Perceptions of Production Home Builders on Primary Causes of Delay in Homebuilding in Texas

Abstract

On-schedule delivery of projects has been a concern and major criticism of the construction industry. The recurring failure in the on-time delivery of projects has emphasized the need for a systematic investigation of the causes influencing delay. This research has employed an extensive literature review and interviews to elicit the primary causes of delay. A questionnaire survey was used to find out the ranking of delay causes for nine production homebuilding companies in Texas, and the type of projects considered in this study were Single-family detached homes. Twenty-four causes of delay were inferred and ranked with respect to Frequency, Severity and Importance indices. The overall top two delay factors were: Shortage of labor and Delays in subcontractor's work/ inefficient planning and execution by subcontractors. Responses categorized in different cities and on the basis of years of experience of participants were also analyzed to determine any underlying relationship between their perspectives on factors causing delay. Spearman rank correlation test showed that there is an agreement in the viewpoints across cities and respondents with varying experience. The findings of this research might help the practitioners in anticipating the root causes of delay that might exist in their present or future projects, and thus, enhancing the on-time delivery of projects.