Construction projects are the most rigorous and complex job as it has many hard tasks and time taken. During the project, contractors have to face challenges that lead to project delays. It is considered that the larger construction project will have more complex challenges but, in some cases, some other factors also lead to the project delays such as geographical location, unavailability of material, hard access area, weather condition, etc.
Although project delays are normal in the industry it doesn’t leave a good impression on the client and may end up in construction claims. It also affects the budget and time set for the project. The fluctuation in the designed budget and lack of the construction material and industrial equipment supply also causes a low-profit margin that affects the contractors directly.
In this article, we have fetched some of the most common causes of the construction projects being delayed. You may go through it and understand them deeply and make your strategies keeping these points in mind.
Poor Project Planning
The pre-planning of the project is the main key to any construction project’s success. It is the first and foremost step in the entire construction project. Most of the chances of project delays can be avoided during the planning of the project. Because during the project planning you can come up with different obstacles that will allow you to set your goals accordingly and establish a proper timeline to deliver the project. You can also give yourself a little extra time margin so that you can cover up the challenge in case of any delays.
Planning a project is a skill that a contractor has to be an expert in. he must know where and how to overcome the issues and how to tackle the unavoidable challenges. It is highly recommended that always prepare a plan and share it with all the personnel connected with the project. A skilled person can also plan and allocate the resources in the right way which will help in avoiding major project delays. If you are new in this field you must make yourself equipped with the planning skills so that you can make a proper plan and also identify the risks before heading to the job site. Find versatile excavators for sale here.
Miscalculated Budget
Another most important factor that can ruin your project timeline is miscalculated budget. It can affect you in many ways. Budget planning is part of project planning but it is as important as project planning itself. Miscalculated budget causes project delays when the price market changes frequently, labor shortage happens, and the demand for labor increases.
You must plan a budget in detail so that you may not avoid any of the parts, which may cause trouble for you in the future.
Before planning the budget always try to contact different suppliers for materials and equipment and ask for their quotations and then compare them with aspects of quality and margins. Look for trustworthy suppliers and deal with them. Try to keep the alternative contacts too in the loop so that in case of any lack you can switch to them.
It is suggested to keep something extra in the loop so that the fluctuation in the prices may not affect your planned budget and you adjust under your designed cost.
Lack of Coordination in Team
Teamwork is an essential aspect of a construction project. Without proper coordination, you can never fulfill the deadline and will experience delays. Uninterrupted communication and seamless coordination are extremely necessary at every step of the project from planning to the final delivery.
Coordination between the teams is the responsibility of a contractor and project managers. They have to be responsible enough to keep the team working in a healthy environment. Any unpleasant event during the job may lead to a clash between a team that may directly influence the construction tasks and will passively cause the project delays.
The manager should assign and distribute the task among the team members and monitor each one of them closely so that the issue may be directly reported without any communication gap. If issues are reported in time they will be resolved on-spot and will keep you away from the project delays. On the construction sites, different sub-contractors also work together so coordination and proper communication are required at every point.
Unfavorable Weather
It is an unexpected event that may occur during a construction project and that may certainly cause the project delay. It is an unavoidable condition that may not be handled in sudden happenings. The weather forecast may help you in this regard.
A long-term construction project that lasts for a year-long may experience a lot of weather changes. The full-length seasonal changes will be seen. Another aspect is that when the construction project is assigned in hard access geographical regions may also experience this ailment. In some geographical regions, weather is very unpredictable, sudden hurricanes, cyclones, heavy rains, and earthquakes can happen and may affect the project timeline. These natural events cause delays in project delivery.
Furthermore, these weather events cause injury to the workers disturb the workflow, and ultimately project delays. Being a construction contractor, you must plan every task accordingly such as concrete pouring and building a foundation must be avoided on rainy days.
Workforce Shortage
When labor leaves the work commitment between the running project may affect the workflow and slow the project down. The construction industry, like other industries, faces this challenge frequently. It is really hard to find skilled and dedicated labor. But once you get the one, you can try to keep them with you by providing some benefits to them.
Lack of Supply Chain
It was experienced during the pandemic, but it is a normal practice in the construction industry when the construction material and Industrial Equipment Supply get disturbed directly delaying the project. Supply chain issues may vary and so their impact on project delivery.
Incompetent Equipment
When inefficient equipment is used in the project, it will cause trouble in the project delivery. Heavy construction equipment is highly efficient and designed to perform particular tasks in less time and more efficiently. Always try to choose the right equipment for a particular task. If you are not an expert in this you can take advice from the equipment supplier and can also discuss it with your team.
Endnote
The construction project is a complex task that experiences multiple challenges daily. The challenges cause project delays in the construction industry that are very common. It happens due to many reasons that are discussed in this article. The main and some common reasons are poor planning, miscalculated budget, and lack of communication among the team. Being a construction contractor, you must keep an eye on every aspect to avoid project delays.
Paul is an content marketing strategist and serial entrepreneur.