Evaluation of change management efficiency of construction contractors

Abstract

In construction projects, changes are very common and likely to occur at any stage of the project.Most changes, if not managed properly through a formalized change management process will have considerable impact as they disrupt work and affect its orderly sequence, adversely impacting productivity and accordingly causing schedule delays and cost overruns.Managing changes effectively is crucial to the success of a construction project.This research is targeted at providing a deeper insight into the change orders (CO) in the large building construction projects according to the different parties involved (owner, designer, consultant and contractor) with respect to the Egyptian industrial construction sector. A questionnaire survey discussing all persistent aspects of change order with a selected sample of Egyptian construction contractors companies was conducted in order to have a good representation for all the entities working in the construction industries. The Questionnaire was sent to consultants, designers and others working in the field. Results revealed the main causes, effects and controls of the change orders in large building projects. The study also evaluates the change orders control of a selective sample of contractors and investigates their change management efficiency by applying an evaluation check list based on most of the evaluation criteria recognized.