Investigating the effect of excessive variations to the time performance of road construction projects in Uganda

Abstract

Road infrastructure plays a significant role in the economic development of developing countries like Uganda. However, these road construction projects are not a simple task because they are prone to high risks and complexities which creates a range of problems that has to be dealt with. Quite often, they suffer from time overruns predominantly because of excessive variations that commonly occur due to uncertain scopes of work defined at the beginning. Thus, this study was set out to investigate the effect of excessive variations on the time performance of road construction projects in Uganda. The methodology used involved surveys through questionnaires whereby 45 questionnaires were sent to various project stakeholders to obtain primary data and it was from this data where secondary data was obtained through use of the Microsoft excel software. The findings were then presented qualitatively and quantitatively using tables, percentages and illustrations. The study found out the top five causes of road construction project delays as inappropriate design (RII=0.751), weather conditions (RII=0.738), contractual relations (RII=0.724), poor management of the construction process (RII=0.604) and politician’s interference (RII=0.556). 90.2% of the respondents agreed that road construction projects in Uganda are not completed within the time frame stipulated to them in the contract documents. The causes of excessive vibrations on road construction projects found out were errors and omissions in design and delay in land acquisition as the top two factors with RII values of 0.782 and 0.760 respectively. The other causes of excessive variations that were identified included; unforeseen site conditions (RII=0.653), discrepancies between contract documents (RII=0.613), inadequate scope of work (RII=0.587), change of schedule by client (RII=0.516) and change in design by consultant (RII=0.378). The overall effect of these excessive variations was found to be time overruns that also leads to cost overruns. It further found out that Increase in variations on road construction projects in Uganda leads to an increase in the occurrence of time overruns. It is therefore recommended that clients should provide a clear brief of the scope of works; thorough checks in designs should also be undertaken before the bidding process is done. Also, there should be an improvement in project management whereby a design-build strategy that involves design and construction services contracted by a single entity should be embraced. Additionally, the contractor and the design team should collaborate and all the involved parties should plan adequately before work starts officially in order to minimize the excessive variations on the road construction projects.