Arab J Sci Eng (2018) 43:1925–1940

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-017-2806-6

RESEARCH ARTICLE - CIVIL ENGINEERING

A Management Framework to Reduce Delays in Road

Construction Projects in Sudan
Khalid Khair1,2 · Zainai Mohamed2 · R. Mohammad2 · Hazir Farouk3 ·
Mohammed Elhadi Ahmed4

Received: 18 March 2017 / Accepted: 16 August 2017 / Published online: 7 October 2017
© King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2017

Abstract Road construction delays are a challenge for and private partnerships for large-scale projects, introduc-
developing countries, and specifically for Sudan, where great tion of bank financing schemes for medium-scale projects,
economic costs result from difficulties in identifying and and community-based partnership for small-scale projects.
reducing the factors that cause delay. This paper addresses In the fourth stage, a management framework was devel-
the key delay factors faced by the road construction indus- oped using the ‘stage–gate’ approach and validated with the
try in Sudan, and it proposes a management framework input from a panel of experts. The paper details the way
that has the potential to reduce this delay. The methodol- a proposed management framework will work to design a
ogy used first critically reviewed relevant published studies, construction project in an effective manner especially in
reports, policy documents and management steps used in dif- Sudan.
ferent countries. Secondly, a structured questionnaire was
produced through a two-day interactive workshop with the Keywords Delay causes · Road construction projects ·
help of experts and professionals from the road construc- Management framework · Sudan
tion industry in Sudan. Thirdly, Relative Importance Index
was measured based on the individual responses towards
delay factors in road construction projects, and then, the 1 Introduction
correlation between delay factors and the effects of delay
were evaluated. Moreover, the initial findings were anal- Sudan is one of the largest countries in Africa, with a total
ysed and the factors were combined into six groups. The land area of 188.2 million hectares, but it has an extremely
finance competence factors group was found to be the main low road density and poor paving rates [1,2]. According to the
contributor towards delays in road construction projects National Highways Authority of Sudan [3] the major chal-
in Sudan. Some effective ways were proposed to over- lenges for road development in Sudan can be summarized
come delays due to financing via use of strategic public under four headings: improving quality of roads; connect-
ing rural areas with the national road network; enhancing
B Khalid Khair efficiency of transport services; and raising the capacity of
khalidkhair69@gmail.com institutions involved in the roads sector. The inadequacy
1
of access roads has a severe impact on the agricultural
Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Khartoum State,
sector, on economic growth, and on social and cultural
11111 Khartoum, Sudan
2
status of the people living in Sudan [2]. Despite the cur-
UTM Razak School of Engineering and Advanced
Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan
rent efforts made by the national government to address
Yahya Petra, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia these challenges through the awarding of road construction
3 projects for both new and existing roads, delays in these
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sudan University of
Science and Technology, P.O. Box 407, 11111 Khartoum, projects continue to pose a great obstacle to achieving the
Sudan necessary progress [4]. However, the construction of high-
4 College of Engineering, Karary University, P.O. Box 12304, quality roads is not just a necessary precondition for realising
11111 Khartoum, Sudan agricultural potential, but it also helps to enhance the trans-

