According to the latest data of the construction industry, in the last year, almost 60% of the projects were delivered after time to the clients. After this report, the government is pressurizing the construction companies to benchmark their performances and try to complete all the projects within time. As 60% of the projects were not completed on time, therefore, the cost of these projects is increased. It means that the government has to allocate more funds for these projects. In order to get an idea about delays in these projects, a survey is also conducted. According to the results of this survey, the main causes of construction projects delays in the UK are explained below;


Reasons for the delay

There are lots of reasons that are becoming the cause of delay in these construction projects. These reasons are explained below;

1) Unrealistic scheduling 

This is known as the major problem that is leading the construction companies towards delay. Most of the contractors have given a reason for this negligence that when they are asked to select a construction project or bidding for a construction project, they are given an only short timeline. As a result, they set such deadlines for the completion of the construction projects that can’t be met. In some other cases, while signing on the construction projects, they are given such deadlines from the owners that are very hard to meet. According to recent statistical data, almost 40% of the delays in construction projects is due to unrealistic scheduling. 

2) Lack of information about the project

As we know that a construction project is a very big project and there requires proper planning for its completion before the deadline. Therefore, the contractors require complete information about the project in order to complete it before the deadline. Mostly, clients give a short time to the contractors for bidding. As a result, the contractors are not able to get enough information about the construction projects and they sign on the construction projects. Due to the lack of information, they have to face delays in construction projects. According to the statistical data, almost 35% of projects are delayed due to the lack of information about the projects. 

3) Changes to the initial specifications

Sometimes, there is a possibility that the client requires some changes in the initial specifications of the projects. The construction projects which don’t have tight deadlines can easily manage these changes in the initial specifications. That’s why it is becoming a rare cause of delay in construction projects. On the other hand, the construction projects which have tight schedules have to face delay in the construction projects due to the changes in the initial specifications. These changes in the initial specifications of the construction projects can also create financial problems for construction projects. These financial problems are also becoming the cause of delays in construction projects. 

4) Resource availability

It is also a fact that for the completion of the construction projects there requires a huge amount of material. Therefore, we can’t deny the importance of the suppliers for the completion of the construction projects. Sometimes, there is also a possibility that the required amount of material is not available in the market or suppliers are not contributing properly. Under such a situation, we can also observe some delays in construction projects. 

Survey results

As we have discussed earlier that in order to get an idea about the main causes of construction project delays in the UK, a survey was conducted. The results of this survey show that there are lots of factors that are becoming the cause of delays for these construction projects. 21.3% of construction projects are delayed due to the negligence of the designers. The main cause of the 6.6% delays in the construction projects is the sub-contractors. Due to the negligence of the principal contractors, almost 19.7% of construction projects were delayed. On the other hand, due to the principle contractors, almost 19.7% of construction projects are also delayed. Most of the delay in the construction projects is due to the consultants and that is 32.8%. 

The time overrun

While conducting the survey, they also try to know the amount of time overrun. According to the results of this survey, most of the delays of the construction projects in the UK were completed just within 20% over time. On the other hand, only 9.8% of projects were completed more than 20% of the time of the whole project. On the other hand, they have also compared this time with other countries. This comparison shows that this time is 10 to 30% less than the delay time of the construction projects of the other countries. 

Delays are costly

At the end of the survey, they also try to get an idea about the most common consequences of these construction projects delays in the UK. They come to know that the most important consequence of construction projects delays in the UK is that their costs are increased. In most of the cases, the costs of the construction projects were increased up to 20% of the whole costs of these projects. Another consequence of delays in the construction projects is that these delays are also decreasing the profits of the construction companies. Its reason is that due to the delays in the construction projects, the construction companies have to pay extra salaries to their engineers and other workers. 

Delays are anticipated by every company

It is a fact that all the contractors and companies that are providing the construction services should aware of these delays in the construction projects. Its reason is that these delays in construction projects can create lots of harms for these companies and contractors. Its reason is that due to these delays in the construction projects, the reputation of a company will be decreased in the market. As a result, there are fewer chances of getting construction projects in the future. On the other hand, due to delays in construction projects, the companies have to face some financial issues. Its reason is that these delays in the construction projects are also becoming the cause of increasing the costs of these projects. 

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