Monday, November 9, 2009

Kontraktor 'beli' pegawai JKR punca bangunan runtuh?

Kontraktor 'beli' pegawai JKR punca bangunan runtuh
Herman Samsudeen

Kejadian siling runtuh di tiga pejabat Kerajaan akhir-akhir ini semakin menimbulkan tanda tanya kepada rakyat tentang apakah yang berlaku disebalik pengurusan dan kontrak penyelenggaraan bangunan pejabat-pejabat Kerajaan pada hari ini. 


Keruntuhan berganda Projek Kerajaan Barisan Nasional ini menimbulkan banyak keraguan sama ada dari aspek pembinaan, pemantau projek, penyelenggaraan dan pengurusan bangunan Kerajaan. 

Kompleks Mahkamah Jalan Duta dibina dengan kos RM270 juta telah runtuh silingnya, manakala kejadian siling runtuh akibat paip pecah di ibu pejabat Jabatan Imigresen dan Dewan Serbaguna Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi di Putrajaya juga berlaku di bangunan baru milik kerajaan yang dibina dengan kos beratus-ratus juta ringgit. 

Apakah yang dilakukan oleh kontraktor penyelenggaraan bangunan-bangunan ini. Adakah ia benar-benar salah kontrator penyelenggaraan atau kontraktor yang membina bangunan tersebut. 

Bagaimana dengan arkiteknya, apa pula yang telah dilakukan oleh Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) yang dikelolakan oleh Kementerian Kerjaraya di bawah Samy Vellu. 

Setahu saya, bangunan Kerajaan tidak mempunyai Sijil Layak Manduduki (CF) kerana semua urusan pemeriksaan bangunan dan pengesahan dikeluarkan oleh Jurutera JKR sendiri. 

Oleh itu, secara tidak langsung kita boleh beranggapan bahawa pihak JKR bertanggungjawab bagi memeriksa dan membuat perakuan sebelum kunci bangunan berkenaan diserahkan pada Jabatan Kerajaan yang menjadi pelanggan mereka. 

Namun, tiga kejadian yang berlaku dalam bulan Mac menimbulkan banyak tanda tanya. Adakah Jurutera JKR benar-benar membuat pemeriksaan dan pemantauan tehadap setiap projek pembinaan bangunan kerajaan atau sekadar melepaskan batuk ditangga sahaja. 

Skandal dalam sektor pembinaan negara begitu banyak dikaitkan dengan JKR. Tahun lepas negara kecoh pasal jejambat MRR2 dan Lebuhraya bertingkat Ampang yang retak. 

Selain itu, isu keretakan bangunan MATRADE dan sekolah dibeberapa tempat serta kes siling makmal komputer MRSM yang runtuh dan Hospital yang berkulat telah membawa banyak masalah bukan sahaja kepada rakyat tetapi kepada ekonomi negara kerana jutaan ringgit lagi terpaksa dibelanjakan untuk tujuan pembaikkan. 

Pembaziran ini tidak seharusnya berlaku seandainya pihak JKR mengambil langkah yang proaktif dalam menilai semula syarat-syarat pemberian kontrak dan membuat pemantau rapi terhadap setiap projek kerajaan. 

Saya difahamkan bahawa kebanyakan kontraktor yang mendapat tender projek telah menghabiskan ribuan ringgit bagi membeli hati segelintir pegawai-pegawai JKR yang datang ke tapak projek untuk tujuan pemantauan. 

Pegawai-pegawai ini, dihadiahkan dengan pelbagai hamper dimusim perayaan dan makan di tempat-tempat mewah bersama kontraktor ini bagi membincangkan perkembangan projek. 

Selain itu, terdapat juga segelintir Jurutera JKR yang tamak, membuka syarikat sendiri menggunakan nama adik beradik atau berkongsi dengan rakan diluar bagi merebut tender projek. 

Ini adalah satu tindakan yang halal tetapi amat dilarang dalam Islam sekiranya ianya menimbulkan keburukan seperti sikap sambil lewa dan tidak tegas terhadap kelemahan kontraktor yang mana pegawai tersebut mempunyai kepentingan tersendiri dalam syarikat tersebut. 

Berbalik pada isu keruntuhan syiling bangunan Pejabat Mahkamah KL, MECD dan Imigresen, Kerajaan seharusnya membentuk satu Suruhanjaya Khas bagi memantau projek-projek Kerajaan. Kerajaan sebelum ini telah membentuk Badan Bertindak Pelaksanaan Negara (BBPN). 

Dalam mesyuarat pertamanya pada 19 April 2006 BBPN telah memutuskan agar Sistem Pengurusan Projek dan Program (PPP) diperkenalkan oleh Direktorat Pelaksanaan Negara (DPN) bagi memastikan semua projek Kerajaan dalam RMK9 dapat dipantau dengan sistematik. 

Dua unit di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM) iaitu Unit Perancang Ekonomi (EPU) dan Unit Penyelarasan Pelaksanaan (ICU) berfungsi sebagai sekretariat BBPN yang diketuai oleh Effendi Norwawi. Dan ini masih lagi menimbulkan keraguan pada rakyat atas ketelusan pemberian dan pemantauan projek oleh Jabatan Kerajaan itu sendiri kerana kuasa pemberian projek dan pemantauan masih berlegar dalam organisasi yang sama di bawah Perdana Menteri dan Samy Vellu. 

Oleh itu, saya mencadangkan agar satu Suruhanjaya Khas Pembinaan Negara (SKPN) diwujudkan bagi memantau projek-projek Kerajaan khususnya yang melibatkan kos jutaan ringgit. 

Ahli-ahli Suruhanjaya ini haruslah dianggotai oleh kumpulan profesional yang datang dari pelbagai latar belakang seperti Jurutera, Pegawai Undang-Undang, Pakar Kewangan dan Perunding yang tiada kepentingan. 

Kerajaan juga harus memberikan peluang kepada wakil-wakil profesional dari parti pembangkang menyertai Suruhanjaya ini bagi memastikan elemen Check and Balance serta transparent dapat diwujudkan. 

Kerajaan harus memandang secara lebih serius dan terkehadapan bagi memastikan rasuah duit dan bukan duit yang melingkari projek-projek kerajaan selama ini dapat dirungkaikan sesuai dengan misi Kerajaan sendiri yang ingin memerangi Rasuah. 

Jika tidak, maka akan lebih banyak lagi runtuhan akan kita dengar dan lihat selepas ini. 

Kita terlalu banyak berbangga dengan pencapaian bangunan tertinggi, kompleks mahkamah kedua terbesar, serta keindahan projek mega Putrajaya yang mana, disebalik keindahan itu terdapat ulat dan anai-anai yang giat memamah kebanggaan ini. 

Oleh itu, tindakan segera dan pantas harus diambil bagi memastikan ulat dan anai-anai ini dapat dihapuskan. Kita tidak mahu kakitangan Kerajaan dan rakyat yang berurusan dikaunter Kerajaan terus ketakutan kerana dilema yang melanda Industri Pembinaan negara sekarang. 

Hari ini di Kompleks Mahkamah KL, Imigresen, MECD, MATRADE, MRR2, MRSM dan banyak lagi, esok bangunan mana pula yang akan runtuh?

http://www.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7524&Itemid=99999999

Komen: Siapakah staf JKR yang kena ‘beli’ oleh kontraktor? Arkitek, jurutera atau juruukur bahan dan/atau pembantu-pembantu mereka? Bila kita sudah dibeli kontraktor, kita cuma hebat di depan orang awam tapi melutut depan towkey dan hidup hina dalam poket orang lain walaupun terpelajar. Semuanya bermula angkara nafsu yang sukar dikawal.

