| dc.description.abstract | As the construction industry continues to grow in size, so do planning and budgeting problems. This is because it is common for projects not to be completed on time and within the initial project budget. There are quite a number of examples at the national and international scene. For instance, most of the construction projects in Uganda have had problems with delay in completion and cost overruns and this has caused a lot of concern and as a result this research was aimed at finding contributory factors for delays in Uganda government funded construction projects.
The objectives of carrying out this research was mainly to analyze: the frequency of occurrence of different types of delays, the main causes of delays, the possible effects of delays, and the possible ways of mitigating the occurrence of delays.
The research helped me find out that the most recommended person for assessing delays are the Architects and Quantity surveyors, the most common causes of delays as poor cash flow in the project on the part of both the Client and the Contractor, the Client delaying to pay the Contractor the amount due to him, long procurement process by the Client, incomplete Architectural and Engineering designs or drawings, lack of competent staff by the Contractor to execute the works, unavailability of specific building materials on the market, the common effects of delay as time overrun, acceleration, conflicts and disputes, cost overrun, negative effect on the reputation of the company, lost productivity and efficiency of workers.
In conclusion, based on the above causes and effects of delays, I recommend that all the parties to the construction contract and all the concerned professionals should put into consideration the following ways of minimizing the occurrence of delays in order to curb down the problems associated with delays in the construction industry in Uganda, these include; the Contractor should make orders for materials to be imported early enough, Contractor should employ trained, experienced and skilled technical staff, Contractor should be able to mobilize funds sufficient to complete the project, prompt response to any query or clarification required by the contractor from the consultants, the Contractor should always set a realistic contract period, need for regular project appraisal to establish the financial status of the project at that time, Contractor should employ full time Engineer, and foremen for each trade on site as supervisionary staff, there should always be good communication flow between and across all levels, Contractor should provide, update, follow the work program and procurement schedule, frequent site visits and inspections to review progress and address new developments, Client should have a clear vision of what is needed at design and planning stages, Client should engage experienced and competent consultants for the project, and Client should always pay the Contractor money due to him/her in time. | en_US |
