Contract Administration Guidelines for Public Infrastructure Projects in the United States and Saudi Arabia: Comparative Analysis Approach

Critical assessment of construction contract administration using fuzzy structural equation modeling

“…In spite of the importance of CCA function, a proper CCA is yet recognized in several projects, and numerous issues are being referred to poor CCA procedures (Park and Kim, 2018). CCA process is one of the major causes of disputes in construction projects (El-adaway et al, 2018) and is a concern to construction professionals worldwide (Arcadis, 2018). The challenges associated with CCA performance include unresponsive acts by CCA staff ECAM 27,6 (Ssegawa, 2008), insufficiency and incompetency of staff (Puil and Weele, 2014;Surajbali, 2016), lack of adequate policies and procedures (Surajbali, 2016), inefficient monitoring of the contract (Surajbali, 2016), ineffective decision-making (Puil and Weele, 2014), frequent changes in design and specifications of major equipment (Islam et al, 2019), payments problems (Puil and Weele, 2014;Rendon, 2010;Ssegawa, 2008), communication issues (Barakat et al, 2018), timeline constraints (Joyce, 2014;Rendon, 2010), and corruptions (Joyce, 2014).…”

“…It is a key requisite for a successful contract that covering the formal governance of the post-award phase, approvals of changes, overseeing daily construction activities, testing and commissioning, handing over, and defects rectification works (Niraula et al , 2008; Ofori, 2014). Since contracts are not self-enforcing, contract administration is important to address conflicts on time (Puil and Weele, 2014), reduce disputes (Abotaleb and El-adaway 2017; El-adaway et al , 2018), control changes (Islam et al , 2019), maintain relevant records (Iyer and Jha, 2005), resolve discrepancies or inconsistencies among the several contract documents (Hamie and Abdul-Malak, 2018), safeguard entities’ rights (Oluka and Basheka, 2014) and reduce risks (Joyce, 2014). Not only those but, it is important to monitor and control contract implementation, managing challenges associated with the construction industry, ensure the achievement of the project objectives, ensure project compliance, manage roles and responsibility, and protect the financial interest of the key stakeholders.…”

“…Each project requires proper construction contract administration (CCA) processes. The literature reveals that CA is one of the most serious challenges facing the project stakeholders (Niraula et al , 2008), and effective CCA is getting increasing attention in the construction industry (El-adaway et al , 2018). Likewise, several researchers emphasize the need for a better understanding and training on good administrative practices (Ahmed, 2015; Bartsiotas, 2014; Kayastha, 2014; Niraula et al , 2008; Surajbali, 2016).…”

Construction Contract Administration Performance Assessment Tool by Using a Fuzzy Structural Equation Model

“…On the other side, poor contract administration performance is a significant cause of inefficient construction process, delays, reworks, unnecessary variations, poor communication among team players, conflicts and disputes for both employer and contractors [4]. As a result, investments in the construction industry face several risks when the contract administration practices do not adequately perform and poor contract administration works against the industry sustainability.…”

“…= Standardized factor loading of the observed variable i (i =15,6,11,10,10,4,7,5,8,4,13) for groups j = 1 to 11); RFW1i = Relative factor weight (within group) of the observed variable; RFW2i = Applicable relative factor weight (within group) of the observed variable (i.e., RFW2i = 0 for not applicable observed variable i); RFW3i = Updated relative factor weight (within group) of the observed variable i; Ci = conformity of observed variable based on actual implementation (i.e., Ci = 0 to 100 or NaN); SFLj = Standardized factor loading of group j (j = 1 to 11); RGW1j = Relative weight of group j; RGW2j = Applicable weight of group j (i.e., RGW2j = 0 if all observed variables within group j are not applicable); RGW3j = Updated weight of group j; FW2i = Overall final factor weight based on group availability and observed variable availability; Pj = Group performance; and % Pj = Group performance index; and CCAPI = CCA performance index.…”