Delay in construction projects is considered one of the most common problems causing a multitude of negative effects on the project and its participating parties. This paper aims to identify the main causes of delay in construction projects in Egypt from the point of view of contractors, consultants, and owners. A literature review was conducted to compile a list of delay causes that was purged based on appropriateness to Egypt in seven semistructured interviews. The resulting list of delay causes was subjected to a questionnaire survey for quantitative confirmation and identification of the most important causes of delay. The overall results indicated that the most important causes are: financing by contractor during construction, delays in contractor's payment by owner, design changes by owner or his agent during construction, partial payments during construction, and nonutilization of professional construction/contractual management. The contractor and owner were found to have opposing views, mostly blaming one another for delays, while the consultant was seen as having a more intermediate view. Results' analyses suggest that in order to significantly reduce delay a joint effort based on teamwork is required. Furthermore, causes of project delay were discussed based on the type and size of the project.

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The importance of business performance measurement across industries has elevated in the last decade in what has been described as a revolution. Meanwhile, the construction industry has been criticised for its underperformance and the Latham and Egan reports emphasized the need for performance improvement and measurement. Companies have had to face the dilemma of choosing among different performance measurement frameworks. Hence, a need has been identified for a comprehensive framework. The aim of this research is to fulfil this need by building a conceptual framework for measuring the business performance of construction organizations. The framework had been formulated in previous research upon the principles of the Balanced Scorecard and Business Excellence Models. The research attempts to empirically evaluate and revise the framework through a series of expert interviews and case studies. In addition, empirical feedback has been used to: express the revised framework in a more communicative form, illustrate how business performance can be measured; and highlight the differences between the proposed framework and contemporary performance frameworks.Balanced scorecard, construction, empirical evaluation, excellence model, performance measurement,

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and analyse the criteria and sub-criteria of an excellence model for construction that would aid construction contractors in measuring and improving their business performance. Design/methodology/approach-The methodology of evaluation was based on similar evaluations of total quality management frameworks and excellence models in the literature. The developed model was measured via a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire as a measuring instrument was evaluated in terms of reliability and validity using techniques such as factor analysis, multiple correlation, and Cronbach's alpha. The weights of the criteria were empirically calculated using factor regression coefficients. Findings-The criteria and sub-criteria of the proposed construction excellence model were confirmed using empirical data, and the criterion weights were suggested on an empirical / scientific basis. Research limitations/implications-The model is limited as a managerial tool: it can increase the chances of success, but not guarantee it. The model was evaluated on, and therefore limited to, large construction contracting organisations. Originality/value-The main benefit of the construction excellence model is that it provides criteria and sub-criteria for an excellence model developed for and evaluated by construction companies. It has a more comprehensive and wider coverage of performance criteria relevant to the construction industry than other excellence models.