Cara Untung Atas Angin & 'Duit Free' Dan Hukumnya

Cara Untung Atas Angin & 'Duit Free' Dan Hukumnya 
Oleh Ustaz Zaharuddin Abd Rahman 
http://www.zaharuddin.net/ 

Disebabkan hal dan perkara ini sentiasa berlaku di syarikat swasta dan kerajaan, saya merasakan amat baik jika artikel ini dibaca dan dihayati kembali oleh pelawat web saya. Khususnya di musim kegawatan ekonomi dan kebanyakan pekerja sedang memikirkan pelbagai kaedah dan cara untuk mencari wang sampingan dan tambahan. Beringat-ingatlah dalam mencari wang sampingan, jangan sampai menyumbat bara api neraka ke dalam mulut isteri dan anakmu. 

Tajuk utama surat khabar New Straits Times pada 11 September 2007 memaparkan isu pembelian beberapa peralatan untuk kementerian tertentu dengan harga luar biasa. 

Hal ini terbongkar apabila pihak Ketua Audit Negara melakukan tugasnya dengan telus dan baik, lalu mendedahkan penyelewengan ini. 

Antara yang diketengahkan oleh media ini adalah :- 
1) Buku yang sepatutnya berharga RM 417 menjadi RM 10,700. 
2) Screwdriver yang sepatutnya berharga RM 32 menjadi RM 224. 
3) Set lengkap komputer meja (desktop) yang sepatutnya berharga RM 174,811 menjadi RM 3.06 juta (Kementerian Belia & Sukan). 
4) Karipap yang sepatutnya berharga 30 sen satu menjadi RM 3 bagi satu karipap. 
5) Dua kamera 3.1 Megapixel yang sepatutnya berharga RM 2,990 menjadi RM 8,254. 
6) Faber Castell pens yang sepatutnya berharga RM 160 menjadi RM 1,146.56. 
7) Dua kren yang sepatutnya berharga RM 2.98 juta menjadi RM 5.72 juta. 

Secara mudahnya kita dapat mengagak bahawa kes di atas berlaku disebabkan oleh salah satu sebab berikut :- 
1) Penipuan oleh pegawai bertanggungjawab yang mengambil keuntungan atas angin. 
2) Rasuah menyebabkan harga termasuk harga bayaran rasuah. 
3) Salah teknikal dan pengiraan. 

Menurut Islam, jika ia berlaku dengan sebab item 1 dan 2, sudah tentu hukumnya haram. Dalil pengharaman rasuah adalah :- 

1) Firman Allah s.w.t 
Ertinya : " Dan janganlah sebahagian kamu memakan harta sebahagian yang lain di antara kamu dengan jalan yang batil dan (janganlah) kamu membawa (urusan) harta itu kepada hakim, supaya kamu dapat memakan sebahagian daripada harta benda orang lain itu dengan (jalan berbuat) dosa, padahal kamu mengetahui." (Al-Baqarah : 188) 

2) Disebutkan dalam hadith :- 
Ertinya : "Rasulullah s.a.w telah melaknat pemberi rasuah dan penerima rasuah dalam penetapan keputusan (pemerintahan, pentadbiran, kehakiman dll)" ( Riwayat At-Tirmidzi, 3/622 : Imam Tirmidzi berkata : Hadis Hasan Sohih) 

Manakala dalil pengharaman penipuan juga sangat jelas dalam urusan perniagaan secara umum, iaitu :- 

1) Sebuah hadis :- 
Ertinya : "Pada suatu hari Rasulullah s.a.w. pernah melalui seorang laki-laki yang sedang menjual makanan (biji-bijian). Baginda sangat mengaguminya, kemudian memasukkan tangannya ke dalam tempat makanan itu, apabila dilihatnya makanan itu nampak basah, maka bertanyalah beliau: Apa yang dilakukan oleh pemilik makanan ini? Ia menjawab: Kena hujan. Kemudian Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: 
"Mengapa tidak kamu letakkan yang basah itu di atas, supaya orang lain mengetahuinya?! barangsiapa menipu, bukanlah (mereka) dari golongan kami (Islam)" (Riwayat Muslim, 1/99) 

2) Pernah juga di riwayatkan bahawa :- 
Ertinya : Sesungguhnya Allah apabila telah mengharamkan sesuatu maka akan haram jugalah harga jualan (keuntungan yang terhasil dari yang haram) (Ar-Rawdu Al-Murabba', 2/30 ; Riwayat Ibn Hibban, 11/312) 

3) Nabi SAW juga pernah mencela orang Yahudi yang apabila diharamkan memakan daging babi dan lain-lain, mereka membuat helah dengan mengambil lemaknya dan dihiaskan lalu dijualnya. Apabila Nabi mendapat tahu lalu terus berkata :- 
Ertinya : "Allah akan menghancurkan Yahudi yang mana mereka ini apabila Allah mengharamkan makan lemak (babi, bangkai dan lain-lain yang diharamkan), lalu mereka membuat helah dengan menjualnya serta menikmati hasil jualannya" (Riwayat Al-Bukhari no 2111, 2/775 ; Muslim, Baihaqi ) 

Hasil dari kumpulan hadis ini, bentuk tindakan yang dilakukan seperti adalah HARAM dari sudut hukum Islam jika ia benar-benar dilakukan atas dasar penipuan dan rasuah. Manakala, jika berlaku atas kesilapan teknikal, ia tidak termasuk dalam kesalahan dari sudut hukum. Ia hanya kelemahan pengurusan dan tindakan bergantung kepada pihak berwajib.  

Beberapa Bentuk Lagi 

Menerusi email dan soalan yang kerap saya terima, berikut adalah antara beberapa bentuk untung atas angin dan penyelewengan yang kerap berlaku dalam industri kerja samada kerajaan, swasta, NGO, Persatuan, sekolah, Parti Politik dan lain-lain organisasi :- 

1) Rasuah dalam memilih : Pegawai yang bertanggungjawab memilih kontraktor untuk iklan, pembersihan, latihan dll untuk syarikat atau organisasinya. Pihak pegawai memilih syarikat 'Z' dari empat syarikat lain yang menghantar 'quotation' kerana oleh syarikat 'Z' itu berjanji memberikannya sedikit imbuhan 'ikhlas'. 

Hukum : Ia adalah haram dan rasuah dalam Islam. 

2) Mencipta 'quotation' sendiri : Pegawai atau kumpulan pegawai yang diberi kuasa membuat pemilihan kontraktor untuk syarikat. Dia atau mereka sepakat untuk memberinya kepada satu syarikat yang mereka kenali bukan kerana kualiti dan harganya tetapi kerana sebab-sebab lain. Disebabkan oleh prosedur syarikat yang memerlukan terdapat 'quotation' dari minimum daripada empat buah syarikat. Pegawai ini telah mencipta beberapa 'quotation' dari syarikat yang tidak wujud bagi menunjukkan 

Hukum : Haram kerana menipu. 

3) Menaikkan Harga : Pegawai diminta oleh majikan untuk mencari pembekal bahan mentah, pegawai berjaya mencari dengan harga RM 1500 tetapi menaikkannya kepada RM 2000, lalu baki RM 500 diambilnya. 

Hukum : Ia adalah haram sepakat ulama. 

