The Causes of Variation Orders and Their Effects on Cost and Time of Projects in Sulaimani Governorate
https://doi.org/10.24017/science.2020.1.16
Abstract views: 1654 / PDF downloads: 848Abstract
Variation orders are a permanent phenomenon in the construction of projects and industries around the world, and particularly in the province of Sulaymaniyah. Where construction industries suffer from variation orders. It includes an amendment of the initial scope of work as in the awarded contract. This study analyses the causes of variation orders and their effects on cost and time of projects in Sulaimani governorate. This study involves a questionnaire survey to selected 36 causes and 10 effects of variation orders from the perspective of owner, design consultant, and contractors. A total of 223 completed questionnaire sets were returned out of 270 questionnaires distributed among the practitioners. Then the data was analyzed statistically. Also, 40 projects at different construction sectors that constructed during 2007-2013 were investigated by calculating cost and time overrun because of variation orders. The results showed that in Sulaimani governorate the most effective causes of variation orders are owner's financial problems, preparing typical design for different districts, errors and omission in design, desired profitability of contractor and lack of adequate or appropriate site before design stage to construct of project. On the other hand of impacts of variations, the study discovered that top five effects of variation orders on the projects are: schedule overrun, cost overrun, productivity degradation, dispute between contract stockholders and payment delay. Also, all projects affected by cost and time overruns at average of 20 percent of cost and 65.4 percent of time of project.
Keywords:
Causes of variation order, Cost overrun, Construction projects, Effect of variation order, Time overrun, Variation orders.
References
[1] C. W. Ibbs, "Project change management," Industry Institute Special Publication, pp. 43-1, 1994.
[2] B. W. Wambeke, S. M. Hsiang, & M. Liu, "Causes of Variation in Construction Project Task Starting Times and Duration," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,137(9), pp. 663-677, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000342
[3] T. Hegazy, E. Zanaty, & D. Grierson, "Improving design coordination for building projects," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 127(4), pp. 322-329, 2001.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2001)127:4(322)
[4] R. Fisk, Construction Project Administration, 5th edn ed., New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, 1997.
[5] J. O'Brien, Construction Change Orders, New York, NY.: McGraw Hill, 1998.
[6] A. Al-Dubaisi, "Change orders in construction projects in Saudi Arabia," MSc dissertation, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2000.
[7] Memon, A., Rahman, I., & Abu Jamil, M, "Severity of Variation Order Factors in affecting Construction Project Performance," Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 4(6), pp. 19-27, 2014.
[8] Arain, F., & Pheng, L, "How design consultants perceive causes of variation orders for institutional buildings in Singapore," Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 1(3), p. 181-196, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2005.9684592
[9] Halwatura, R., & Ranasinghe, N, "Causes of Variation Orders in Road Construction Projects in Sri Lanka," ISRN Construction Engineering, 2013, pp. 1-7, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/381670
[10] The ministry of planing, legal department, " Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Civil Engineering," p. 35, 2006.
[11] J. E. Diekmann, & M. C. Nelson, "Construction claims: Frequency and severity," Construction Engineering Management, 111(1), pp. 74-81, 1985.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1985)111:1(74)
[12] C. W. Ibbs, "Quantitative impacts of project change: size, issues," Journal of Management in Engineering, 123 (3), pp. 308-311, 1997.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1997)123:3(308)
[13] P. Keane, B. Sertyesilisik, & A. R. Ross, "Variations and Change Orders on Construction Projects," Journal of Legal Affairs and dispute resolution in engineering and construction, 2(2), pp. 89-96, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)LA.1943-4170.0000016
[14] F. M. Arain, & L. S. Pheng, "The potential effects of variation orders on institutional building buildings projects," Facilities, 23 (11/12), pp. 496-510, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770510618462
[15] S. Al-Jishi, & H. Al-Marzoug, "Change orders in construction projects in Saudi-Arabia," Construction Engineering and Management Department Term Paper (CEM-520 Term Paper), 2008.
[16] A. Ismail, T. Pourrostam, A. Soleymanzadeh, & M. Ghouyounchizad, "Factors causing variation orders and their effects in roadway construction projects," Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 4(23), pp. 4969-4972, 2012.
[17] M. M. &. C. D. W. Kumaraswamy, "Contributors to construction delays," Construction Management & Economics, 16(1), pp. 17-29, 1998.
https://doi.org/10.1080/014461998372556
[18] O. Sunday, "Impact of variation orders on public construction projects," Association of Researchers in Construction Management, pp. 101-110, 2010.
