Skip to main content
Log in

An ontology-based approach for delay analysis in construction

  • Construction Management
  • Published:
KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Aims and scope

Abstract

Delay is a common problem of the construction sector and it is one of the major reasons of claims between project participants. Systematic and reliable delay analysis is critical for successful management of claims. In this study, a delay analysis ontology is proposed that may facilitate development of databases, information sharing as well as retrieval for delay analysis within construction companies. A detailed literature review on construction delays has been carried out during the development of the ontology and it is evaluated by using five case studies. The delay analysis ontology may be used for different purposes especially to support decision-making during risk and claim management processes. It may enable companies to create their own databases, corporate memories and develop decision support systems for better analysis of delays.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdul-Malak, M. A. U., El-Saadi, M. M. H., and Abou-Zeid, M. G. (2002). “Process model for administrating construction claims.” Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 84–94, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2002)18:2(84).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abdul-Rahman, H., Berawi, M. A., Berawi, A. R., Mohamed, O., Othman, M., and Yahya, I. A. (2006). “Delay mitigation in the Malaysian construction industry.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 132, No. 2, pp. 125–133, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2006)132:2(125).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abdul-Rahman, H., Yahya, I. A., Berawi, M. A., and Wah, L. W. (2008). “Conceptual delay mitigation model using a project learning approach in practice.” Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 26, pp. 15–27, DOI: 10.1080/01446190701744350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aibinu, A. A. and Jagboro, G. O. (2002). “The effects of construction delays on project delivery in Nigerian construction industry.” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 20, No. 8, pp. 593–599, DOI: 10.1016/S0263-7863(02)00028-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alaghbari, W., Kadir, M. R. A., Salim, A., and Ernawati. (2007). “The significant factors causing delay of building construction projects in Malaysia.” Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 192–206, DOI: 10.1108/09699980710731308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arditi, D. and Patel, B. K. (1989). “Impact analysis of owner-directed acceleration.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 115, No. 1, pp. 144–157, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364 (1989)115:1(144).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arditi, D. and Pattanakitchamroon, T. (2006). “Selecting a delay analysis method in resolving construction claims.” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 145–155, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2005.08.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arditi, R. D., Akan, G. T., and Gurdamar, S. (1985). “Reasons for delays in public projects in Turkey.” Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 171–181, DOI: 10.1080/01446198500000013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Besogul, E. (2006). Reasons of delays in steel construction projects: An application of a delay analysis methodology, M. S. Thesis, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bordoli, D. W. and Baldwin, A. N. (1998). “A methodology for assessing construction project delays.” Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 327–337, DOI: 10.1080/014461998372358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breitman, K. K., Casanova, M. A., and Truszkowski, W. (2007). Semantic Web: Concepts, Technologies and Applications, Springer-Verlag London Limited, London, UK.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Bubshait, A. A. and Cunningham, M. J. (1998). “Comparison of delay analysis methodologies.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 124, No. 4, pp. 315–322, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1998)124:4(315).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carnell, N. J. (2000). Causation and Delay in Construction Disputes, Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrasekaran, B., Josephson, J. R., and Benjamins, V. R. (1999). “What are ontologies, and why do we need them?.” IEEE Intelligent Systems, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 20–26, DOI: 10.1109/5254.747902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corcho, O., Fernández-López, M., and Gómez-Pérez, A. (2003). “Methodologies, tools and languages for building ontologies: Where is their meeting point?.” Data and Knowledge Engineering, Vol. 46, pp. 41–64, DOI: 10.1016/S0169-023X(02)00195-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corcho, O., Fernández-López, M., Gómez-Pérez, A., and López-Cima, A. (2005). Building legal ontologies with METHONTOLOGY and WebODE. In R. Benjamins, P. Casanovas, J. Breuker, and A. Gangemi (Eds.), Law and the Semantic Web, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davenport, P. (1995). Construction Claims, Federation Press, Sydney, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diekmann, J. E. and Girard, M. J. (1995). “Are contract disputes predictable?.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 121, No. 4, pp. 355–363, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1995)121:4(355).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Diraby, T. E. (2013). “Domain ontology for construction knowledge.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 139, No. 7, pp. 768–784, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Diraby, T. E. and Zhang, J. (2006). “A semantic framework to support corporate memory management in building construction.” Automation in Construction, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 504–521, DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2005.07.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Diraby, T. E. and Wang, B. (2005). E-Society Portal: Integrating urban highway construction projects into the knowledge city.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 131, No. 11, pp. 1196–1211, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:11(1196).

