Causes of Delay in Smart and Complex Construction Projects

AbstractFrom the economic value and contribution point of view to gross domestic product (GDP), it is highly important to find efficiency through new technology and digital tools as modern practices in the New Zealand construction industry. This requires coordinated efforts and greater alignment in using technology and information technology (IT) infrastructure provisions in complex and smart construction projects and operations. However, construction projects experience indicates delays as a recurring issue that requires constant assessing of these delays’ causes and impact. Many delay analysis methods and causal factors are being recognized, but none has considered whether information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure such as software and smart platforms affect these delay causes and events. This paper aims to identify and rank the causes of delay, which happened through using software and ICT platforms in smart and complex construction projects in New Zealand. Initially, the delay causes were classified, and 15 executed smart construction projects were identified and studied. The projects were selected based on purposive sampling from the different contracting organizations. Accordingly, the project managers and engineers involved participated in a survey on the actual delay causes in these projects. This study utilized the correlation coefficient and ranking of relative importance index (RII) to prioritize the causes of delay. The result presented a list of 20 factors in three classes of design/engineering (DE), client (CL), and contractor (CO). The results revealed that issues such as retrieving information, gathering and screening real-time data on the site, and lack of multicommunication channels between parties and stages (pre- and postconstruction) could be significant causes of delay in smart projects with the expansion of smart tools and techniques in construction. Meanwhile, consents and ethics can potentially become another potential cause of delay, which requires further attention.