Impact of Design Changes in Construction Project

Abstract

Design changes in construction projects are always going to happen and cannot be avoided. Design changes are the primary contributor to disruption of time and cost performance of construction projects. Previous research in this domain lacks of detail studies on systematic review on the existing literature. This paper reviewed literature published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings in the construction management field and had emailed several questions to the expert in construction industry. The objectives were to recognize the causes and impacts of design changes on project performance and to provide insights for future studies in Malaysian context. The findings indicate that design changes originate mainly from the owner side are identified as important causing factors to time overruns and cost overruns. This paper proposes framework for the management of design changes in construction projects.

Desain Changes in a Short Duration Construction Project With Cost and Time Boundaries: A Project Review

“…Using the author's experience as an example of typical weighing judgment from an experienced civil engineer would likely take the last as the major cause of design changes. Though several papers [3], [4], [6] and [7] agree with the experience of the author, this paper intends to look at those causes without weighing any experience judgments by assuming all the sources above have the same risk potential.…”

“…Abou Chakra [5], in his paper presents estimations of cost overruns in several project categories due to design changes. The paper by Muhamad et al [6] seems to agree with Yana [3], arguing that overruns in construction projects are significantly instigated by the project owners. Shoar et al [7] presents a deeper analysis using an Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach on the design changes causes.…”

“…Yet, when situations get rushed, it is the communication among people in the project that would open the way out. Papers such as [4], [5]and [6], agree to the idea that design changes contribute to reduced project performance in terms of either cost or time or both. Aslam et al [4] specifically argues that the unfavorable effect of design changes on project performances has actually no established relationship for general construction.…”

“…What many people are not aware of is the series of effects behind the design changes. This could be the reason why papers [3], [6]and [7] conclude that project owners in many cases are those who initiated the design changes assuming less or no complex consequences. Also in those cases, not all of the project owners are willing to cover the overruns caused by their proposed design changes.…”

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

“…Additionally, five factors common to all three groupings identified design change/error issues as common causes for delays. Changes in design ranked as the fifth leading cause for delays in building projects in Ghana out of the nine main factors identified for delays [30]. In another study, delay in completion schedule was the most visible effect of variation orders from all the viewpoints [18].…”