognized as an Associate Member of the American
three stakeholders in the project generally agreed to 54 Society of Civil Engineers.
causes of project delays in South Africa. The result of this
examination showed that the project delay awareness level ACKNOWLEDGMENT
of the three stakeholders was deemed to be almost the same.
The three stakeholders proved to be equally experienced and I gratefully acknowledge the Almighty God for His
knowledgeable on the issue of delays. Relief strategies Mercy and Direction all around this study. My great thanks
developed in this study can be regarded as a record of good go to all the lecturers at the University of Johannesburg for
exercise that may assist in controlling and improving their support in making this lovely journey a positive one. I
successful project delivery in South Africa. Successful do acknowledge everyone who participated in completing
project delivery relies on the efforts invested by the three the questionnaires for this study. Special thanks go to my
stakeholders in the project planning and delivery, as they research supervisor, Dr. H. Nel, and the members of the

ISSN No:-2456-2165
supervisory committee for devoting ample time to ensure [12.] Hatkar K B * and Hedaoo N A1. Delay analysis by
1
that this study is successful. Finally, I want to convey my using relative importance index method in
heartfelt appreciation to the members of my family for their infrastructure projects, 2016
continuous prayer for the successful completion of this [13.] Jongo1, J. S., Dennis N. G., Tesha², A. K., Kasonga1,
study. I really respect everyone for substantial benefactions R., Teyanga1, J. J. and Lyimo² K. S. (2019).
to my study. 'Mitigation measures in dealing with delays and cost
overrun in public building projects in dar-Es-Salaam,
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Analyzing The Project Delay Causes in The South African Construction Industry

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Volume 7, Issue 6, June – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

Analyzing the Project Delay Causes in the South

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Scale factor Weightage

IV. DATA COLLECTED FROM STAKEHOLDERS

● FROM CLIENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

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● FROM CONSULTANTS’ PERSPECTIVE

1 A wrong costing of the bill of quantities 0 0 0 12 6

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V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION projects is a delay. 54 causes of project delays were

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ID Type of participant No. of respondents Percentage %

RII = ∑W = 5n5 + 4n4 + 3n3 + 2n2 + 1n1

For example, from clients’ perspective in table 4 below,

ID Delay factor Client Consultant Contractor Overall Degree

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Top 16 delay factors

0.8 0.89 0.88 0.87 0.85 0.85

Figure 1 Top 16 delay factors

Fig. 1: Chart representation of top 16 delay factors

From figure 1 above, it is noticed that the suspension c) Validation

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Pearson correlation (r) = n (∑xy) – (∑x)( ∑y)

No. of participants (K) Correlation coefficients (r) Cronbach’s Alpha (α)

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