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Table 1 Sudan’s road network feasibility study report [2] they have a more significant impact on developing nations
No. Road needs in Sudan Estimated [6]. The negative effects of road construction delays are
length (km) felt by all stakeholders, especially government, contrac-
tor and communities [7]. Road construction delays lead
1 Regional connectivity standards (linking 2900
towards the loss of time and contractors unable to deliver
Khartoum to international frontiers)
assigned projects within agreed timelines. Thus, there is
2 National connectivity standards (linking 5300
all provincial capitals to the regional a need to investigate and understand the interrelationships
network) among the independent factors, if road construction delays
3 Rural connectivity standards (linking land 34,201 are to be addressed in an effective manner [8]. However,
responsible for 80 percent of existing factors related to delay in construction are not limited to
agricultural production value to the the actual process of road construction, but the inefficient
national network)
decision-making, unskilled personnel and conflict between
parties can also play a main role [9]. Although the effects of
portation service level, improve traffic flow, provide easy delays may seem similar, the factors that cause these delays
access to markets in isolated areas, improve the people’s are often very different, but all delays are a problem for
quality of life and support development initiatives by gov- the project and contractor, regardless of the cause or com-
ernment. Across the globe, effective national road networks bination of causes. However, it was found that there is a
have been recognized as having a major contributing influ- significant relationship between the factors that cause road
ence on the life of the population and in connecting the construction delays and involvement of particular circum-
rural and urban communities in an organized way [5]. In stances [10]. Several research studies looked at the causes
2011 the Africa Institute for Capacity Development [2] car- of delays in road construction projects with a main focus
ried out a study of the current road network in Sudan and on identifying some primary factors, but they were less
came up with some interesting facts. These are described in focused on analysing the interrelationships between these
Table 1. factors and measuring combined impact of related factors
Table shows that Sudan lags behind all surrounding coun- [10]. These research studies never focused on identifying
tries in terms of kilometres of all weather and sealed roads improved project management techniques that would be
relative to its land area and to its population. The compar- helpful in reducing road construction project delays in Sudan
atively poor rate of road construction is due to a range of [11].
factors, and in order to rectify the situation most efficiently
and economically it is important to identify and rank the main
causes of delay in road construction projects in Sudan. 3 Research Methodology
This research paper is a study of these factors that cause
delays in road constructions projects in Sudan, propos- This is a descriptive research and attempts to review the
ing some important solutions and improved management factors that cause delays, as well as suggesting remedial
approaches. It is hoped that this study will help the main action to reduce delays in the road construction industry.
stakeholders understand how empirical measurement of the The methodology of this paper is firstly it reviewed published
influence of delay factors on road construction projects can studies, reports and policy documents that consider the types
be used to improve the situation in Sudan. The objectives of constructions and project management steps commonly
of this study are to identify the delay factors, analyse their followed by developing and developed countries. Secondly,
interrelationships and evaluate to what degree these factors a structured questionnaire was devised through a two-day
cause delays in road construction projects. In addition, the interactive workshop with the help of experts and profes-
development of the management framework to reduce these sionals belonging to the road construction industry in Sudan.
delays will help speed up construction of good quality roads This questionnaire listed 66 factors and sought to identify
within budget and within project timelines. This outcome in the significance of principal delay factors and determine
the form of timely completion of road construction projects their impact on road construction projects. The question-
will improve lives of all road users and help to develop the naire was developed in English and Arabic to ensure the
economy. greatest level of understanding and participation. To ensure
validity and reliability, the questionnaire was put through a
trial using a sample of respondents (n = 23). The ques-
2 Literature Review tionnaire comprised five sections: (1) personal information
related to work experience and position in the firm, (2) con-
A review of the literature reveals that road construction tractual and procedural aspect experienced by participants,
delays are a common phenomenon in every nation, but (3) factors that affect project delays, (4) effects of delays in

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Table 2 The operational research framework, adapted from Cooper, 2006 [15]
Phases Activity Analysis Outcome

Scoping Define and analyse the problem. Review on the previous research done in Develop a project case
Determine the variables and what the research area and on other plan
needs to be done or already exists frameworks already developed by other
researchers and attempt to identify their
strengths and weaknesses and what can
be done to improve it within the
research problem context
Concept This may be achieved by constructing Review the methods for minimizing Group the project into
development questionnaires that objectively delays in road construction projects phases, such that
measure the achievement of goals based on the information obtained from resources can be
and justify their decisions to move the respondents in the questionnaire, as efficiently and
ahead, correct problems or terminate well as added input of issues raised by effectively managed
the project the team in the brainstorming session for each activity
Framework Filter and group these findings to Develop a logical sequence of activities to Develop the initial
development select a preferred one that can be accomplish the project’s goals or framework
used as a benchmark for the objectives
framework development
Framework Based on the constructs of the initial Refine the findings from the experts’ Identify the desired
evaluation framework, cross-validate with opinions to see those that are desirable changes and how they
experts’ by seeking their opinions on and feasible to achieving the desired can be implemented
how effective and efficient each of objective
the construct is to achieving the
desired objective
Final framework Define and effect the desired changes Ensure that the desired changes improve Develop the final
development to the initial framework the initial framework and meets the framework
desired objective

