Analysis of the causes and effects of delays in construction projects by structural equation modelling

The success of the construction projects is ensured by completing the quality, time, and cost in a way that meets the targets specified in the contract, taking into account the safety conditions. Most of the risks encountered in construction projects have consequences that affect all success factors. Identifying risks and underlying causes in construction projects is the most critical factor in taking precautions. This study focuses on delays, which is one of the most common problems in the construction industry. In order to determine the causes and effects of delays in construction projects carried out in Turkey, a survey consisting of 109 questions was created in line with the detailed literature review, the personal experiences and observations of the researcher. As a result of the study, data suitable for evaluation were collected from 418 construction employees. Relative Importance Index (RII) analysis was used to determine the order of importance of the causes and effects of delay, and Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the variables. As a result of the RII analysis applied, the three most important reasons for the delay were; national economic crisis, increase in material prices, work repetition due to faulty manufacturing, and the most important first three delay effects were listed as exceeding the project duration, exceeding the project budget and decreasing the quality of the works done within the scope of the project. As a result of the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the reasons for the delays in the construction sector were gathered under four factors. These were named as "External Factors and Employees", "Contractor's Management Skills and Access to Resources", "Owner and Consultant" and "Design". As a result of the EFA applied, the effects resulting from delay were grouped under two factors and named as "Legal Effects Originated from Contract Management" and "Impacts on Firm and Project Success". As a result of the study; it was seen that the necessity of feasibility study in investment projects, the use of Building Information Modeling could reduce the risks of delay starting from the project design process, and the owner's controlled participation in the process should be ensured, and suggestions were made to the enterprises in this direction.