  • El-Gohary, N. M. and El-Diraby, T. E. (2011). “Merging architectural, engineering, and construction ontologies.” Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 109–128, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrow, T. (2007). “Developments in the analysis of extensions of time.” Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 133, No. 3, pp. 218–228, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2007)133:3(218).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, P. C. B., Guizzardi, R. S. S., and Guizzardi, G. (2011). “Using goal modeling to capture competency questions in ontology-based systems.” Journal of Information and Data Management, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 527–540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fidan, G., Dikmen, I., Tanyer, A. M., and Birgonul, M. T. (2011). “Ontology for relating risk and vulnerability with cost overrun in international projects.” Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 1–16, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000090.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, M. S. and Grüninger, M. (1997). “On ontologies and enterprise modelling.” Proc. International Conference on Enterprise Integration and Modelling Technology, Torino, Italy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Pérez, A. (1996). “Towards a framework to verify knowledge sharing technology.” Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 519–529, DOI: 10.1016/S0957-4174(96)00067-X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Pérez, A. (2001). “Evaluation of ontologies.” International Journal of Intelligent Systems, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 391–409, DOI: 10.1002/1098-111X(200103)16:3<391::AID-INT1014>3.0.CO;2-2.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Pérez, A., Fernández-López, M., and Corcho O. (2004). Ontological Engineering: with examples from the areas of knowledge management, e-commerce and the semantic web, Springer-Verlag London Limited, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Pérez, A., Fernández-López, M., and de Vicente, A. (1996). “Towards a method to conceptualize domain ontologies.” Proc. ECAI96 Workshop on Ontological Engineering, Budapest, Hungary, pp. 41–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, T. R. (1993a). “A translation approach to portable ontology specifications.” Knowledge Acquisition, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 199–220, DOI: 10.1006/knac.1993.1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, T. R. (1993b). “Toward principles for the design of ontologies used for knowledge sharing.” International Journal Human-Computer Studies, Vol. 43, Nos. 5-6, pp. 907–928, DOI: 10.1006/ijhc.1995.1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruninger, M. and Fox, M. S. (1994). “The role of competency questions in enterprise engineering1.” Proc. IFIP WG5.7 Workshop on Benchmarking -Theory and Practice, Trondheim, Norway.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruninger, M. and Fox, M. S. (1995). “Methodology for the design and evaluation of ontologies.” Proc. Workshop on Basic Ontological Issues in Knowledge Sharing, Montreal, Canada, DOI: 10.1.1.44.8723.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivanovic, M. and Budimac, Z. (2014). “An overview of ontologies and data resources in medical domains.” Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 41, No. 11, pp. 5158–5166, DOI: 10.1016/j.eswa.2014.02.045.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kartam, S. (1999). “Generic methodology for analyzing delay claims.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 125, No. 6, pp. 409–419, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1999)125:6(409).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C., Wang, H., and Chang, M. (2005a). “Ontology-based fuzzy decision agent and its application to meeting scheduling support system.” In S. K. Halgamuge and L. Wang (Eds.), Classification and Clustering for Knowledge Discovery, Springer-Verlag, Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H.-S., Ryu, H.-G., Yu, J.-H., and Kim, J.-J. (2005b). “Method for calculating schedule delay considering lost productivity.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 131, No. 11, pp. 1147–1154, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:11(1147).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S., Kim, K., and Yu, J. (2015). “Ontological inference of work item based on BIM data.” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 538–549 DOI: 10.1007/s12205-013-0739-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lima, C., El-Diraby, T., Fies, B., Zarli, A., and Ferneley, E. (2003). “The E-COGNOS project: Current status and future directions of an ontology-enabled IT solution infrastructure supporting knowledge management in construction.” Proc. Construction Research Congress 2003, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, pp. 1–8, DOI: 10.1061/40671(2003)103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ndekugri, I., Braimah, N., and Gameson, R. (2008). “Delay analysis within construction contracting organizations.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 134, No. 9, pp. 692–700, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:9(692).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neches, R., Fikes, R. E., Finin, T., Gruber, T. R., Senator, T., and Swartout, W. R. (1991). “Enabling technology for knowledge sharing.” AI Magazine, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 36–56, DOI: 10.1609/aimag.v12i3.902.