4) Menang Tender Bersyarat : Pelaburan Pegawai diminta oleh majikan mencari kontraktor untuk 'renovation' pejabat atau apa jua aset syarikat. Pegawai telah mengempen syarikat 'B' kepada majikan disebabkan dia telah mempunyai perjanjian di sebalik tabir dengan pihak syarikat "B' yang memberikannya izin untuk melabur wang peribadinya dalam syarikat 'B' dengan kadar keuntungan mengikut Islam 'kononnya'. Padahal, jika tiada peluang 'melabur' itu, sudah pasti pegawai tidak akan mengempen syarikat 'B'. 

Hukum : Tindakan sebegini adalah haram dalam Islam dan ia termasuk dalam rasuah bentuk baru dan berselindung disebalik aktiviti pelaburan Islam. 

5) Tuntutan Palsu : Pegawai membeli barang keperluan syarikat atau mengisi minyak dengan harga tertentu tetapi berpakat dan memohon pembekal atau stesyen minyak mengeluarkan resit dengan jumlah berbeza dari jumlah pembeliannya. Berbekalkan resit itu, pegawai membuat tuntutan kepada syarikat dengan harga berlipat kali ganda. Ini yang berlaku dalam kes-kes di atas. 

Hukum : Ia adalah haram menurut Islam kerana penipuan kepada syarikat. Pihak pembekal juga berdosa kerana dikira bersubahat mengeluarkan resit berjumlah palsu itu. 

6) Resit Harga Ciptaan : Pegawai membeli barang untuk kegunaan syarikat dari satu kedai, dan kedai tersebut enggan bekerjasama untuk menaikkan harga dalam resit. Bagi meraih keuntungan, pihak pegawai telah mencipta resit sendiri berserta cop palsu. 

Hukum : Ia adalah haram dalam Islam kerana penipuan. 

7) Ambil Untung Sendiri : Pegawai diberi oleh syarikat 'budget maksimum' sebanyak RM 5000 untuk membeli satu barangan keperluan syarikat. Pegawai berjaya mencari di pasaran terbuka barang yang diperlukan dengan harga RM 4000 sahaja. Bagi mendapat manfaat, si pegawai telah berpakat dengan penjual agar dituliskan harga RM 5000 dalam invoice dan baki RM 1000 hendaklah diberi kepadanya. 

Hukum : Ia adalah haram kerana penipuan dan wang khianat sebagaimana yang disebut oleh Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. Bagaimanapun, jika ia berterus terang dengan majikan sambil memohon sebarang insentif atas kejayaannya mengurangkan kos syarikat kerana kecekapannya mencari barang yang lebih murah, tatkala itu, majikan harus memberikannya jika ia tidak menyalahi mana-mana undang-undang syarikat. Jika tidak, majikan akan mengambil kira kejayaan itu dan membayarnya dalam bonus dan kenaikan gaji apabila sampai waktunya sahaja. 

8) Guna Khidmat Syarikat Sendiri : Soalannya seperti berikut : - "Saya bekerja dengan majikan, dalam masa yang sama membuat perniagaan membekal barang-barang untuk majikan menggunakan syarikat saya tanpa pengetahuan majikan?" 

Hukum : Ia lebih cenderung kepada hukum haram terutamanya jika anda menggunakan kuasa anda sebagai pegawai yang diberi tanggungjawab untuk mempengaruhi keputusan pemilihan pembekal. 

Walaubagaimanapun jika majikan telah diberitahu dan mereka bersetuju tanpa sebarang syarat-syarat seperti rasuah seperti 'mesti memberikan komisyen kepadanya pula' ; maka ia boleh dikira harus dan halal, terutamanya apabila syarikat anda memang punyai kualiti dan mampu menawarkan harga kompetitif berbanding syarikat pembekal lain. 

Wang Yang Diperolehi Dari Kerja Yang Telah Diberi Gaji 

Saya faham, ramai yang cuba mendapatkan 'side income' dari cara-cara yang disebut di atas, sambil melakukan tugasannya yang wajib. Ingatlah dua hadis berikut :- 

a) Nabi bersabda : 
" Barangsiapa yang telah kami ambil untuk melakukan sesuatu kerja, dan telah ditetapkan baginya sesuatu rezeki (gaji atau upah), maka apa yang diambilnya selepas itu adalah ghulul (pengkhianatan) " ( Riwayat Abu Daud, no 2943, Albani : Hadith Sohih ; Ma'alim as-Sunan, Al-Khattabi, 3/8 cet Dar Kutub Ilmiah) 

b) Nabi bersabda kepada seorang gabenornya yang telah ditugaskan mengutip zakat kabilah Azad, maka apabila ia selesai kerjanya dan kembali berjumpa Nabi, lalu ia menyimpan sebahagian dari wang yang dikutip sambil berkata : 

"ini untukmu (bahagian untuk Islam) dan ini untukku yang diberikan sebagai hadiah (oleh orang ramai), maka jatuh murka Baginda sambil bersabda :" Ketahuilah, pergilah kamu duduk di rumah bapamu atau ibumu, sehingga datang kepadamu hadiahmu, jika kamu benar-benar betul (layak mendapat hadiah)" (Al-Bukhari & Muslim ) 

KESIMPULANNYA
 

Sebagai akhirnya, banyak sungguh soalan seperti kes-kes di atas sampai kepada saya. Malangnya amat ramai juga yang terlibat tanpa memikirkan halal haram tindakannya. Hanya berbekalkan keyakinan tanpa ilmu dan palsu, mereka meraih keuntungan untuk digunakan oleh diri dan keluarga. Pastikan ia akan memberikan padah baginya di dunia dan akhirat, selain menjadi punca doa menjadi pudar dan tidak ingin didiengari oleh Allah s.w.t. 

Penutup  

Nabi Muhammad mengingatkan kesan harta haram terhadap munjat dan doa seseorang :- 
Ertinya : menyebut tentang seorang pemuda yang bermusafir dalam perjalanan yang jauh, hal rambutnya kusut masai, mukanya berdebu di mana dia mengangkat tangan ke langit : Wahai Tuhanku...wahai Tuhanku... sedangkan makanannya haram, minumannya haram dan pakaiannya haram..Dan dia dibesarkan dengan memakan makanan haram maka bagaimana Kami mahu mengabulkan doanya. (Riwayat Muslim, no 1015, 2/703 ; hadis sohih) 

Apabila wang dan pendapatan menjadi haram, doa tiada lagi dilihat dan diterima oleh Allah swt. Ibu kepada segala jenis doa adalah solat. Apabila solat sudah tidak lagi diterima, runtuhkan sensitiviti dan antenna agama dari dirinya, menyebabkan ia sesat dan terus menjauh dari Allah swt, menuju ke majlis hina bersama para iblis dan Syaitan. Moga dijauhkan Allah. 

Sekian 
Zaharuddin Abd Rahman 
www.zaharuddin.net 
3 Ramadhan 1428 H 
15 Sept 2007
*untuk teks Quran dan Hadith, sila lihat artikel asal.

Sumber: http://www.zaharuddin.net/content/view/597/72/

Komen: Eloklah kita hentikan rasuah yang membelit kehidupan kita sekarang. Apalah gunanya kehebatan zahir yang jelas haram. Selamat menjaga nilai spiritual diri kita kerana apa pun kita adalah insan bukan haiwan.


