10 Mistakes In Construction Project Delivery

Whether the project is large or small, commerical or residential, there are plenty of avoidable mistakes in construction project delivery. If you are a homeowner and want to build or renovate your home without engaging a project manager, you will likely need to deal with various contractors, architects, and government authorities on your own. If you are an experienced project manager, you know just how hectic a project can get. The process can go from annoying to stressful especially when some construction mistakes are out of your control. According to research conducted by The Standish Group in 2013, only 39% of all projects succeed, that is they are delivered on time, on budget, and with required features and function. As Project Managers with over 30 years of experience, we have seen it all, so here is 10 mistakes in construction project delivery to avoid for a succesful project delivery.

1. Project issues not identified

Insufficient thought or investigation to discover all the issues and project requirements before commencing the design and construction will lead to a blowout in project costs and variation in later stages. The issues may include but not limited to the following:

• Significant trees
• Flood zones
• Stormwater detention
• Sewer connections
• contamination

2. Client requirements are not identified or met

If your contractor does not pay attention to your concerns, no matter how confident he is about construction experience, this may end up with unsatisfactory projects. In order to prevent the unsatisfactory outcome, client requirements should be well documented which can reflect the needs of the client and can be understood by construction personnel. You should always verify the output delivered in each stage and see if it does meet your original need.

3. Project goals are not identified

It is particularly important for larger scale projects as this might involve numerous departments including design team, builders, and subcontractors in the projects. You need to ensure the entire team has clearly identified the goals and is provided with correct direction.

4. Miscommunication

Misunderstandings between you and your architect or contractors can cost you money and lead to unsatisfactory results. This is one of the common, yet easily avoidable, mistakes in construction project delivery. This also happens when the project has multiple stakeholders with differing views which will lead to different interpretation of the goals. In addition, an unorganised documentation process and poor understanding in drawings and specifications are the most common pitfalls in construction. Also, most homeowners cannot be onsite all-day during construction. It is better to have someone explain and clarify if you do not understand on the plans or in your contract.

Therefore, quick communication can clarify the unknown immediately and keep your project on schedule, and communication with your contractors by email is a better option as you can have your correspondence in writing in case something goes wrong. You will also need to pay close attention to the contractual terms, ensuring they are fair and reasonable for both parties, and that all items are sorted before signing.

If the project drawings or specifications are unreadable, you can’t expect them to be built to the client’s expectations. This includes contract documentation that has errors, omissions, discrepancies, or doesn’t reflect the latest Australian standards or legislation. Additionally, a lack of clear scope can allow for the scope to change throughout the project, leading to costly variations.

In short:

• Ensure communication is clear and specific, follow up verbal with written communication
• Check that you’re not contradicting past decisions or contract documents
• Prepare for meeting with an agenda, follow up with action and dates
• Regular interruption notice meetings that include representatives from operational and construction teams
• Keep project well documented
• Keep record of all consultation
• Storage archiving and retrieval of information
• Keep all project members informed / up to date
• Follow up on issues / actions regularly
• Clarify misunderstanding immediately
• Keep senior management updated

5. Engaged wrong contractor

According to the 2015 Global Construction Survey, 69% of owners say poor contract performance is the single biggest reason for project underperformance. A good contractor is able to work with you to stay within your budget by going over the proposal.

To avoid this issue, you need to pay attention to the selection of contractors in the tender phase by identifying their skills, strength, capacity, and ability. Also, it is essential to ensure that your contractor is licensed, bonded and insured to prevent any risks if anything goes wrong with the job.

6. Inadequate supervision and superintendent

Lack of knowledge and experience can cause problems such as increasing the volume of works and not able to manage resources. If your builders rely heavily on subcontractors and they do not have sufficient knowledge in supervision, this will affect the quality of the workflows and outcome.

Make sure a proper structure for quality management from top to bottom so that consistency and client satisfaction can be achieved in every project. This includes:

• Site meetings and documenting
• Flow of information
• Resolution of technical and contractual matters

7. Lack of quality control

Many contractors do not have checks and balances for ensuring quality of the workflows and material used. There are some common cases:

• Material not installed in accordance with required specification
• Short sighted decisions regarding design life
• Not incorporating real vision into long term planning
• Poor selection of materials and reliance on certificates

8. Lack of involvement from the design team in construction and commissioning phase

The team must be involved in the construction process to be assured that the project can be commissioned according to the design that has been developed at the design stage. Any deviation from the commissioning plan caused by construction change orders must be incorporated into the plan.

“Up to 30% of initial data created during design and construction phases is lost by project closeout.”

– Emerson, Nov 2018

Therefore, the design team members should be engaged with the project through its entire life cycle by attending the site meetings and getting involved in change notices. As part of the design team members, engineers will regularly review construction to verify that everything is being built according to requirements. 

9. Poor cost management

The vast majority of construction projects experience cost overrun. It is important to estimate the project costs in detail by considering material, labour, and supplier, and keep tracking the finances in real time to avoid unnecessary costs by using cost centre and quantity surveyor.

“Nine out of ten projects normally experience cost overrun”

– International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 8, No. 2, April 2017

10. Non-realistic program

Finally, topping the Top 10 mistakes in construction project delivery; having a non-realistic program. 

A good program describes the sequence in which tasks must be carried out so that the program can be completed on time. It will often identify:

• Issues to be tackled and tasked to be completed
• Dates and durations allocated to tasks
• Critical path
• Tasks which can only be carried out after other tasks
• Tasks which can be carried out simultaneously
• The need for specific resources
• Float within tasks that are not on the critical path

The more well prepared you are when you go into your next home project, the better equipped you will be to avoid common mistakes. If you have any questions or are planning on engaging a project manager for your future building project, get in contact!

For more on this topic, have a listen to our recent podcast episode.

You can find more information on our Project Management services, here.