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niu, J. and Issa, R. R. A. (2012). “Framework for production of ontologybased construction claim documents.” Proc. International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering, Clearwater Beach, Florida, United States, pp. 9–16, DOI: 10.1061/9780784412343.0002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noy, N. F. and McGuinness, D. L. (2001). “Ontology development 101 -a guide to creating your first ontology.” KSL Technical Report, Stanford University, Stanford, CA,USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noy, N. F., Fergerson, R. W., and Musen, M. A. (2000). “The knowledge model of Protég-2000: Combining interoperability and flexibility.” Proc. 2nd International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management, Juan-les-Pins, France, DOI: 10.1007/3-540-39967-4_2.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, J. J. (1976). Construction Delay: Responsibilities, Risks, and Litigation, Cahners Books International, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, M., Lee, K.-W., Lee, H.-S., Jiayi, P., and Yu, J. (2013). “Ontologybased construction knowledge retrieval system.” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 17, No. 7, pp. 1654–1663, DOI: 10.1007/s12205-013-1155-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purchase, H. C., Colpoys, L., McGill, M., Carrington, D., and Britton, C. (2001). “UML class diagram syntax: An empirical study of comprehension.” Proc. Australian Symposium on Information Visualisation, Sydney, Australia, pp. 113–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sambasivan, M. and Soon, Y. W. (2007). “Causes and effects of delays in Malaysian construction industry.” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 517–526, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.11.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, S., Harris, R. A., and Greenwood, D. (2004). “Assessing the new United Kingdom Protocol for dealing with delay and disruption.” Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 130, No. 1, pp. 50–59, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2004)130:1(50).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suárez-Figueroa, M. C., Gómez-Pérez, A., and Villazón-Terrazas, B. (2009). “How to write and use the ontology requirements specification document.” Proc. ODBASE 2009 on the OTM 2009, Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal, pp. 966–982, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-05151-7_16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, M. and Meng, X. (2009). “Taxonomy for change causes and effects in construction projects.” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 560–572, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.10.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R. (1993). Construction Contract Claims, Macmillan Press Ltd., London.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Trauner, T. J., Manginelli, W. A., Lowe, J. S., Nagata, M. F., and Furniss, B. J. (2009). Construction Delays: Understanding them clearly, analyzing them correctly, Elsevier Inc., USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tserng, H. P., Yin, S. Y. L., Dzeng, R. J., Wou, B., Tsai, M. D., and Chen, W. Y. (2009). “A study of ontology-based risk management framework of construction projects through project life cycle.” Automation in Construction, Vol. 18, No. 7, pp. 994–1008, DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon. 2009.05.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, D. F. and Turner, A. (1999). Building Contract Claims and Disputes, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uschold, M. and King, M. (1995). “Towards a methodology for building ontologies.” Proc. IJCAI-95 Workshop on Basic Ontological Issues in Knowledge Sharing, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, DOI: 10.1.1.55.5357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, H. and Wang, S. (2016). “Application of ontology modularization to human-web interface design for knowledge sharing.” Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 46, pp. 122–128, DOI: 10.1016/j.eswa.2015.10.027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, T. (2003). “Assessing extension of time delays on major projects.” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 19–26, DOI: 10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00060-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter, J., Bayfield, R., Brough, P., Caletka, A., Douglas, J., Johnson, P., Jordan, S., Nash, S., Pickavance, K., Pragnell, J., and Richards, D. (2002). Delay and Disruption Protocol, Society of Construction Law.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J.-B. and Kao, C.-H. (2012). “Critical path effect based delay analysis method for construction projects.” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 385–397, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.06.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yogeswaran, K., Kumaraswamy, M. M., and Miller, D. R. A. (1998). “Claims for extensions of time in civil engineering projects.” Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 283–293, DOI: 10.1080/014461998372312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zack, J. G. (2000). “Pacing delays -The practical effect.” Cost Engineering, Vol. 42, No. 7, pp. 23–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Z., Goh, Y. M., and Shen, L. (2016). “Overview and analysis of ontology studies supporting development of the construction industry.” Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000594.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gozde Bilgin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bilgin, G., Dikmen, I. & Birgonul, M.T. An ontology-based approach for delay analysis in construction. KSCE J Civ Eng 22, 384–398 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-017-0651-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-017-0651-5

Keywords

Navigation