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Assessment of Critical Causes of Conflicts for Building Construction Projects in India Using Fuzzy Analytical Network Process

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Abstract

This paper identifies and ranks the critical causes of conflicts for building construction projects in India. Thirty-two possible causes of conflicts are identified from literature, and expert surveys are conducted to identify relevant factors for building construction projects in India. Sixteen relevant factors are selected and categorised as contractor related, client related, consultant related and miscellaneous factors. Fuzzy Analytical Network Process method is employed to derive local and global priority weights for the sixteen conflicting factors based on their relative influence towards occurrence of conflicts. Dissatisfaction over the quality of completed work, delay in progress payments, poorly written contract, frequent changes in project scope, inaccuracy of cost estimates, approval delays by the owner, inefficient planning and scheduling, lack of sufficient contractor experience and lack of skilled labour are the top nine factors accounting for 80% conflicts occurring in building construction projects in India. Suitable mitigative strategies are discussed to prevent the occurrence of disruptive conflicts at different phases of a construction project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture and Planning, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India

    Shobhit Chaturvedi & Elangovan Rajasekar

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, School of Technology, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, India

    Shobhit Chaturvedi, Naimish Bhatt & Heli Patel

Authors
  1. Shobhit Chaturvedi
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  2. Naimish Bhatt
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  3. Elangovan Rajasekar
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Correspondence to Shobhit Chaturvedi.

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Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Dear Sir/Mam,

We are a team of researchers attempting to identify the rank of the major causes of conflicts for building construction projects in India. Kindly help us by providing valuable inputs for the following items.

  • Current Organisation …………………….

  • Current Designation ……………………..

  • Total Work Experience (in years) …………..

  • Types of Projects Handled: Public / Private (Tick whichever is applicable).

As per their relative importance towards the occurrence of conflicts during building construction projects in India, we request you to perform pairwise comparisons referring to the table below.

 

Contractor related factors

Client related factors

Consultant related factors

Miscellaneous factors

Poor quality of completed work

    

Ineffective planning and scheduling

    

Lack of sufficient contractor experience

    

Coordination issues between contractor and subcontractor

    
 

Contractor related factors

Client related factors

Consultant related factors

Miscellaneous factors

Delay in progress payment

    

Frequent changes to project scope

    

Approval delays by the owner

    

Favouring lower cost bidders

    
 

Contractor related factors

Client related factors

Consultant related factors

Miscellaneous factors

Poorly written contract

    

Accuracy of the project cost estimate

    

Mistakes in design

    

Unrealistic contract duration

    
 

Contractor related factors

Client related factors

Consultant related factors

Miscellaneous factors

Lack of skilled labour

    

Difficulty in obtaining work permits from government bodies

    

Delay in resolving contractual issues

    

Fluctuation in material and machinery costs during construction

    
 

Delay in progress payment

Frequent changes to project scope

Approval delays by the owner

Favouring lower cost bidders

Poor quality of completed work

    

Ineffective planning and scheduling

    

Lack of sufficient contractor experience

    

Coordination issues between contractor and subcontractor

    
 

Poorly written contract

Accuracy of the project cost estimate

Mistakes in design

Unrealistic contract duration

Poor quality of completed work

    

Ineffective planning and scheduling

    

Lack of sufficient contractor experience

    

Coordination issues between contractor and subcontractor

    
 

Lack of skilled labour

Difficulty in obtaining work permits from government bodies

Delay in resolving contractual issues

Fluctuation in material and machinery costs during construction

Poor quality of completed work

    

Ineffective planning and scheduling

    

Lack of sufficient contractor experience

    

Coordination issues between contractor and subcontractor

    
 

Poorly written contract

Accuracy of the project cost estimate

Mistakes in design

Unrealistic contract duration

Delay in progress payment

    

Frequent changes to project scope

    

Approval delays by the owner

    

Favouring lower cost bidders

    
 

Lack of skilled labour

Difficulty in obtaining work permits from government bodies

Delay in resolving contractual issues

Fluctuation in material and machinery costs during construction

Delay in progress payment

    

Frequent changes to project scope

    

Approval delays by the owner

    

Favouring lower cost bidders

    
 

Lack of skilled labour

Difficulty in obtaining work permits from government bodies

Delay in resolving contractual issues

Fluctuation in material and machinery costs during construction

Poorly written contract

    

Accuracy of the project cost estimate

    

Mistakes in design

    

Unrealistic contract duration

    

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Chaturvedi, S., Bhatt, N., Rajasekar, E. et al. Assessment of Critical Causes of Conflicts for Building Construction Projects in India Using Fuzzy Analytical Network Process. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A 102, 919–941 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-021-00551-y

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