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Delay and cost overruns in Vietnam large construction projects: A comparison with other selected countries

Authors: Long Le-Hoai1 , Young Dai Lee2 and Jun Yong Lee1
(1) Interdisciplinary Program of Construction Engineering and Management, Pukyong National University, Busan, 608-739, Korea
(2) Division of Construction Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 608-739, Korea

lehoailong@hcmut.edu.vn

Abstract  In-planned duration and cost at project closing are the two of criteria of successful project and successful project management. In Vietnam, regularly, construction projects have met delays and cost overruns. This research has employed a questionnaire survey to elicit the causes of this situation by interviewing 87 Vietnamese construction experts. Twenty one causes of delay and cost overruns appropriate with building and industrial construction project were inferred and ranked with respect to frequency, severity and importance indices. Spearman’s rank correlation tests showed that there are no differences in the viewpoints between three principal parties in the project. A comparison of causes of time and cost overruns was done with various selected construction industries in Asia and Africa. Factor analysis technique was applied to categorize the causes, which yielded 7 factors: Slowness and Lack of constraint; Incompetence; Design; Market and Estimate; Financial capability; Government; and Worker. These findings might encourage practitioners to focus on delay and cost overruns problem that might have existed in their present or future projects. 

Keywords large construction projects - delay - cost overruns - factor analysis – Vietnam

Costs of Construction Delay

The previous instalment of qs news described the key factors that can cause delay in 
construction projects. This is the second instalment, discussing the costs associated 
with construction delays. 

A number of factors can cause construction delays. These include: 
   The Developer 
   The Contractor
   The Consultant 
   The Material 
   The Contractual Relationship  
   Labour and Equipment 
   The Contract 
   The External Environment 

Developer - Cost of Delays 
Should something unforeseen and beyond the control of the contractor occur on site, delays will generally 
result. These delays will often inconvenience the contractor and the developer will be required to reimburse the contractor for the resultant loss. Some of the costs that may occur due to unforeseeable delays include: 

Onsite Costs 
– When delays occur, the site still needs to be maintained. That means site labour continues and rent for on site sheds and machinery needs to be paid. 

Down Time Costs 
– This is time spent waiting on site for delays to be identified and rectified. This may include waiting for new contracts to be issued, or for new machinery being bought to site. While waiting for these to occur, workers are still being paid to do little or no work. 

Site Supervision Costs
– Again, while delays are occurring the site still needs to be supervised, which is a further cost as no work is being completed on site. 

Contractor - Cost of Delays 
All delays in construction have costs associated. If delays occur, their associated costs are often predetermined in the contract, ensuring that prior to project commencement, both parties are aware that if the project is not completed on time there are costs associated. In a contract, the penalty rates that apply to the contractor for late completion of a project are called liquidated damages. Used correctly, the liquidated damages clause within the contract gives control to the principal over the projects completion date. It also reduces the risk passed onto the principal from time and cost overruns incurred as a result of poor management on behalf of the contractor. Without these clauses, no incentive or consequence exists for the contractor to complete the project on time. Liquidated damages may be calculated on a daily or weekly basis, with the rate payable agreed between the Developer and Contractor at the time of signing the contract. Liquidated damages generally are based on an estimate of the total damages, including possible effects of interest payments, which may be incurred by the developer if the project was to finish late. Liquidated damages can be calculated based on one or more of the following: 

Claimable Delays 
With the exception of some very biased contracts, provision generally exists for contractors to claim additional costs incurred for the duration of the contract for factors beyond their control. These delays should be addressed carefully by the developer and the contractor prior to the signing of the contract so as to be fully aware of the potential costs of delays. 

What happens if delay costs aren’t documented in the contract? 
Poor attention to delay issues in contracts at the commencement of the project lends itself to a range of unfavourable outcomes for the developer in the event that delays are encountered. Insufficient use of the liquidated damages clauses could potentially see the project move well overtime, with no considerable compensation in place for the developer, leaving them to fund the additional interest and/or holding costs associated with the delays. Should the “Costs of Delays” clause within the contract not be correctly utilised, potential exists for constant and/or exorbitant claims being made by the contractor for costs associated with project delays that could well be beyond the control of the developer. Which ever the scenario, much of the time these situations lead to disputes between the parties to the contract which often have adverse effects on the delivery and the immediate profitability of the project. As part of our project assessment procedures, BMT & ASSOC review these critical items within the contract for potential risks and make recommendations as to how these can be minimised.

http://www.bmtqs.com.au/bmtqs/Articles/bmtqsnews_costs_of_construction_delay_pt2.html

Alternative Dispute Resolution Saves Both Time and Budgets

DAN O’REILLY, correspondent. July 9, 2009

A recent legal seminar in Toronto provided owners and contractors, as well as the legal profession with some practical alternatives to costly, time-consuming and possibly business relationship-destroying litigation in construction project disputes. 

With more complex construction and the compilation of claims and counterclaims a project can be completed and several years elapsed before the issue goes to court, said Harvey Kirsh, partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. 

“I often hear my contractor and owner clients tell me their ideal for a successful construction project is the one that comes in within budget and on time. 

“But does litigation generally come within budget and on time?” asked Kirsh, who answered his own question by pointing out that litigation is unpredictable, expensive and filled with delays. 

Instead, where possible, parties in a construction dispute should consider Alternative Dispute Resolutions, which can range from casual get-togethers to more formal measures such as mediation and arbitration. 

“The success rate for ADR is very high and is very important when parties work together (on other projects).” 

Of course, the mechanisms available under the ADR model also have their strengths and weaknesses, he explained. 

One of the most used construction contracts in Canada is the Canadian Construction Documents Committee’s CCDC 2. Under that form of contract, the project consultant has the traditional role of “Arbiter of First Instance.” 

While the law says this person’s decisions must be neutral, unbiased and evenhanded, “neither owners nor contractors really want the project consultant to be the arbiter of their disputes.” 

For those reasons CCDC2 also calls for the early appointment of a neutral, project mediator to supplement the dispute-resolution function. 

If the preliminary determination of construction disputes is handled by the project consultant, the CCDC contract obliges the parties to become involved in a three-step process: negotiation, followed by mediation, followed by arbitration. 

Under the negotiated model, the most immediate representatives at the project or site level will first try to settle their differences. But if that doesn’t work, the matter moves up the corporate ladder to senior management and, ultimately, if need be, to the chief executive officers of the disputing companies, said Kirsh. 

If negotiation doesn’t work, the next step is mediation. Rather than make a decision, the mediator uses his or her skills to try to reach an agreement. Often this requires moving from room to room to meet with the opposing groups who may spend one or two days in the process without ever seeing each other. “The success of mediation really depends on the quality of the mediator.” 

Under a CCDC2 clause there is a requirement to appoint a project mediator within 20 days of the original contract award to help parties reach agreement on any unresolved disputes, said Kirsh. “Unfortunately, people are not taking advantage of this, even though it has excellent potential.” 

If mediation doesn’t work, the third step is arbitration. It involves the making of a decision or award which is usually final and binding on the parties. 

“So there is some finality to the process,” said Kirsh, who cautioned the selection of a neutral arbitrator is critical to its success. 

There was some surprise among the audience when it was pointed out that — under separate document called CCDC 40 — that there is a clause that requires three arbitrators when the project being disputed has a project value of $250,000 or more. Many people in the industry are either unaware of the provision or are just ignoring it, said Kirsh, who described the requirement for three arbitrators as “cumbersome and expensive.” 

Another method to settle conflicts without going to court are dispute-review boards. 

Formed at the beginning of a project, they consist of impartial professionals who follow the construction progress and assist in resolving disputes. 

While not widely used in Canada, dispute review boards have been common in the United States for the last 40 years, used on projects such as the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado and the Boston Central Artery Tunnel, said Kirsh. “We don’t see many DRBs in Canada — but they are taking a foothold here.” 

