Schedule Overruns Research Articles

Impact of Utilizing Construction Engineering and Inspection Consultants on Highway Construction Project Cost and Schedule Performance

State transportation agencies (STAs) are tasked with constructing and maintaining complex transportation networks while facing changes in agency construction staff with respect to age, experience level, turnover, retirement, and increasing levels of consulting services that are used to manage STA construction operations. To keep up with the increasing demands of projects, STAs are utilizing Construction and Engineering Inspection (CEI) consultants to fill the demand for construction-related human resources. However, the impact of using CEIs on project cost and schedule performance has not been quantified. The current work addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing a database of 305 completed highway construction projects across 16 STAs. The analysis found that projects that utilized CEI consultants had higher levels of full-time equivalent construction staffing than projects that utilized only agency staff. The use of CEI consultants had no impact on project cost compared with projects that relied solely on agency staff. Projects that used CEI consultants had an average cost overrun of 20.2% compared with agency-staffed projects, which experienced average schedule overruns of −7.7% (i.e., the project, on average, finished early). The schedule difference was statistically significant.

Utilization of workface planning for the execution of maintenance activities, shutdowns and turnarounds in petrochemical facilities – a case study

Maintenance activities, shutdowns and turnarounds (MST) are essential for the process industry. In fact, MST projects play important roles in maintaining the consistency of plants’ productive capacity thus helping sustain corporate performance. Unfortunately, MST projects often incur significant budget and schedule overruns. This study documents the current state of practice of execution planning for MST projects. It identifies several factors that contribute to MST performance being poor. These factors include inefficiencies in execution planning, communication, scope management, measurement and control and execution safety. Utilizing input from subject matter experts (SMEs), the first part of this study focuses on developing a customized version of Workface Planning (WFP) that would be applicable to MSTs in the petrochemical industry. Once customized, the WFP tools were implemented by several petrochemical facilities. By observing this implementation, the research team was able to assess the existing levels of MST execution planning and management and to discover areas of inefficiency. This study offers ways to optimize the planning practices of executing MST. Petrochemical organizations could use these findings to assess their own current MST execution-planning procedures. This would involve implementing the customized WFP concepts and tools and thereby attain an optimal state of readiness before starting the MST execution phase.

Probability of change orders and the effect on cost and schedule for new public school buildings

Purpose Change orders (COs) adversely affect the cost and schedule of projects, specifically during the construction phase. COs of 95 new public school building projects contracted by the Clark County School District (CCSD) of Nevada were analyzed to quantify the cost and schedule growth as well as to determine the effect of COs on cost and schedule growth. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from CCSD through questionnaire survey. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were conducted to determine the effect of COs on cost and schedule growth. Findings It was found that the average amount of COs as well as cost and schedule overruns were 5.9, 3.0 and 7.4 percent, respectively. Statistical tests showed that the amount of COs had an adverse effect on schedule growth; schedule overruns in projects with less than 4 percent COs were significantly lower than projects with more than 4 percent COs. Cost overruns did not significantly differ in those two types of projects. The primary contribution of this study is that it provides the tools and the framework for school district engineers to determine the probability of the occurrence of COs as well as the optimum percentage of COs for a minimum effect on cost and schedule growth of new public school buildings. Probability curves were also developed to determine the likelihood of the occurrence of COs, cost growth and schedule growth in these projects. These findings could be used by school districts to avoid or reduce COs in future projects, minimizing the effect on cost and schedule growth during the construction phase. Research limitations/implications The findings and the probabilities curves developed in this study should be used carefully in other cases. These data were specific to the owner, location and types of buildings and generalizing these findings may have negative consequences. Practical implications The practical implications are that this study could provide a tool to school building administrators to determine the probability of having COs as well as cost and schedule overruns and the effects of COs on cost and schedule overruns. To the authors’ best knowledge, no other studies of this type have been conducted previously. Social implications The social implication of this study is it will help to efficiently use the tax payers’ money while building new school buildings. Originality/value This study has collected the hard data of COs, cost and schedule data of CCSD new school building projects. Therefore, the data are from the projects completed by CCSD. So, the paper is written from the original data received from CCSD.

