Impact of Variation Orders on Time and Cost in Mega Hydropower Projects of Pakistan
Main Article Content
Abstract
The occurrence of variation orders (VOs) in the construction industry is a regular trend all over the world. Hydropower projects are no exception, and it is difficult to find a hydropower project in Pakistan that does not experience VOs. The current research investigates the causes and impacts of VOs in mega hydropower projects using case studies of three mega hydropower projects in Pakistan. The results illustrate that errors and omissions in design, changes in scope and changes in design were among the three top contributing factors to VOs in hydropower projects that resulted in time and cost overruns. Because of VOs, the time overrun is 20%, and the cost overrun is 31% with respect to the planned time and cost of the project. Based on this research, the study recommends measures to curb the causes and impacts of VOs to optimise the construction process of mega hydropower projects.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Al-Jishi, S. and Al-Marzoug, H. (2008). Change orders in construction projects in Saudi-Arabia. Construction Engineering and Management Department Term Paper (CEM-520 Term Paper). Saudi Arabia: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
Al-Momani, A.H. (2000). Construction delay: A quantitative analysis. International Journal of Project Management, 18(1): 51–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00060-X
Alnuaimi, A., Taha, R., Al Mohsin, M. and Al-Harthi, A. (2010). Causes, effects, benefits, and remedies of change orders on public construction projects in Oman. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(5): 615– 622. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000154.
Arain, F.M., Assaf, S. and Low, S.P. (2004). Causes of discrepancies between design and construction. Architectural Science Review, 47(3): 237–249. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2000.9697530.
Arain, F.M. and Low, S.P. (2005). The nature and frequency of occurence of variation orders for educational building projects in Singapore. International Journal of Construction Management, 5(2): 79–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2005.10773076.
Bower, D. (2000). A systematic approach to the evaluation of indirect costs of contract variations. Construction Management and Economics, 18(3): 263– 268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/014461900370636.
Construction Industry Institute (CII). (1990). The Impact of Changes on Construction Cost and Schedule. Austin, TX: CII, University of Texas at Austin.
Enshassi, A., Arain, F. and Al-Raee, S. (2010). Causes of variation orders in construction projects in the Gaza Strip. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 16(4): 540–541. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2010.60.
Fisk, E.R. (1997). Construction Project Administration. 5th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
González, V., Alarcón, L.F., Maturana, S., Mundaca, F. and Bustamante, J. (2010). Improving planning reliability and project performance using the reliable commitment model. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(10): 1129–1139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000215.
Goodacre, P.E. and Hunter, A.A. (1990). Delays and Disruptions in Construction: Ascertaining the Cost. Berkshire, UK: Chartered Institute of Building.
Hanif, H., Khurshid, M.B., Malik, S. and Nauman, S. (2014). Causes of variation orders in construction of hydropower projects of Pakistan. Paper presented at the International Conference on Management and Engineering (CME 2014). Shanghai, China, 24–25 May.
Hanna, A.S, Calmic, P.E. and Peterson, R. (2002). Quantitative definition of projects impacted by change orders. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 128(1): 57–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)128:1(57).
Haseeb, M., Lu, X., Aneesa, B., Maloof-ud-Dyian and Rabbani, W. (2011) Causes and effects of delays in large construction projects in Pakistan. Kuwait Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 1(4): 18– 42
Ibbs, C.W. (1997). Change's impact on construction productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 123(1): 89–97.
Ijaola, I.A. and Iyagba, R.O. (2012). A comparative study of causes of change orders in public construction project in Nigeria and Oman. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences, 3(5): 495–501.
Ismail, A., Pourrostam, T., Soleymanzadeh, A. and Ghouyounchizad, M. (2012). Factors causing variation orders and their effects in roadway construction projects. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 4(23): 4969–4972.
Lindhard, S. (2014). Understanding the effect of variation in a production system. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 140(11): 04014051. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000887.
Lindhard, S. and Wandahl, S. (2014). Exploration of the reasons for delays in construction. International Journal of Construction Management, 14(1): 36– 44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2013.875267.
Love, P.E.D. (2002). Influence of project type and procurement method on rework costs in building construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 128(1): 18–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)128:1(18)
Mohammad, N., Che Ani, A.I., Rakmat, R.A.O.K. and Yusof, M.A. (2010). Investigation on the causes of variation orders in the construction of building project: A study in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Journal of Building Performance, 1(1): 73–82.
Nunnally, J. (1978). Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. O'Brien, J.J. (1998). Construction Change Orders. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Ssegawa, J.K., Mfolwe, K.M., Makuke, B. and Kutua, B. (2002). Construction variations: A scourge or a necessity?. Proceedings: First International Conference of CIB W107. Cape Town, South Africa, 11–13 November.
Sun, M. and Meng, X. (2009). Taxonomy for change causes and effects in construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 27(6): 560–572. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.10.005.
Thomas, H.R., Horman, M.J., De Souza, U.E.L. and Zav?ski, I. (2002). Reducing variability to improve performance as a lean construction principle. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 128(2): 144–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2002)128:2(144).
Yin, R.K. (2003). Case Study Research, Design and Methods. 3rd Ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.