The seminar was sponsored to mark the 25th anniversary of the Construction Law Letter which Kirsh helped establish and who serves as its consulting editor. It was co-sponsored by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and LexisNexis Canada Inc., the newsletter publisher.

http://www.dcnonl.com/article/id34457?search_term=Kirsh

How to secure a perfect quantity surveying job

By brohhma

Construction industry has a lot of job opportunities for all sorts of people. Few of the better job opportunities are available in quantity surveying. Although people love these jobs but it is hard to find one according to their choice because of competition. But, there is one way to deal with this particular issue. 

Different types of jobs are now available in the construction industry. One of the jobs is about quantity surveying. The basic duty of a quantity surveyor is to manage costs within the project. Although this job requires you to have specialized training and skills to deal with different type of issues but there are lots of people who opt for a career in quantity surveying. The reason behind going for these jobs is the good salary packages. In fact, you can now earn a good handful of money by finding a quantity surveying job in a relatively smaller company. 

Although it is fact that quantity surveying jobs are getting popular and many institutes now help in training students by giving specialized training but it is still hard to find a better job. It is so because the competition is on an upsurge and more and more people are now looking for these jobs. In case you are also interested in quantity surveying job but don’t know how to find one, get connected to internet to conduct a simple search. 

Just by spending some time over the internet you can find several sites offering quantity surveying jobs for those who possess right qualifications and skills. Hays.com and Jobsinsurveying.co.uk are two good options to start your quest to get a perfect quantity surveying job. The great thing about finding a job through internet is that along with finding jobs on your own, you can submit your CV for others to get in touch with you when they see a job vacancy. 

It is significant to mention that there are several other benefits that can be enjoyed by searching for a job over the internet. For instance, you can always find a job in the area you live in. Since you can conduct a research according to the area, you can easily find a good quantity surveying job for you. Plus, you can apply for a job having specific salary. Many employers offer information in this regard and it really saves a lot of your time. 

The fact of the matter is that there are lots of people who now want to work as quantity surveyor. They want to do so because of the availability of making good money. But, it is also true that high competition doesn’t allow people to fulfill their dream of getting a great quantity surveying job. In this situation, the best think to do is to use internet where several job sites are available to help people like you. So, if you think you have the skills and qualifications to work as quantity surveyor, you must make the right use of internet.

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-secure-a-perfect-quantity-surveying-job

QS jobs

Quantity Surveyor plays a very important role in construction industry, because we deal everyday with commercial issue - money. If we late or fail to submit the estimates, certification or some justification, peoples blames us for everything...because we manage the clients outflow and the contractors inflow...so we became the golden bridge lah...it is hard to satisfy 2 parties with different goal in mind, one wants saving and the opposite wants more...please comment...

Life in Johor Bahru is the same as any part of Malaysia...morning jams, site meeting, valuation, outstation and many more ... but don’t give up...we are the QSs...serving everybody..

http://qsjb.blogspot.com/

Causes of Delay in Large Construction Projects

Sadi A. Assaf, and Sadiq Al-Hejji
Construction Engineering and Management Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Box # 680, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Accepted 11 November 2005.  

Abstract
A survey on time performance of different types of construction projects in Saudi Arabia was conducted to determine the causes of delay and their importance according to each of the project participants, i.e., the owner, consultant and the contractor. The field survey conducted included 23 contractors, 19 consultants, and 15 owners. Seventy-three causes of delay were identified during the research. 76% of the contractors and 56% of the consultants indicated that average of time overrun is between 10% and 30% of the original duration. The most common cause of delay identified by all the three parties is “change order”. Surveys concluded that 70% of projects experienced time overrun and found that 45 out of 76 projects considered were delayed.

Keywords: Construction projects; Delay causes; Saudi Arabia

Article Outline
1. Introduction
2. Objectives of the study
3. Literature review
4. Research methodology
5. Questionnaire design
6. Data analysis approach
7. Spearman’s rank correlation
8. Research findings and results
8.1. General characteristics of respondents
8.2. Ranking of delay causes
8.3. Frequency of delay causes
8.4. Severity of delay causes
8.5. Importance of delay causes
8.6. Ranking of sources (Groups) of delays
8.7. Importance rank correlation
9. Summary and conclusion
10. Recommendations
10.1. General recommendation
10.2. Recommendations for future studies
Acknowledgements
References

1. Introduction
In construction, delay could be defined as the time overrun either beyond completion date specified in a contract, or beyond the date that the parties agreed upon for delivery of a project. It is a project slipping over its planned schedule and is considered as common problem in construction projects. To the owner, delay means loss of revenue through lack of production facilities and rent-able space or a dependence on present facilities. In some cases, to the contractor, delay means higher overhead costs because of longer work period, higher material costs through inflation, and due to labor cost increases.

Completing projects on time is an indicator of efficiency, but the construction process is subject to many variables and unpredictable factors, which result from many sources. These sources include the performance of parties, resources availability, environmental conditions, involvement of other parties, and contractual relations. However, it is rarely happen that a project is completed within the specified time.

2. Objectives of the study
The main objectives of this study include the following:
• To identify the causes of delays in construction in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
• To test the importance of the causes of delay between each two groups of parties.
• To study the differences in perceptions of the three major parties in any constructions, namely, owners, contractors and consultants.

3. Literature review
Many articles and studies conducted on causes of delay in construction projects, both locally and internationally have been reviewed. Surveys conducted by Assaf et al. [4] outlined 56 main causes of delay in large construction projects. Delay factors are assembled into nine major groups with different levels of importance to different parties. Al-Ghafly [2] discussed the delay in public water and sewage projects. Sixty causes were identified and classified. Al-Ghafly [2] concluded the following: the delay occurred frequently in medium and large size projects, and considered severe in small projects. There are many important causes of delay related to owner involvement, contractor performance, and the early planning and design of the project. Important causes are financial problems, changes in the design and scope, delay in making decisions and approvals by owner, difficulties in obtaining work permit, and coordination and communication problems.

Chan and Kumaraswamy [5] conducted a survey to evaluate the relative importance of 83 potential delay factors in Hong Kong construction projects and found five principal factors: poor risk management and supervision, unforeseen site conditions, slow decision making, client-initiated variations, and work variations.

Kaming et al. [6] studied influencing factors on 31 high-rise projects in Indonesia and found out that cost overruns occur more frequently and are more severe problem than time overruns. They pointed out that the major factors influencing cost overrun are material cost increase due to inflation, inaccurate material estimation and degree of complexity. While in time overrun, the most important factors causing delays are design changes, poor labor productivity, inadequate planning, and resource shortages.

Kumaraswamy and Chan [7] studied the causes of construction delays in Hong Kong. They found that there was a difference in perceptions as to causes of delays by different groups of participants in building and civil engineering works. They suggested that biases of different industry groups might direct blame for delays to other groups.

Noulmanee et al. [9] investigated causes of delays in highway construction in Thailand and concluded that delays can be caused by all parties involved in projects; however, main causes come from inadequacy of sub-contractors, organization that lacks of sufficient resources, incomplete and unclear drawings and deficiencies between consultants and contractors. The study suggested that delay can be minimized by discussions that lead to understanding.

Al-Momani [3] investigated causes of delay in 130 public projects in Jordan. The main causes of delay were related to designer, user changes, weather, site conditions, late deliveries, economic conditions and increase in quantity. The study suggested that special attention to factors will help industry practitioners in minimizing contract disputes. Delays have strong relationship with failure and ineffective performance of contractors.

Ubaid [10] discussed the performance of contractors as one of the major causes of delay. Thirteen (13) major measures were considered. These measures are related to contractor resources and capabilities. Al-Barak [1] discussed the main causes of failure in Construction industry in Saudi Arabia by surveying 68 contractors and about 34 different causes of failure. The study concluded that lack of experience, poor estimation practices, bad decisions in regulating company’s policy, and national slump in the economy are the severe factors.

