Climate and construction delays: case study in Chile

Abstract

Purpose-Construction projects usually suffer delays, and the causes of these delays and its cost overruns have been widely discussed, the weather being one of the most recurrent. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of climate on standard construction work activities through a case study. Design/methodology/approach-By studying the extent at which some weather variables impede outdoor work from being effectively executed, new maps and tables for planning for delays are presented. In addition, a real case regarding the construction of several bridges in southern Chile is analyzed. Findings-Few studies have thoroughly addressed the influences of major climatic agents on the most common outdoor construction activities. The method detailed here provides a first approximation for construction planners to assess to what extent construction productivity will be influenced by the climate. Research limitations/implications-Although this study was performed in Chile, the simplified method proposed is entirely transferable to any other country, however, other weather or combinations of weather variables could be needed in other environments or countries. Practical implications-The implications will help reducing the negative social, economic and environmental outcomes that usually emerge from project delays. Originality/value-Climatic data were processed using extremely simple calculations to create a series of quantitative maps and tables that would be useful for any construction planner to decide the best moment of the year to start a project and, if possible, where to build it.

Causes of delays in the construction phase of Chinese building projects

“…In Hong Kong, Chan and Kumaraswamy's study (1997) identified five delay causes: poor risk management and supervision, unforeseen site conditions, slow decision making, client-initiated variations, and work variations. In addition, similar studies also have been conducted in other countries, including Thailand (Ogunlana et al 1996), Indonesia (Kaming et al 1997), Hong Kong (Lo et al 2006), United Arab Emirates (Faridi, El-Sayegh 2006;Mpofu et al, 2017), Jordan (Sweis et al 2008), India (Doloi et al 2012), Turkey (Kazaz et al 2012), Pakistan (Choudhry et al 2014), Chile (Ballesteros-Pérez et al 2015), and Cambodia (Santoso and Soeng, 2016) Despite this plethora of research on the causes of delays, no consensus has been reached on the factors that affect building construction durations (Sweis et al 2008). Although some common causes of delay were interconnected (Parchamijalal and Shoar 2017); they are quite generic in nature and lack of detailed discussions by considering from the different culture and practice in their respective countries.…”

“…Jordan (Sweis et al 2008), Zambia (Kaliba et al 2009), Iran (Khoshgoftar et al, 2010), Turkey (Kazaz et al 2012), India (Doloi et al 2012), Pakistan (Choundhry et al 2014, Singapore (Hwang et al 2014), Chile (Ballesteros-Pérez et al 2015), Cambodia (Santoso and Soeng, 2016), and United Arab Emirates (Mpofu et al, 2017). Some studies also addressed the delays at the pre-construction stage through identifying causes of delays from the planning and design activities (Yang and Wei 2010), making clear contract conditions on delays (Chong et al 2014), and designing a risk management methodology at the design stage (Albogamy, A.…”

Critical success factors for Kaizen implementation in the Nigerian construction industry

“…Most third world construction industries have similar challenges, such as cost overruns, project financing and small and medium scale construction companies, which are facing stiff competition from multinational construction companies. The challenges faced in third world construction companies are, therefore, very similar (Ballesteros-Pérez et al, 2015;Dada and Jagboro 2007;Guo et al, 2016;Amoatey et al, 2015) and this allows for consideration of strategic transferability. Shang and Pheng (2013) investigated the challenges facing the implementation of kaizen in Chinese construction companies, by interviewing project managers.…”

Impact of Weather Conditions on In Situ Concrete Wall Operations Using a Simulation-Based Approach

“…Based on existing weather-productivity relationships, attempts have also been made to estimate and predict construction project duration under varying contextual conditions, see e.g. Moselhi et al (1997), Ballesteros-Perez et al (2015), Shahin et al (2011) and Jung et al (2016).…”