[19] L. O. Oyewobi, R. Jimoh, B. O. Ganiyu, Ganiyu, B. O., &A. A. Shittu, "Analysis of causes and impact of variation order on educational building projects," Journal of Facilities Management, 14(2), pp. 139-164, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JFM-01-2015-0001
[20] O. D. Dickson, M. Gerryshom, & G. Wanyona, "Variations in civil engineering construction projects in Kenya: Causes and effects," Int. J. Eng. Res. Technol, 4(2), pp. 1124-1129, 2015.
[21] F. M. Arain, S. Assaf, & L. S. Pheng, "Causes of discrepancies between design and construction," Architectural Science Review, 47(3), pp. 237-249, 2004.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2000.9697530
[22] M. Sun and X. Meng, "Taxonomy for change causes and," International Journal of Project Management, 27(6), p. 560-572, 2008.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.10.005
[23] R. Ndihokubwayo, & T. Haup, "Variation Orders on Construction Projects:Value-adding or Waste?," International Journal of Construction Project Management, 1(2), 2009.
[24] Enshassi, A., Arain, F., & Al?Raee, S, "Causes of variation orders in construction projects in the Gaza Strip," Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 16(4), pp. 540-551, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2010.60
[25] R. F. Aziz, "Factors causing cost variation for constructing wastewater projects in Egypt," Alexandria Engineering Journal, 52(1), pp. 51-66, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2012.11.004
[26] R. O. Asamaoh, & K. Offei-Nyako, "Variation determinants in building construction: Ghanaian professionals perspective," Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management, 3(4), pp. 20-25, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.6106/JCEPM.2013.3.4.020
[27] A. Alaryan, A. E. Emadelbeltagi, & M. Dawood, "Causes and effects of change orders on construction projects in Kuwait," International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 4(7), pp. 1-8, 2014.
[28] M. Msallam, M. Abojaradeh, B. Jrew, & I. Zaki, "Controlling of variation orders in highway projects in Jordan," Journal of Engineering and Architecture, 3(2), pp. 95-104, 2015.
https://doi.org/10.15640/jea.v3n2a11
[29] R. Karthick, B. Malathi, & C. Umarani, "Study on change order impact on project lifecycle," International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, 4(5), pp. 691-695, 2015.
https://doi.org/10.17577/IJERTV4IS050443
[30] H. Hanif, M. B. Khurshid, S. M. Lindhard, & Z. Aslam, "Impact of variation orders on time and cost in mega hydropower projects of Pakistan," Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 21(2), p. 37, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.21315/jcdc2016.21.2.3
[31] A. J. Mohammed, "A Study For The Causes Of Variation Orders In Different Sectors Of Construction Projects In Erbil Governorate From The Point Of View Of The Involved Parties," Journal of Engineering and Sustainable Development, 20(5), pp. 30-54, 2016.
[32] E. A. E. M. S. Y. &. H. A. S. Mohammed, "Factors Causing Variation Orders In Building Projects In Khartoum State-Sudan," IJESRT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY, 2017.
[33] Wu, C., Hsieh, T., & Cheng, W, "Statistical analysis of causes for design change in highway construction on Taiwan," International Journal of Project Management,23, p. 554-563, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2004.07.010
[34] S. R. Nassar, "Management of Variation Orders in Gaza Strip: Impacts and Minimization," 2017.
[35] J. M. Bolin, "Effective change order management," Long International, inc, 2017.
[36] J. N. Desai, J. Pitroda, & J. J. Bhavasar, "Analysis of factor affecting change order in construction industry using RII method," Scientific Journal Impact Factor, 2(6), pp. 344-348, 2015.
[37] Ibbs, W., Nguyen, L. D., & Lee, S, "Quantified impacts of project change," Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 133(1), pp. 45-52, 2007.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2007)133:1(45)
[38] Z. Osman, A. Omran, and C. K. Foo, "The potential effects of variation orders in construction projects," Journal of Engineering, 7(2), pp. 141-152, 2009.