4. Research methodology
The research methodology contained: Seventy-three (73) causes of delay were identified through literature review and discussion with some parties involved in construction industry. A questionnaire was developed in order to evaluate the frequency of occurrence, severity and importance of the identified causes. Contractors information was collected from Chamber of Commerce and from the lists of contractors from literature. Also, information about consultants and design engineers were collected from lists of consultants found in literature, as well as from Building & Engineering Consultation Directory published by Engineering Committee in the Ministry of Commerce of Saudi Arabia [8].

Data were gathered through a survey, analyzed by using frequency, severity and importance indices, taking in view owners, contractors and consultants. Agreement on the ranking of the importance of the causes of delay between each two groups of parties was also tested. Recommendations for minimizing delay in construction projects were emphasized in view of the results of the study.

5. Questionnaire design
Data were gathered through a questionnaire. The questionnaire is divided into two main parts. Part I is related to general information for both the company and respondent. Both contractors and consultants were further requested to answer questions pertaining to their experience in the construction industry and their opinions about the percentage average time delay in projects they experienced. Part II includes the list of the identified causes of delay in construction project. These causes are classified into nine (9) groups according to the sources of delay: Factors related to project, owner, contractor, consultant, design-team, materials, equipment, manpower (labor), and external factors.

For each cause/factor two questions were asked: What is the frequency of occurrence for this cause? And what is the degree of severity of this cause on project delay? Both frequency of occurrence and severity were categorized on a four-point scale. Frequency of occurrence is categorized as follows: always, often, sometimes and rarely (on 4 to 1 point scale). Similarly, degree of severity was categorized as follows: extreme, great, moderate and little (on 4 to l point scale).

6. Data analysis approach
The collected data were analyzed through the following statistical techniques and indices:

Frequency index: A formula is used to rank causes of delay based on frequency of occurrence as identified by the participantswhere a is the constant expressing weighting given to each response (ranges from 1 for rarely up to 4 for always), n is the frequency of the responses, and N is total number of responses.

Severity index: A formula is used to rank causes of delay based on severity as indicated by the participants.
where a is the constant expressing weighting given to each response (ranges from 1 for little up to 4 for severe), n is the frequency of the responses, and N is total number of responses.

Importance index: The importance index of each cause is calculated as a function of both frequency and severity indices, as follows:

7. Spearman’s rank correlation

Spearman’s rank correlation is a non-parametric test. Non-parametric tests are also referred to as distribution-free tests. These tests have the obvious advantage of not requiring the assumption of normality or the assumption of homogeneity of variance. They compare medians rather than means and, as a result, if the data have one or two outliers, their influence is negated. In this research the Spearman’s Correlation is used. Correlation is a relationship measure among different parties or factors and the strength and direction of the relationship. In this research it is used to show the degree of agreement between the different parties. The correlation coefficient varies between +1 and −1, where +1 implies a perfect positive relationship (agreement), while −1 results from a perfect negative relationship (disagreement). It might be said then that sample estimates of correlation close to unity in magnitude imply good correlation, while values near zero indicate little or no correlation. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient r is used to measure and compare the association between the rankings of two parties for a single cause of delay, while ignoring the ranking of the third party. And it is calculated by the following formula:

where r is the Spearman rank correlation coefficient between two parties, d is the difference between ranks assigned to variables for each cause, and n is the number of pairs of rank.

8. Research findings and results

8.1. General characteristics of respondents
Respondents included 23 contractors, 19 consultants and 15 owners out of 66, 51 and 27 distributed questionnaires, respectively. The contractors surveyed are categorized as grade 2 or above. They have an average of experience of about 23 years, while, participated consultants have an average of about 21 years of experience. Simple random sampling was used to select the participants from an available list.

About 76% of the participating contractors specified indicated that the average time overrun for the projects they have experienced is between 10% and 30% of the original project duration. About 56% of the participated consultants specified the same percentage. About 25% of the consultants indicated 30–50% time overrun compared to the original specified duration. Neither consultants nor contractors indicated any time delay of greater than 100% of the original contract duration.

This study covers both private and public projects and has been chosen to be just or almost completed. Owners who have experience with more than one project are surveyed. The participated owners included government departments. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company, Eastern Branch, Girls College, Al-Yaum daily newspaper, and others.

8.2. Ranking of delay causes

The three ranking indices explained earlier were used to rank delay causes from viewpoints of the three parties (owners, contractors and consultants). Table 1 shows a list of causes of delay categorized into the mentioned nine groups.

Table 1. List of causes of delay categorized into nine groups

No. Causes of delay                                                                                          Group

1 Original contract duration is too short                                                       Project
2 Legal disputes b/w various parts                                                               Project
3 Inadequate definition of substantial completion                                      Project
4 Ineffective delay penalties                                                                          Project
5 Type of construction contract (Turnkey, construction only,.)               Project
6 Type of project bidding and award (negotiation, lowest bidder,.)         Project

7 Delay in progress payments by owner                                                      Owner
8 Delay to furnish and deliver the site to the contractor by the owner   Owner
9 Change orders by owner during construction                                          Owner
10 Late in revising and approving design documents by owner               Owner
11 Delay in approving shop drawings and sample materials                     Owner
12 Poor communication and coordination by owner and other parties    Owner
13 Slowness in decision making process by owner                                      Owner
14 Conflicts between joint-ownership of the project                                   Owner
15 Unavailability of incentives for contractor for finishing ahead of schedule Owner
16 Suspension of work by owner                                                                    Owner
  
17 Difficulties in financing project by contractor                                          Contractor
18 Conflicts in sub-contractors schedule in execution of project               Contractor
19 Rework due to errors during construction                                              Contractor
20 Conflicts b/w contractor and other parties (consultant and owner)   Contractor
21 Poor site management and supervision by contractor                          Contractor
22 Poor communication and coordination by contractor with other parties Contractor
23 Ineffective planning and scheduling of project by contractor               Contractor
24 Improper construction methods implemented by contractor              Contractor
25 Delays in sub-contractors work                                                                Contractor
26 Inadequate contractor’s work                                                                   Contractor
27 Frequent change of sub-contractors because of their inefficient work Contractor
28 Poor qualification of the contractor’s technical staff                               Contractor
29 Delay in site mobilization                                                                            Contractor

30 Delay in performing inspection and testing by consultant                     Consultant

31 Delay in approving major changes in the scope of work by consultant Consultant

32 Inflexibility (rigidity) of consultant                                                            Consultant
33 Poor communication/coordination between consultant and other parties Consultant
34 Late in reviewing and approving design documents by consultant       Consultant
35 Conflicts between consultant and design engineer                                   Consultant
36 Inadequate experience of consultant                                                         Consultant
  
37 Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents                                     Design
38 Delays in producing design documents                                                       Design
39 Unclear and inadequate details in drawings                                               Design
40 Complexity of project design                                                                        Design
41 Insufficient data collection and survey before design                               Design
42 Misunderstanding of owner’s requirements by design engineer            Design
43 Inadequate design-team experience                                                           Design
44 Un-use of advanced engineering design software                                     Design
  
45 Shortage of construction materials in market                                            Materials
46 Changes in material types and specifications during construction          Materials
47 Delay in material delivery                                                                             Materials
48 Damage of sorted material while they are needed urgently                    Materials
49 Delay in manufacturing special building materials                                    Materials
50 Late procurement of materials                                                                    Materials
51 Late in selection of finishing materials due to availability of many types in market Materials
  