A framework to assess the costs and benefits of advanced work packaging in industrial construction

The term advanced work packaging (AWP), coined by the Construction Industry Institute (CII), refers to a disciplined process for project planning and execution; it was developed to address challenges such as cost and schedule overruns in the industrial construction sector. Case studies conducted on AWP report a number of benefits in the areas of productivity, cost, safety, and schedule. However, since there is no clear method to assess the costs and benefits of AWP implementation, a significant challenge in AWP adoption is the lack of quantitative evidence to support these reported benefits. This paper presents a structured framework to assess multiple aspects of AWP implementation, which will enable the quantification of both its costs and benefits. The framework will enable the future comparison of AWP and non-AWP projects. This paper contributes to the industrial construction sector by providing a framework to assess AWP implementation in practice.

Cost and schedule overruns in large hydropower dams: an assessment of projects completed since 2000

ABSTRACT This paper presents novel data on cost and schedule overruns in recent dam projects started and completed since 2000 and compares them with pre-existing data sets on projects started before 2000. Combining these data, a meta-data set was created of 184 cost overrun and 191 time overrun data points. For post-2000 projects, the average cost overrun was 33% and schedule overrun was 18% as compared with 46% and 37% respectively for pre-2000 projects. While a decrease in the averages was observed, the change in cost overruns is not statistically significant, whereas the change in time overruns is significant.

Schedule overruns as a barrier for liquefied natural gas projects: A review of the literature and research agenda

With only half of the carbon footprint of coal, natural gas is widely considered to be an important transition fuel as the world economy shifts away from more carbon-intensive energy sources towards lower-carbon alternatives. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has accordingly grown as a solution for connecting producers and consumers of this valuable resource that are geographically separated by large distances or barriers that make pipelines infeasible. Many construction projects are underway or being planned around the world to bring onstream the vast amounts of infrastructure required for this strategically important energy source. Despite the importance of these projects, however, they are frequently plagued by significant overruns in both scheduling and cost that could impede the progress of the adoption of natural gas in both the short- and long-term. Towards understanding these impediments, this paper puts forward a systematic literature review that synthesizes project management research and prior contributions in the LNG domain to identify risk factors that are most important to schedule and cost overruns in LNG projects. We then put forward a series of research questions that highlight the most fruitful areas for future investigations in this area, thereby helping to lay the groundwork for research that would potentially speed up the rate at which new natural gas supplies can supplant more carbon intensive fuel sources around the world.

Report for the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project

This report was commissioned by the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project to provide the national and international context in which the Muskrat Falls Project took place. The Commission asked for the report to cover three specific topics of questions: (1) What is the national and international context of the Muskrat Falls Project with regards to cost overrun and schedule overrun? (What are the typical cost and schedule overruns of hydro-electric dam projects? How do hydro-electric dams compare to other capital investment projects? How do Canadian projects compare to other countries?), (2) What are the causes and root causes of cost and schedule overruns? (3) What are recommendations, based on international experience and research into capital investment projects, to prevent cost and schedule overruns in hydro-electric dam projects and other capital investment projects?

Oil and gas project management and success: a critical evaluation of oil and gas project management success in Australia

Australia remains in pole position to become the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the number one exporter in the future. Maintaining this trajectory will require the oil and gas industry in Australia to remain competitive in project delivery to continue to attract investments. Yet, the Australian project delivery environment poses a big threat to this trajectory. Several research studies, organisations and institutions have come up with a long list of generic factors contributing to project management success and failure. The aim of this study is to examine oil and gas projects in Australia with a view to ascertain their success or otherwise and the specific contributing factors. This study has used a qualitative method of research by examining secondary sources of information on four recent Western Australia LNG projects (Gorgon, Wheatstone, Prelude and Ichthys) and presenting them as case studies. Specifically, the research has used mostly online sources that are either independent reports or information sourced from company websites. The key findings suggest that major oil and gas projects in Australia fail, and that failure or success is determined by the ability of the project management team to deliver the project on budget and on schedule. This is exemplified by the projects examined in this study, which have all shown cost and schedule overruns. Six critical factors are observed as contributing to cost and schedule overrun: project location, high cost of executing projects in Australia versus overseas, skills shortages, overseas manufacturing, project complexity and cultural and environment issues. Innovation, collaboration and standardisation, as adopted from other regions, are the initial practices suggested for the Australian industry to overcome all six factors and encourage further investment.

