Change Order Impact on Construction Industry of Pakistan

Abstract

Change order is the alteration in the contract documents which signed before a project between two parties. The impact of change order fluctuates the budget as well as the duration of the project. Change order has been called the biggest cause of dispute between the contractor and client. The aim of this research was to find out the factors that cause change order and articulate a guideline to overcome the problems for stakeholders of construction industry. From the perspective of expertise, stakeholders of construction industry and literature review a questionnaire was designed and conducted an exploratory survey. The data collected from 102 respondents were analyzed through Statistical Packages of Social Sciences (SPSS-23) and MS Excel for reliability check. 32 influential factors identified through an exploratory survey from the stakeholders of construction industry. Five factors like scope of the project, defects in drawings, client financial problems and lack of skilled labor and role of technology concluded high-rank factors by Relative importance index (RII). To avoid the adverse effects of these factors and disputes between the different parties, the project scope must be identified from the beginning of the project. The drawings should be cleared to the owner and project should be managed properly. Majority of the projects are affected by the change order, it is therefore suggested to focus on the critical factors to avoid the effects.