52 Equipment breakdowns                                                                                 Equipment
53 Shortage of equipment                                                                                   Equipment
54 Low level of equipment-operator’s skill                                                       Equipment
55 Low productivity and efficiency of equipment                                            Equipment
56 Lack of high-technology mechanical equipment                                         Equipment
  
57 Shortage of labors                                                                                            Labors
58 Unqualified workforce                                                                                     Labors
59 Nationality of labors                                                                                        Labors
60 Low productivity level of labors                                                                    Labors
61 Personal conflicts among labors                                                                     Labors
  
62 Effects of subsurface conditions (e.g., soil, high water table, etc.)            External
63 Delay in obtaining permits from municipality                                             External
64 Hot weather effect on construction activities                                              External
65 Rain effect on construction activities External
66 Unavailability of utilities in site (such as, water, electricity, telephone, etc.) External
67 Effect of social and cultural factors                                                                External
68 Traffic control and restriction at job site                                                      External
69 Accident during construction                                                                         External
70 Differing site (ground) conditions                                                                  External
71 Changes in government regulations and laws                                              External
72 Delay in providing services from utilities (such as water, electricity)      External
73 Delay in performing final inspection and certification by a third party    External

8.3. Frequency of delay causes

The most frequent causes of delay according to owners, consultants and contractors are shown in Table 2. From owner’s point of view, the most frequent causes of delay are related to both contractor and labors. Results indicate that owners are realizing that awarding of projects to the lowest bidder is one of the highest frequent factors of delay. Inputs of the contractors indicate that the most frequent causes of delay are related to the owners. Consultants, like owners, assign awarding the lowest bidder as the most frequent factor of delay. This is due to that most of owners award the lowest bidder to execute their projects. Generally, the lowest bidders are unqualified contractors with shortage in resources and low capabilities, which lead to low performance and which cause delay in completion of the work.

8.4. Severity of delay causes

The most severe causes of delay, indicated by all parties separately, will be highlighted. Owners point out most of the severe causes of delay to contractor and labors. Inputs of owners underline that delay of progress payment by the owner is one of the most severe causes of delay. The most severe causes of delay as seen by the owners are as follows:

• Shortage of labors.
• Unqualified work force.
• Inadequate contractor’s experience.
• Difficulties in financing project by contractor.
• Ineffective planning and scheduling of project by contractor.
• Low productivity level of labors.
• Rework due to errors during construction.
• Delay in progress payments by owner.
• Original contract duration is too short.

Similar to owners, consultants indicate that the most severe causes of delay are related to contractors. Following are the most severe causes of delay as seen by the consultants:
• Difficulties in financing project by contractor.
• Inadequate contractor’s experience.
• Shortage of labors.
• Delay in progress payments by owner.
• Delay in material delivery.
• Poor site management and supervision by contractor.
• Ineffective planning and scheduling of project by contractor.
• Type of project bidding and award.
• Poor qualification of the contractor’s technical staff.
• Low productivity level of labors.
• Unqualified work force.

8.5. Importance of delay causes

Table 3 shows the most important causes of delay according to the owners, contractors and consultants. The importance index of each cause is calculated as a product of both frequency and severity indices.

Only one cause of delay is common between all parties, which is “change orders by owner during construction”. There are many causes which are common between two parties, such as delay in progress payments by owner, ineffective planning and scheduling of project by contractor, poor site management and supervision by contractor, shortage of labors and difficulties in financing project by contractor.

All three parties agree that the following delay causes are the least important:

• Changes in government regulations and laws.

• Traffic control and restrictions at job site.

• Effect of social and cultural factors.

• Accidents during construction.

8.6. Ranking of sources (Groups) of delays

The causes are grouped into nine classes. Ranking of these groups associated with frequency of occurrence, degree of severity and importance by owners, contractors and consultants are presented in Table 4, Table 5 and Table 6, respectively.



Table 4 and Table 6 show that owners and consultants specify labor, contractor, and project related causes as sources of delay. While, contractors indicate that sources of delay in construction projects are owners and consultants. The combined results that are presented in Table 7 show that delay in construction projects is mostly originated by the owner, followed by the contractor. Design, labor and consultant related factors are less importance.


8.7. Importance rank correlation

The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is used to measure the degree of agreement or disagreement associated with the importance ranking of each two parties while ignoring the ranking of the third party. Eq. (4) is used for this purpose. Results show that there is relatively good agreement between each two groups of parties in ranking delay causes with the highest degree of agreement (about 72.4%) between owners and consultants, while, the lowest degree of agreement is between owners and consultants of about 56.8%. Due to relative agreement between each group of parties in ranking causes, results of this study can be dependable Table 8.

9. Summary and conclusion

The delay in construction projects in Saudi Arabia is discussed in a field survey. It studied frequency, severity and importance of the causes of delay. The importance index of each cause is calculated as a product of both frequency and severity indices of each cause. 73 causes of delay were identified through research. The identified causes are combined into nine groups. The field survey included 23 contractors, 19 consultants, and 15 owners. Data collected were analyzed by frequency, severity and importance.

76% of the contractors have indicated that average of time overrun is between 10% and 30% of original duration, while about 56% of the consultants specified the same percentage. 25% of the consultants have indicated from 30% to 50% average time overrun. Owners specified that causes of delay are related to contractor and labors. Study indicated that owners and consultants realize that awarding to the lowest bidder is the highest frequent factor of delay, while, contractors considered severe causes of delay are related to owners.

Only one cause of delay is common between all parties, which is “change orders by owner during construction”. Many causes are common between two parties, such as delay in progress payments, ineffective planning and scheduling by contractor, poor site management and supervision by contractor, shortage of labors and difficulties in financing by contractor. All parties agree that the following causes are the least important: changes in government regulations, traffic control and restrictions at site, effect of social and cultural factors and accidents during construction.

Both owners and consultants specify labor and contractor related causes as the severe and important sources of delay, while, contractors indicate that the important sources of delay in construction projects are owners and consultants. The values of the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients show that there is relative good agreement between each two groups of parties in ranking of the importance of delay causes. The highest degree of agreement is 72.4% between owners and consultants, while the lowest is 56.8% between owners and contractors.

10. Recommendations

10.1. General recommendation

The following points can be recommended by all parties in order to minimize and control delays in construction projects:

Owners should give special attention to the following factors:
• Pay progress payment to the contractor on time because it impairs the contractors ability to finance the work.
• Minimize change orders during construction to avoid delays.
• Avoid delay in reviewing and approving of design documents than the anticipated.
• Check for resources and capabilities, before awarding the contract to the lowest bidder.

Contractors should consider the following factors:
• Shortage and low productivity of labor: enough number of labors should be assigned and be motivated to improve productivity.
• Financial and cash flow problems: contractor should manage his financial resources and plan cash flow by utilizing progress payment.
• Planning and scheduling: they are continuing processes during construction and match with the resources and time to develop the work to avoid cost overrun and disputes.
• Site management and supervision: administrative and technical staff should be assigned as soon as project is awarded to make arrangements to achieve completion within specified time with the required quality, and estimated cost.

Consultants should look to the following points:
• Reviewing and approving design documents: any delay caused by the consultant engineer in checking, reviewing and approving the design submittals prior to construction phase, could delay the progress of the work;
• Inflexibility: Consultants should be flexible in evaluating contractor works. 
Compromising between the cost and high quality should be considered.

Finally; Architect/design engineer should focus on the following issues:
• Producing design documents on time: A/E should set a schedule to complete design documents on time, otherwise result in a delay of work completion.
• Mistakes and discrepancies in design documents: They are common reasons for redoing designs and drawings and may take a long time to make necessary corrections.