A fuzzy optimisation approach for software reliability estimation

Many organisations today utilise information technology to gain competitive advantage. As a result, information technology industry has witnessed extraordinary growth. Many times the software companies compromise on software testing to avoid cost or schedule overrun. This might make the software unreliable. Hence, it is imperative for the software firms to estimate the reliability of the software and ensure that their products are reliable. A wide range of models is available for reliability prediction. But there is not a single model suitable for all software products. Hence, it is necessary to identify the best-suited software reliability model for every software product. Unfortunately, the best fit model identification depends on the performance characteristics used for selecting the model. In this paper, the authors suggest a fuzzy optimisation methodology to choose the best software reliability model based on multiple performance characteristics. Two case studies demonstrating the proposed methodology are also presented in the paper.

Complexity assessment using SysML models

System complexity is often associated with multiple issues such as schedule and cost overruns, poor performance or even program failure. With engineered systems becoming ever more complex it is of great interest to be able to assess the complexity of a system easily and during the design process. Since Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is becoming a widely used tool in systems development, a method to assess complexity using a SysML model and the information that is typically depicted in a model is developed. The complexity estimation in SysML was done by adapting the complexity metric developed by Sinha and Suh for a Design Structure Matrix (DSM).

Procurement path influencing factors in Ghana: managing the challenge of cultural shift

An integrated procurement planning effort is a precursor for the successful delivery of projects. For traditional reasons, the Ghanaian construction industry has a challenge of cultural shift in the adoption of contemporary procurement systems. This research sought to investigate factors influencing the continuous use of Design Bid Build (DBB) and the main procurement path influencing factors. Using quantitative methods, findings from the field study indicated that familiarity with the DBB has been the driver for the continuous use of DBB. It was established that the main challenges of DBB were high cost and schedule overruns and high variations. On the other hand, the main procurement influencing factors were identified as early start and completion, firm prices before committing to precede, reduction in cost and schedule overruns. It was evident from the study that the Ghanaian construction industry is not ready for cultural shift in procurement strategies, and may continue to embrace the DBB. It is recommended that contractor selection for projects should not necessarily be based on bulk volume of works but the unit of work. This would enhance the early selection of a contractor, whose early involvement would bring to bear buildability, increased contractor’s responsibility and reduce project risk.

RISK MANAGEMENT DURING OUTAGE PROJECTS AT POWER PLANTS

Outages are needed for the maintenance of most continuously operated plants such as power plants, refineries, and petrochemical plants. Such plants comprise thousands of items of complex equipment and machinery that operate under rigorous operating conditions. Tasks carried out during outage projects include overhauls, inspections, repairs, replacement of equipment, and modification. Like most complex projects, outage projects have a high risk that there will be cost and schedule overruns. A study was done to investigate the management of risks in outage projects at South African power plants. The main objective was to determine whether project risk management is understood and recognised as a success factor for outage projects. A conceptual framework developed from the literature was used to design a survey questionnaire that was emailed to potential respondents who are involved in the management of outage projects. The results of the survey indicated that ineffective or weak outage risk management often results in large cost and schedule overruns. Effective planning and risk management were identified as the most important success factors for outage projects. The study identified training in risk management, an enabling culture, and management support as areas for improvement in outage project risk management.

First Attempt Toward a Holistic Understanding of the Interdependent Rippled Impacts Associated with Out-of-Sequence Work in Construction Projects: System Dynamics Modeling Approach

Abstract Out-of-sequence (OOS) work during construction is a major cause of productivity losses, cost and schedule overruns, and quality decline, either directly or indirectly. Given the complexity...

Effect of Change Orders on Cost and Schedule Overruns of School Building Renovation Projects

AbstractChange orders are common problems in construction projects, and the effect of change orders on cost and schedule have been studied. However, few studies have considered the effect of change...

International comparison of performance of public projects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of public projects in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney to uncover which areas project managers should focus on when managing public projects in different countries. Design/methodology/approach Based on the literature review, a structured questionnaire was designed to collect data of completed public projects. In total, 244 sets of data of completed public projects were collected. Findings Significant cost and schedule overruns are found in all four cities. Hong Kong’s public projects have the highest cost and schedule overruns. Singapore’s public projects have the lowest cost overrun and Beijing’s projects have the lowest schedule overrun. Public projects in all four cities recorded significantly good project quality. Research limitations/implications The findings are not easily generalizable due to the relatively small sample size in Sydney, low response rate and data being collected from only four cities. The research implication is that the plethora of project management strategies does not seem effective in preventing cost and schedule overruns in public projects. Practical implications This study found that across the four cities, there are significant cost and schedule overruns. Projects in Hong Kong perform the worst in terms of cost and schedule, when compared to Beijing, Singapore and Sydney. The implication is that more attention should be paid to managing cost and schedule, especially in Hong Kong. Originality/value The originality is that the study discovered which areas project managers should focus on when managing public projects in different countries. In laissez-faire or free market economies, more attention should be paid to managing project cost and schedule. When a country has lower transparency index, more attention should be paid to controlling project quality. Project team members should focus on delivering public projects to the highest level of quality in developed countries.