road constructions projects and (5) methods for minimizing by ‘gates’ [13]. The five-stage process comprises of scoping,
delays. concept development, framework development, framework
Responses were noted on a five-point Likert scale from evaluation and final framework development. Each phase is
1 (strongly disagree, never, very low effectiveness) to 5 made up of three common elements or structures that are
(strongly agree, always, very high effectiveness). The final cross-functional and undertaken in a set of prescribed paral-
form of the questionnaire was circulated to 150 participants lel activities. Specifically, these are termed: activities (what
who were engaged in the construction industry, out of which is actually carried out in each phase), analysis (integrated
100 are used after eliminating those with missing values or analysis of the activities undertaken in each phase) and out-
where there was no response. For the third step, the data comes (the results of the integrated analysis for each phase,
were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science which also served as input to the next phase). The opera-
(SPSS v16.0). The Relative Important Index (RII) technique tional research framework used for this study is shown in
was used to rank and categorize the identified factors. RII Table 2, and Fig. 1 represents the data collection and analy-
is useful for filtering the significant issues, adding attributes sis techniques. The phase–gate technique has superiority over
or missing relationships, and grouping and classification of other techniques especially in improvement in the effective
data [12]. Moreover, at the fourth stage, the initial findings and efficient management of projects, including by minimiz-
were analysed and the factors were grouped into six cate- ing risks and uncertainties [14], improving effectiveness of
gories. This was done through a panel discussion of seven project monitoring to promptly address problematic issues
expert engineers who each had more than thirty years of [15], providing an early warning system for future budget and
experience in the field of civil engineering. All the previous schedule slippages [16] and providing a framework to assist
steps serve as input for the fifth stage which was the devel- managers to effectively monitor, and, as necessary, make
opment process of the framework. This project management timely decisions to enhance, continue or stall the project in
decision framework was developed and validated through an order to maximize benefits or to minimize losses [16,17].
expert panel discussion. The phase–gate model was adopted Walker and Lloyd-Walker [18] have recently drawn atten-
as a research design, and the process employs a project tion to the possible applicability of the phase–gate technique
management technique to distinguish the entire road con- in the area of project infrastructure delivery by focusing on
struction process and project into different phases separated the construction industry.

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Fig. 1 Study data collection and analysis techniques

3.1 Stage One—Delay Factor Identification and contractor’s improper planning, (27) incompetent contrac-
Category Formation tor, (28) poor project management, (29) shortage of qualified
technical staff, (30) no upgrading capability in contrac-
The sixty-six (66) factors were put into six (6) categories tor’s philosophy, (31) inefficient execution methods, (32)
and were finalized for the survey. These were based on the demotivated contractor’s team, (33) lack of control of sub-
in-depth review of published studies [19–24] and group dis- contractors, (34) poor communication between contractor
cussions among the professionals and experts with extensive and other parties, (35) neglecting safety regulations, (36)
and diverse work experience in the field of construction delays in preparation of contract documents].
industry in Sudan. All selected factors were considered as
Category 2 is consultant-/designer-related factors (total num-
a major contributor towards delays in road construction
ber 10) RII ranked from high to low: (37) poor communi-
projects in Sudan. Respondents’ profiles, experience and
cation and coordination problems among involved parties
opinions regarding delay factors are mentioned in Table 3.
(consultant, contractors and owners), (38) design changes,
The factors and categories were ranked in order from highest
(39) delays in drawings or any other documents prepara-
to lowest based on their RII score.
tion, (40) delays in response to contractor, (41) conflict
Category 1 is contractor-related factors (total number 36) among the involved parties, (42) frequent variation in orders
comprising five sub-categories and RII ranked from high to for the same task, (43) mistakes in specifications (frequent
low. Sub-category A (material): (1) inflation effect on mate- modifications/amendments), (44) compensation issues and
rials purchasing, (2) problems in importing from abroad, disagreement on the valuation of work done, (45) incorrect
(3) material shortage, (4) specifications disparity or non- soil analysis, (46) uncooperative consultant.
conformity, (5) storage problems; sub-category B (machin-
Category 3 is owner(client)-related factors (total number
ery): (6) equipment and tool shortage, (7) multiple projects by
12) RII ranked from high to low: (47) delays in payment
the same contractor at the same time, (8) frequent failures due
to contractor, (48) inadequate client finance and payments
to shortage in maintenance and technical support (low avail-
for completed work, (49) enforce unrealistic time sched-
ability), (9) usage of old obsolete (outdated) machinery, (10)
ule, (50) poor communication and coordination problems
usage of inappropriate equipment and tools; sub-category C
among involved parties (consultant, contractors and owners)
(manpower): (11) Lack of skilled labour, (12) inadequate
and governmental authorities, at different project stages, (51)
contractor experience, (13) mistakes during the construc-
delays in handing over project site, (52) slowness in decision-
tion stage, (14) demotivation of labour force, (15) disloyalty
making, (53) delays in response to contractor or consul-
among labour force towards the company, (16) labour short-
tant (information delays due ill decision-making process),
age, (17) manpower overestablishment (more than needed);
(54) excessive bureaucracy in government–owner/contractor
sub-category D (money): (18) problems of cash flow (irreg-
deals, (55) project schedule changes, (56) unnecessary inter-
ular payments/non-occurrence of timely payments), (19)
ference in contractor work, (57) damaging penalties imposed
difficulties in project financing (not having sufficient funds),
on contractors, (58) uncooperative owner/client.
(20) financial conflicts between the contractor and his sub-
contractor, (21) financial conflicts between the contractor Category 4 is government regulation-related factors (total
and his labours, (22) financial conflicts between the con- number 4) RII ranked from high to low: (59) difficulties in
tractor and his subordinates, sub-category E (management): completing the documents and the verifications, (60) fluc-
(23) contractor’s poor site management, (24) ineffective plan- tuation in rules and regulations, (61) state bureaucracy, (62)
ning, scheduling, controlling and quality monitoring, (25) high governmental fees. Category 5 is external-related fac-
no productivity studies during implementation phase, (26) tors (total number 4) RII ranked from high to low: (63)