10.2. Recommendations for future studies
Similar study can be performed in other provinces/cities of Saudi Arabia. Another study can be done for a specific type of construction projects, such as utility projects, highways construction project, dam construction projects, etc. Detail studies can be done to evaluate the involvement and effect of a specific party or resource of construction project to the time overrun in construction projects. A research can be carried out to investigate the effect of financing and cash flow problems on delays in construction projects.

Acknowledgments

The author appreciate the efforts of Sadiq A. Al-Hajji for his help in the study and thank King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for providing various facilities for conducting this study.


References
[1] Al-Barak AA. Causes of contractors’ failures in Saudi Arabia. Master thesis, CEM Dept., KFUPM. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1993.

[2] Al-Ghafly MA. Delays in the construction of public utility projects in Saudi Arabia. Master thesis, CEM Dept., KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1995.

[3] A.H. Al-Momani, Construction delay: a quantitative analysis, International Journal of Project Management 18 (2000) (1), pp. 51–59. Abstract | PDF (184 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (23)

[4] S.A. Assaf, M. Al-Khalil and M. Al-Hazmi, Causes of delays in large building construction projects, ASCE J Manage Eng 11 (1995) (2), pp. 45–50. Full Text via CrossRef

[5] D.W. Chan and M.M. Kumaraswamy, A comparative study of causes of time overruns in Hong Kong construction projects, Int J Project Manage 15 (1997) (1), pp. 55–63. Article | PDF (1538 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (54)

[6] P. Kaming, P. Olomolaiye, G. Holt and F. Harris, Factors influencing construction time and cost overruns on high-rise projects in Indonesia, Construct Manage Econom 15 (1997), pp. 83–94. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (38)

[7] M. Kumaraswamy and D. Chan, Contributors to construction delay, Construct Manage Econom 16 (1998) (1), pp. 17–29. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (30)

[8] Ministry of Commerce, Building & Engineering Consultation Directory, Issue (2000–2001), Published by Engineering Committee in the Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Arabia.

[9] Noulmanee A, Wachirathamrojn J, Tantichattanont P, Sittivijan P. Internal causes of delays in highway construction projects in Thailand. www.ait.c1et.com, July, 1999.

[10] Ubaid AG. Factors affecting contractor performance. Master thesis, CEM Dept., KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1991.

Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9V-4JGJJH0-1&_user=167669&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000013278&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=167669&md5=1b30efe96688d7980096e498b4d75012

Plse see International Journal of Project Management, Volume 24, Issue 4, May 2006, Pages 349-357

Monday, November 2, 2009

Quantity Surveyor dalam dunia Konstruksi

Dalam dunia konstruksi khususnya atau dalam suatu proyek pada umumnya terdiri dari beberapa proses pekerjaan besar, yaitu :

•Proses Perencanaan (Planning)

•Proses Pelaksanaan (Acting)

•Proses Pengawasan (Supervising)

Dalam tahap perencanaan ini Quantity Surveyor (QS) bekerja. Pada tahap perencanaan terdapat banyak team yang berperan didalamnya, mulai dari ; arsitek, sipil engineer, geotech engineer, water sanitation engineer, mechanical & electrical engineer dan QS. Uraian pekerjaan dari QS antara lain:

1.Pada tahap paling awal QS bertugas melakukan market survey untuk mendapatkan harga material bahan bangunan yang akan ia gunakan dengan mengacu Technical Specification dan dokumen bestek. Seorang QS yang sudah berpengalam dapat menentukan kisaran harga bahan yang pernah ia gunakan sebelumnya.

2.Pada tahap selanjutnya QS bertugas melakukan perhitungan terhadap Analisa Harga Satuan (AHS) berikut harga satuan pekerjaan (HSP) sesuai kebijakan manajemen proyek. Ada kalanya dalam proyek-proyek dari pemerintah disyaratkan menggunakan Analisa standar sesuai SNI. Dalam proyek-proyek swasta digunakan analisa sesuai dengan kebijakan dan pengalaman sendiri termasuk didalamnya koefisien tenaga kerja dan bahan yang juga sangat besar pengaruhnya dalam menentukan besaran harga satuan pekerjaan.

3.Setelah semua item pekerjaan mempunyai harga proses perhitungan dilanjutkan dengan memasukkan item pekerjaan dalam form Bill Of Quantity yang terstandard masing badan usaha. Semua item pekerjaan harus tercantum dalam kolom uraian pekerjaan dan menyebutkan spesifikasi material atau hal-hal khusus yang harus dipersyaratkan. Pengelompokan item pekerjaan berdasarkan sequence atau urutan pelaksanaan pekerjaan menjadi sangat penting untuk menghindarkan kerancuan yang membingungkan pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan.

4.Tahap penting berikutnya yaitu melakukan perhitungan quantity masing-masing pekerjaan dari gambar-gambar kerja yang sudah disiapkan oleh masing-masing bagian mulai dari arsitek, sipil, geotek, watsan, mekanikal & elektrikal. Perhitungan quantity harus dilakukan dengan keakuratan yang tinggi dan tidak mengikutsertakan interest dari beberapa pihak yang berkepentingan.

5.Sebagai tahap akhir setelah didapatkan harga satuan, item pekerjaan, dan quantity berikutnya yaitu melakukan perkalian antara quantity dan harga satuan pada tiap-tiap item pekerjaan. Kemudian menjumlahkan masing-masing sub total pada tiap kelompok pekerjaan dan menjumlahkan sub-sub menjadi grand total dibagian paling bawah tabel BoQ.

Profesi QS sering kali dituntut adanya loyalitas dan integritas terhadap perusahaan atau badan dimana ia bernaung. Dalam menentukan analisa, item pekerjaan dan quantity sangat memungkinkan untuk melakukan mark up yang dapat merugikan salah satu pihak. Hal ini tentunya menjadi mudah bagi QS yang teguh dalam memegang komitmen terhadap pekerjaannya.

http://ekosupriyadi.blogspot.com/2008/05/quantity-surveyor-dalam-dunia.html

Quantity Surveyor

A Quantity Surveyor is a building industry professional who specialises in estimating the value of construction works. In America the quantity surveyor is known as a “Cost Engineer”.

The term 'Quantity Surveyor' derives from the role taken in quantifying the various items of labour, material and plant that it takes to construct a given project. 

Quantity surveyors use their skills to determine the cost of building work ranging from residential properties through to assessing the construction value of new multi-million euro office towers. Additionally they are used on civil, mining and infrastructure projects to determine the cost of such facilities.

Quantity Surveyors are involved at various stages of the construction process, typically prior to construction, during construction and following completion of the works.

The Role of the Quantity Surveyor
Quantity surveyors work with accountants, architects, engineers, builders, building owners, developers, financiers, government authorities, insurance underwriters, solicitors and subcontractors.

The quantity surveyor’s detailed knowledge of construction costs allows them to perform the following tasks:

Prior to Construction
Determination of Client requirements.
Preparation of Feasibility Studies. 
Estimating to define project budgets.
Analysis of the effect of design changes on the project budget.
Cost planning to refine the budget as the design documents develop. 
Preparation of Bills of Quantities to assist in the tender process. 
Reviews and recommendation of Builder’s tender submissions.

During Construction
Provision of cost control services during construction. 
Assessment of the builder’s progress claims. 
Assessment of variation and delay claims. 

Post Construction
Determination of the final project cost and agreement of Final Account.
Expert Witness reports to assist in the settlement of building disputes.

http://www.plus3.ie/quantity_surveyor.html