Effort estimation in large-scale software development: An industrial case study

Context: Software projects frequently incur schedule and budget overruns. Planning and estimation are particularly challenging in large and globally distributed agile projects. While software engineering researchers have been investigating effort estimation for many years to help practitioners to improve their estimation processes, there is little empirical research about effort estimation in large-scale distributed projects involving agile teams.Objective: The objective of this paper is three-fold: i) To identify how effort estimation is carried out in large-scale distributed agile projects; ii) to analyze the accuracy of the effort estimation processes in large-scale distributed agile projects; and iii) to identify and investigate the factors that impact the accuracy of effort estimates in large-scale distributed agile projects.Method: We performed an exploratory longitudinal case study. The data collection was operationalized through archival research and semi-structured interviews.Results: The main findings of the studied case are: 1) A two-stage estimation process, with re-estimation at the analysis stage, improves the accuracy of the effort estimates; 2) underestimation is the dominant trend; 3) less mature teams incur larger effort overruns; 4) requirements with larger size/scope incur larger effort overruns; 5) requirements developed in multi-site settings incur larger effort overruns as compared to requirements developed in a co-located setting; 6) requirements priorities impact the accuracy of the effort estimates.Conclusion: A two-stage effort estimation process can improve effort estimation accuracy and seems to address some of the challenges in large-scale agile software development. To improve effort estimates one needs to consider team maturity, distribution as well as requirements size and priorities.

Framework for Managing Integration Challenges of Last Planner System in IMPs

AbstractInternational megaprojects (IMPs) have a poor record of budget and schedule overruns. Lean Construction methods and the associated Last Planner System (LPS) have been successfully implement...

Impact of Owners’ Early Decisions on Project Performance and Dispute Occurrence in Public Highway Projects

AbstractDisputes are common in the construction industry and lead to unnecessary cost and schedule overruns in projects. It is commonly believed that owners’ early decisions regarding the selection...

Sensitivity analysis methods for mitigating uncertainty in engineering system design

AbstractFor many engineering systems, current design methodologies do not adequately quantify and manage uncertainty as it arises during the design process, which can lead to unacceptable risks, increases in programmatic cost, and schedule overruns. This paper develops new sensitivity analysis methods that can be used to better understand and mitigate the effects of uncertainty in system design. In particular, a new entropy‐based sensitivity analysis methodology is introduced, which apportions output uncertainty into contributions due to not only the variance of input factors and their interactions, but also to features of the underlying probability distributions that are related to distribution shape and extent. Local sensitivity analysis techniques are also presented, which provide computationally inexpensive estimates of the change in output uncertainty resulting from design modifications. The proposed methods are demonstrated on an engineering example to show how they can be used in the design context to systematically manage uncertainty budgets—which specify the allowable level of uncertainty for a system—by helping to identify design alternatives, evaluate trade‐offs between available options, and guide decisions regarding the allocation of resources.

Critical Success Factors and Dynamic Modeling of Construction Labour Productivity

Poor construction labour productivity is a major issue within the construction industry because it directly contributes to cost and schedule overrun. Although considerable research has been done on labour productivity factors, few studies have researched construction labour productivity in developing countries. Therefore, in consideration of improving productivity, a questionnaire survey was conducted with construction practitioners involved in the Nepalese construction industry to identify critical factors and to examine the underlying relationships among these factors using fuzzy analytical hierarchical process. The results show that the most critical factors for poor labour productivity are lack of monetary incentive, tools unavailability, insufficient periodic meetings, and unsafe working conditions. The top-ranked factors were compared to those obtained from other countries. The causal relationship diagram and system dynamic models were constructed to examine the inter-relationship between the perceived 30 factors and four criteria to identify the root cause of a decrease in productivity. The system dynamic models will help researchers determine the productivity growth rate in terms of cost and time, and policy makers to revise policies so that the decision maker can draw upon the policy process and its implications. The results not only coincide with the existing body of knowledge on the labour productivity improvement, but also contribute to the growing body of the construction labour productivity research by providing an evaluation method for multi-criteria decision making.