Title:

An Investigation into the Delays of Large Scale Construction Projects in Barbados

Submitted by:

Andre Warner

I.D. No: 20045877

Date: December 18th 2012

Supervisor: Glenda Gay, Phd

Course Code and Name

MGMT6900 Applied Research Project

Department: management Studies

Faculty: Social Sciences

Campus: Cave Hill

This is to confirm that I submit this assignment for assessment with full knowledge of the
University’s guidelines and regulations on plagiarism and its associated penalties

Signed.................................................................

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1.1 Problem Statement and Goal
Over the years many researchers in the field of construction management have tried to
investigate the causes and effects of construction delays. These studies tend to focus on
explaining the causes, which in turn would help to guide practitioners in identifying possible
measures for mitigating delay. Yet, despite the plethora of research underlining the causes of,
and possible antidotes for reducing project delays, the inability to complete projects on time
still remains a global issue.

Barbados’ daily media has reported a number of delay-affected projects. The Nation newspaper
stated that the St. John Polyclinic which was expected to be completed in October 2012 will
now be completed four (4) months behind schedule (Parris, 2012). Similarly, the ‘Barbados
Today’ stated that the government will have to relook their January 2013 deadline for work on
its National Stadium. It was reported that the contractors experienced some difficulties with
the ground conditions and persistent bad weather also played a role in causing the project to
be delayed (Taylor, 2012). In 1993 the World Bank produced a report on the Road Maintenance
and Rehabilitation Project conducted n Barbados. The report summarised the project by stating
that the borrower’s commitment was overestimated as well as Barbados’ implementation
capacity for a project of this nature. As a result, the project took three years longer than
planned which resulted in uncompleted work due to a 2.5 million dollar cancellation of funding
(The World Bank, 1993).

The specific objective of this research paper will be to identify and evaluate key factors related
to the causes of construction project delays in Barbados as well as evaluate the effectiveness of
the varying methods used to mitigate delays. This objective will be achieved through the
following research question:

 What major factors delay large scale construction projects in Barbados and what are the

methods used to minimise the effects of these delays?

This research objective will be achieved by first answering the following sub questions;

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 1. What factors have been identified to create schedule delays?

2. What are the effects of the varying types of delays?

3. What are the recommended methods used to minimise delays in large scale

construction projects in Barbados?

1.2 Relevance and Significance of Research

For many years the construction sector has been affected by construction delays on a regular
basis. It is expected that every project conducted on the island will be delivered past its initial
intended completion date. Altering this perceived expectation of the Barbadian society can only
begin when professionals in the construction sector begin to realise the effects of and
determine remedies for this epidemic. This study will seek to bring these muted issues to the
fore front.

Brief Literature Review

The construction sector is an important element of this country’s macroeconomic growth
strategy (Bynoe, 2009). The industry is a major source of employment, and also lays the
foundation for economic growth by providing the infrastructural and commercial framework
needed for development (Bynoe, 2009). Given this imperative, the sustainability of the sector is
of grave importance to the welfare of the Barbadian economy. The success of construction
projects is becoming increasingly difficult during these fragile economic times. With the added
pressures of budget, time and scope constraints it has become increasingly hard for all
stakeholders within the construction industry (Business Barbados, 2012). This reality has made
it more difficult for projects to be finished on schedule and avoid the consequential occurrence
of delays.

Nunnally, (1980) has defined construction delays as the addition to the execution period which
surpasses that stipulated in the contract or the time beyond the stated date to complete the
project in the specified agreed period (Nunnally, 1980). In a comparative study of construction

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project delays in Johor and the Sabah Region it has stated that construction project delays can
be defined as the tardiness in the progress or actual completion of works compared to the
baseline construction schedule or contract (Safri, 2009, p. 1).

A study conducted by Mansfield in 1994 revealed sixteen major factors that caused
construction delays in Nigeria. Of these sixteen identified delays the top ranked were; finance
and payment arrangements, poor contract management, shortages in materials, inaccurate
estimations and overall price fluctuations (Mansfield, 1994). Additionally, Chan and
Kumaraswamy conducted a survey to determine and evaluate the relative importance of the
significant factors causing delays in Hong Kong construction project. The results indicated that
the five major causes of delays were poor site management and supervision, unforeseen
ground conditions, low speed of decision making, client initiated variations and necessary
variations of work (Chan & Kumaraswamy, 2003).

1.3 Barriers and Issues

Delays occurring in Barbados’ construction projects still remain an unresolved issue. Yet, there
is a dearth of research conducted in Barbados to examine the issue of delays within the
construction sector. A substantial amount of literature on construction delays was produced by
researchers in Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East. This was not the reality for the
Caribbean region as no literature was discovered on construction delays. As a result, there are
unknown factors about construction delays specific to this Caribbean environment that will be
discovered during the execution of this research paper. As a result the major sources of
literature within the literature review will have to be obtained outside of the region.
Additionally, since the information gathered will be done by method of a questionnaire, it is
possible that the respondents’ bias on the topic may affect the truthfulness of the answers.

