Design Changes in Construction Projects – Causes and Impact on the Cost

Abstract

Isolation of design phase from construction has made the design changes inevitable in construction projects. Extensive literature appraisal has acknowledged the detrimental effect of design changes on project performances. However, the impact and causes of design changes have been divided up, either separately or project specific. As a result, the relationship between impact and causes of design changes could not be established for general construction. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the impact of design changes on project cost and identifying actions responsible for these changes. The objectives of the study were achieved through a systematic review of past literature published in well-established journals, and contents analyzed. From the extensive literature review, it was established that the design change is one of the predominant factors to cost overrun, and in some cases, may upshot into cost overrun between 5 and 40% of the project cost. Also, many causes of design changes resulting in cost overrun within the perspective of the owner, consultant, and contractors are explored. Some projects experienced closure as a result of owner induced design changes, although these changes may not be significant in number. Design changes as a result of consultants and contractors in some cases might have reduced impact but are frequent. For each consideration, most events leading to design changes can be eliminated by improving on communication and coordination between stakeholders. The main contribution of this research is to bring together the impact and causes of design changes on cost under one platform for effectively managing the design process.

Causes of Design Change Depending on Power Project-Types in Ghana

“…Additionally, a correlation was established to understand the relationship between the causes of change for each category. Aslam et al [13] identified the impact of design change on cost while also pinpointing actions that are responsible for these changes. They indicated that 45.85% and 27.1% of the causes of design changes are related to the designer and contractor, respectively.…”

“…Previous studies have covered much ground when it comes to design change. Researchers have focused on important topics on design change such as its causes [8,9], its impacts [5,10,11], its effects on cost [12,13], its impact on schedules [14], the parties responsible for design change, its root causes, its management and other impact aspects that contribute significantly to the body of knowledge on the subject. However, the majority of previous studies on design change have focused on residential and commercial building projects and civil areas.…”

Analisis Faktor-faktor Perubahan Design Terhadap Proyek Konstruksi Pelebaran Jalan Tol Jakarta-Merak (Area Cikupa)

“…Akibat dari terhentinya pekerjaan menimbulkan jadwal penyelesaian proyek yang terlambat dan kenaikan biaya (Yap et al, 2016) Perubahan design merupakan risiko yang memiliki dampak yang tinggi terhadap keterlambatan proyek risiko. Ini bisa terjadi karena adanya permintaan owner maupun permintaan buyer pada owner (Kristiana, 2017) Kurangnya komunikasi diantara stakeholder menjadi salah satu penyebab utama adanya perubahan design, padahal perubahan design ini dapat menyebabkan perbedaan biaya pada range 5%-40% (Aslam et al, 2019) Perubahan design pada proyek konstruksi selalu tidak dapat dihindarkan dan menyebabkan gangguan pada performance proyek.Owner menjadi penyebab utama sebagai pihak yang mempengaruhi perubahan design (Yana et al, 2015) Terjadinya keterlambatan proyek di Surabaya diakibatkan perubahan design oleh pemilik serta kekeliruan design oleh konsultan perencana (Bruno, 2019) Perubahan design oleh owner pada proyek jalan raya di Manado menjadi salah satu penyebab keterlambatan proyek. Pentingnya komunikasi yang baik antara kontraktor, konsultan dan owner supaya proyek berjalan dengan baik (Palulun et al, 2017) Perubahan design pada design struktur atap pembangunan gedung kantor DPRD Riau menimbulkan dampak keterlambatan waktu dan peningkatan biaya sebesar 29% (Sandyavitri, 2008.…”

Causes of Construction Delays in Different Buildings Typology in Portugal

“…Management risk namely, poor, or improper planning and communication, external and internal collaboration, design errors and ineffective teamwork [16][17][18][19][20]. Technical risk namely, lack of training, low wages, inadequate safety measures in the execution, physical obstructions, frequent changes in the design, poor quality of materials [21][22][23][24]. Legal and political assessment comprising, errors in the contract documents, legal terms and procedural landscape, improper documentation, lack of records, loss of revenue by the state, undefined bureaucracy and corruption in the construction sector [25][26][27][28][29].…”