[39] H. R. Thomas, & C. L. Napolitan, "Quantitative effects of construction changes on labor productivity," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 121(3), pp. 290-296, 1995.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1995)121:3(290)
[40] W. I. Khalil, & N. I. Saber, "An Analysis of Causes and Factors Affecting Change Orders Occurrence in Construction Projects in Iraq," ZANCO Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 31(6), pp. 1-12, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.21271/ZJPAS.31.6.1
[41] A. Al-Dubaisi, "Change orders in construction projects in Saudi Arabia," MSc dissertation, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia., 2000.
[42] R. Jawad, R. Abdulkader, & A. A. Ali, "Variation orders in construction projects," Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 4(3), pp. 170-176, 2009.
[43] W. T. Hester, T. C. Chang, & J. A. Kuprenas, "Construction changes and change orders: their magnitude and impact," Construction Industry Institute, 1991.
[2] B. W. Wambeke, S. M. Hsiang, & M. Liu, "Causes of Variation in Construction Project Task Starting Times and Duration," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,137(9), pp. 663-677, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000342
[3] T. Hegazy, E. Zanaty, & D. Grierson, "Improving design coordination for building projects," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 127(4), pp. 322-329, 2001.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2001)127:4(322)
[4] R. Fisk, Construction Project Administration, 5th edn ed., New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, 1997.
[5] J. O'Brien, Construction Change Orders, New York, NY.: McGraw Hill, 1998.
[6] A. Al-Dubaisi, "Change orders in construction projects in Saudi Arabia," MSc dissertation, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2000.
[7] Memon, A., Rahman, I., & Abu Jamil, M, "Severity of Variation Order Factors in affecting Construction Project Performance," Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 4(6), pp. 19-27, 2014.
[8] Arain, F., & Pheng, L, "How design consultants perceive causes of variation orders for institutional buildings in Singapore," Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 1(3), p. 181-196, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2005.9684592
[9] Halwatura, R., & Ranasinghe, N, "Causes of Variation Orders in Road Construction Projects in Sri Lanka," ISRN Construction Engineering, 2013, pp. 1-7, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/381670
[10] The ministry of planing, legal department, " Conditions of Contract for Construction for Building and Civil Engineering," p. 35, 2006.
[11] J. E. Diekmann, & M. C. Nelson, "Construction claims: Frequency and severity," Construction Engineering Management, 111(1), pp. 74-81, 1985.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1985)111:1(74)
[12] C. W. Ibbs, "Quantitative impacts of project change: size, issues," Journal of Management in Engineering, 123 (3), pp. 308-311, 1997.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1997)123:3(308)
[13] P. Keane, B. Sertyesilisik, & A. R. Ross, "Variations and Change Orders on Construction Projects," Journal of Legal Affairs and dispute resolution in engineering and construction, 2(2), pp. 89-96, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)LA.1943-4170.0000016
[14] F. M. Arain, & L. S. Pheng, "The potential effects of variation orders on institutional building buildings projects," Facilities, 23 (11/12), pp. 496-510, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770510618462
[15] S. Al-Jishi, & H. Al-Marzoug, "Change orders in construction projects in Saudi-Arabia," Construction Engineering and Management Department Term Paper (CEM-520 Term Paper), 2008.
[16] A. Ismail, T. Pourrostam, A. Soleymanzadeh, & M. Ghouyounchizad, "Factors causing variation orders and their effects in roadway construction projects," Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 4(23), pp. 4969-4972, 2012.
[17] M. M. &. C. D. W. Kumaraswamy, "Contributors to construction delays," Construction Management & Economics, 16(1), pp. 17-29, 1998.
https://doi.org/10.1080/014461998372556
[18] O. Sunday, "Impact of variation orders on public construction projects," Association of Researchers in Construction Management, pp. 101-110, 2010.
[19] L. O. Oyewobi, R. Jimoh, B. O. Ganiyu, Ganiyu, B. O., &A. A. Shittu, "Analysis of causes and impact of variation order on educational building projects," Journal of Facilities Management, 14(2), pp. 139-164, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JFM-01-2015-0001
[20] O. D. Dickson, M. Gerryshom, & G. Wanyona, "Variations in civil engineering construction projects in Kenya: Causes and effects," Int. J. Eng. Res. Technol, 4(2), pp. 1124-1129, 2015.
[21] F. M. Arain, S. Assaf, & L. S. Pheng, "Causes of discrepancies between design and construction," Architectural Science Review, 47(3), pp. 237-249, 2004.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2000.9697530
[22] M. Sun and X. Meng, "Taxonomy for change causes and," International Journal of Project Management, 27(6), p. 560-572, 2008.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.10.005
[23] R. Ndihokubwayo, & T. Haup, "Variation Orders on Construction Projects:Value-adding or Waste?," International Journal of Construction Project Management, 1(2), 2009.