1.4 Approach

The research methodology that will be adopted to conduct this research paper will be of a
quantitative nature. A tested survey instrument will be used to gather data This survey
instrument will contain three (3) sections; Section A will seek to obtain the demographics of the

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respondents, Section B; the respondents’ perception on a list of factors that contribute to
delays in Barbados and Section C; the respondents perception on strategies used to reduce the
effects of delays. The sample population will be that of professionals directly related to the field
of construction with a number of years experience. The data from the completed surveys will
be analysed to rank the results based on the frequency of occurrence and the severity of
occurrence of each factor. This ranking will indicate which factors are truly the major delay
factors that affect construction projects in Barbados.

1.5 Milestones

Task Name Duration Start Finish

MGMT -6900 Applied Research Project 178 days Wed 07/18/12 Sat 01/05/13
Project Management Activities 178 days Wed 07/18/12 Sat 01/05/13
Initiation meeting - Approval of topic, review of research questions 1 day Wed 07/18/12 Wed 07/18/12
Progress meeting 1 1 day Sat 12/08/12 Sat 12/08/12
Progress meeting 2 1 day Mon 12/17/12 Mon 12/17/12
Progress meeting 3 1 day Thu 12/20/12 Thu 12/20/12
Progress meeting 4 1 day Sat 12/22/12 Sun 12/23/12
Conduct close out meeting 1 day Sat 01/05/13 Sat 01/05/13
Project Management Activities Completed 0 days Sat 01/05/13 Sat 01/05/13
Project Activities 176 days Thu 07/19/12 Fri 01/04/13
Collection of Literature 1 day Thu 07/19/12 Thu 07/19/12
Read literature 1 day Fri 08/31/12 Fri 08/31/12
Finalise research questions 1 day Mon 09/17/12 Mon 09/17/12
Complete draft introduction 1 day Tue 10/09/12 Tue 10/09/12
Complete draft literature review 1 day Wed 11/07/12 Wed 11/07/12
Complete research methodology 1 day Fri 12/07/12 Fri 12/07/12
Complete proposed data analysis methodology 1 day Mon 12/10/12 Mon 12/10/12
Complete proposal for review 1 day Fri 12/14/12 Fri 12/14/12
Launch Pilot Survey 2 days Mon 12/17/12 Tue 12/18/12
Compute the Cronbach coefficient alpha 1 day Wed 12/19/12 Wed 12/19/12
Survey distribution 4 days Thu 12/20/12 Sun 12/23/12
Conduct data analysis and interpretation 3 days Mon 12/24/12 Wed 12/26/12
Complete Discussion 2 days Thu 12/27/12 Fri 12/28/12
Complete conclusions and recommendations 3 days Sat 12/29/12 Mon 12/31/12
Complete references 0.25 days Mon 12/31/12 Mon 12/31/12
Complete First draft of report 1 day Tue 01/01/13 Tue 01/01/13
Complete Final paper for submittal 1 day Fri 01/04/13 Fri 01/04/13
Project Activities Completed 0 days Sat 01/05/13 Sat 01/05/13
Research Paper Completed 0 days Sat 01/05/13 Sat 01/05/13

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1.6 Resources

The resources that will be necessary for the successful completion of this project are:

 The use of a computer and the internet for the conducting of literature review,

questionnaire development, data collection, analysis and writing up of project report.

 The use of human resources for the completion of the surveys and supervisors guidance

in the formulation of this research.

 The library of the University of the West Indies for the use of books and journals.

1.7 Reference List

Business Barbados, 2012. The Barbados Construction Industry 2012: Improving Quality and
Streamlinging Cost. [Online]
Available at: http://businessbarbados.com/industry-guide/construction/barbados/barbados-
construction-industry-2010/
[Accessed 13 11 2012].

Bynoe, R., 2009. Construction Sector Linkages in Barbados, Bridgetown: Central Bank of
Barbados.

Chan, D. & Kumaraswamy, M., 2003. A comparative study of causes of time overruns in Hong
Kong construction projects. Int J Project Manage, 15(1), pp. 55-63.

Mansfield, N., 1994. Causes of Delay and Cost Overruns in Nigerian Construction Projects. Int J
project manage, 12(4), pp. 254-60.

Nunnally, S., 1980. Construction Methods and Management, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Parris, D., 2012. The Nation News. Polyclinic by early next year, 14 November.

Safri, D. S. B., 2009. A comparative Study of Construcition Project Delay in Johor And Sabah
Region, Malaysia: Faculty of Civil Engineering Malaysia.

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Taylor, T., 2012. Barbados Online Today. [Online]
Available at: http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2012/10/19/stadium-delay/
[Accessed 2 December 2012].

The World Bank, 1993. Project Completion Report Barbados - Road Maintenance and
Rehabilitation Project, Barbados: Department 3 Infrastructure Division Lantin Amreica and the
Caribbean Region.