Causes of Variation Orders in Road Construction Projects in Sri Lanka

Abstract

One of the most important problems in the construction industry is variations. They occur in every construction project and the magnitude of these variations varies considerably from project to project. Hence, the variations orders bear great importance right from the inception to completion in the construction industry. Most of the road construction projects in Sri Lanka have experienced a large number of variation orders. The client had to spend more than what was initially estimated in most cases. Sometimes, disputes and unnecessary delays occur due to variations. This study attempted to reveal the possible causes of variation orders in the road construction projects in Sri Lanka. The data were collected through a literature review, a case study analysis focused on 11 road construction projects, and a questionnaire administered to professionals in the road construction industry in Sri Lanka. The study found out that the causes in the local context differ from those in the international context. According to the questionnaire survey, poor estimation was the most significant cause of variation orders. Unforeseen site conditions, political pressure during construction stage, poor investigation, and client-initiated variations occupy the 2nd to 5th places, respectively, in the ranking. This ranking was further proven through the case study analysis.

Recommendations to Mitigate Delay Causes in Kuwait Construction Projects

“…Charoenngam et al [33] suggested a web-based change order management system that supports documentation, communication and integration between different team members in the change order workflow to manage change order procedure. Halwatura and Ranasinghe [34] proposed that increasing communication channels and hire professional planning staff would reduce occurrence of changing orders in projects. Msallam et al [35] proposed an administration system that could reduce variation orders in Jordanian highway projects.…”

Assessment of Road Project for Accelerating Permanent Connectivity

“…Often, interpretation varies depending on the experience and preference of the individual party. The absence of clear guidelines and mutual agreement between parties involved regarding the assessment of construction delay will sometimes sparks a dispute amongst them [14].…”

“…It is an official document that states the changes made into the original agreement between the client and the contractor. When a variation order is created, it brings several negative effects to both the client and the contractor [14].…”

Comparison of delay factors and remedies’ rankings for building construction projects in developing countries

“…Other studies which have also found the above factors for causes for delays in other Asian countries include Kuwait (Koushki et al 2005), Indonesia (Wiguna and Scott, 2003), India (Doloi et al 2012), Sri Lanka (Halwatura and Ranasinghe, 2013), Egypt (Marzouk and El-Rasas, 2014) and Combodia (Santoso and Soeng, 2016). Wiguna and Scott (2003) and Santoso and Soeng (2016) also added weather conditions (or natural disasters) and litigations on substandard construction work to the main causes of delays.…”