[24] Enshassi, A., Arain, F., & Al?Raee, S, "Causes of variation orders in construction projects in the Gaza Strip," Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 16(4), pp. 540-551, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2010.60
[25] R. F. Aziz, "Factors causing cost variation for constructing wastewater projects in Egypt," Alexandria Engineering Journal, 52(1), pp. 51-66, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2012.11.004
[26] R. O. Asamaoh, & K. Offei-Nyako, "Variation determinants in building construction: Ghanaian professionals perspective," Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management, 3(4), pp. 20-25, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.6106/JCEPM.2013.3.4.020
[27] A. Alaryan, A. E. Emadelbeltagi, & M. Dawood, "Causes and effects of change orders on construction projects in Kuwait," International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 4(7), pp. 1-8, 2014.
[28] M. Msallam, M. Abojaradeh, B. Jrew, & I. Zaki, "Controlling of variation orders in highway projects in Jordan," Journal of Engineering and Architecture, 3(2), pp. 95-104, 2015.
https://doi.org/10.15640/jea.v3n2a11
[29] R. Karthick, B. Malathi, & C. Umarani, "Study on change order impact on project lifecycle," International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, 4(5), pp. 691-695, 2015.
https://doi.org/10.17577/IJERTV4IS050443
[30] H. Hanif, M. B. Khurshid, S. M. Lindhard, & Z. Aslam, "Impact of variation orders on time and cost in mega hydropower projects of Pakistan," Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 21(2), p. 37, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.21315/jcdc2016.21.2.3
[31] A. J. Mohammed, "A Study For The Causes Of Variation Orders In Different Sectors Of Construction Projects In Erbil Governorate From The Point Of View Of The Involved Parties," Journal of Engineering and Sustainable Development, 20(5), pp. 30-54, 2016.
[32] E. A. E. M. S. Y. &. H. A. S. Mohammed, "Factors Causing Variation Orders In Building Projects In Khartoum State-Sudan," IJESRT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY, 2017.
[33] Wu, C., Hsieh, T., & Cheng, W, "Statistical analysis of causes for design change in highway construction on Taiwan," International Journal of Project Management,23, p. 554-563, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2004.07.010
[34] S. R. Nassar, "Management of Variation Orders in Gaza Strip: Impacts and Minimization," 2017.
[35] J. M. Bolin, "Effective change order management," Long International, inc, 2017.
[36] J. N. Desai, J. Pitroda, & J. J. Bhavasar, "Analysis of factor affecting change order in construction industry using RII method," Scientific Journal Impact Factor, 2(6), pp. 344-348, 2015.
[37] Ibbs, W., Nguyen, L. D., & Lee, S, "Quantified impacts of project change," Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 133(1), pp. 45-52, 2007.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2007)133:1(45)
[38] Z. Osman, A. Omran, and C. K. Foo, "The potential effects of variation orders in construction projects," Journal of Engineering, 7(2), pp. 141-152, 2009.
[39] H. R. Thomas, & C. L. Napolitan, "Quantitative effects of construction changes on labor productivity," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 121(3), pp. 290-296, 1995.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1995)121:3(290)
[40] W. I. Khalil, & N. I. Saber, "An Analysis of Causes and Factors Affecting Change Orders Occurrence in Construction Projects in Iraq," ZANCO Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 31(6), pp. 1-12, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.21271/ZJPAS.31.6.1
[41] A. Al-Dubaisi, "Change orders in construction projects in Saudi Arabia," MSc dissertation, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia., 2000.
[42] R. Jawad, R. Abdulkader, & A. A. Ali, "Variation orders in construction projects," Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 4(3), pp. 170-176, 2009.
[43] W. T. Hester, T. C. Chang, & J. A. Kuprenas, "Construction changes and change orders: their magnitude and impact," Construction Industry Institute, 1991.
Downloads
How to Cite
[1]
K. H. M.karim, N. Ali, and B. Majeed, “The Causes of Variation Orders and Their Effects on Cost and Time of Projects in Sulaimani Governorate”, KJAR, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 218–235, Jun. 2020, doi: 10.24017/science.2020.1.16.
Published
30-06-2020
Issue
Section
Pure and Applied Science