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Table 3 Respondent experience and procedural aspect regarding delay Table 3 continued
factors [Sample n = 100]
Poor monitoring and controlling 21
Nature of respondent firm’s activity (%) Poor time management 12
Buildings 11 Measurement scale for successful planning
Roads and Bridges 89 Executed within planned budget or less 14
Respondent’s firm spend years in construction Executed within planned schedule time 35
(Roads) projects
Executed with the desired quality 30
More than 20 years 23
Just executed 7
15–20 years 25
It is judged as successful relative 14
10–15 years 26
Respondent opinion about experiencing failure
5–10 years 12 of plan execution by parties
Less than 5 years 14 Contractor 19
Type of firm’s ownership Client (Owner) 10
Public sector 43 Consultant 30
Privet sector 45 Government policies 41
A joint venture between, both, public and private 12
sectors
Projects monetary size executing in one year contractor’s prejudices (being the best and can stay on top
Very large 38 without benchmarking and continuous development), (64)
Large 21 traffic motion surrounding the site, (65) interference between
Moderate 26 different sub-contractors tasks, (66) severe weather on
Small 7 site.
Very small 8
Classification of respondent firm’s size in terms 3.2 Stage Two—Delay Factors Ranking
of assets (equipment), number of people
employed and size of projects taking To examine the level of importance of delay factors in road
Very large and well known worldwide 15 construction projects, the Relative Importance Index (RII)
Large and known locally 55 was calculated using Eq. 1 as shown below. The concept of
Moderate and known to some extent 24 RII was important to enable ranking of the total weight of the
Small and known only in its customers 5 factors using the same weight that was assigned to them [9].
Very small and unknown 1 The importance of attributes for each factor or group factors
Respondent’s firm apply scientific methods for is considered as being significant if the value of the RII is
planning (Scheduling) and monitoring projects greater than 0.5.
Yes 81
5
No 19 W ∗ Xi
i=1
RII = (1)
Reasons not to implement scientific methods A∗N
(n = 19)
Don’t know anything about scientific methods 5 where
Prefer only conventional methods 14 W ≡ is the weight given to each factor by the respondents
% success in the plan execution for long-term (ranging from 1 to 5).
projects above 3 years X ≡ is the frequency of responses given for each factor.
100% and more 4 A ≡ is the highest weight (i.e. 5 in this case).
90% to 100% 24 N ≡ is the total number of respondents.
80% to 90% 22 Note: 0 ≤ RII ≤ 1
70% to 80% 26
Less than 60% 24
Managerial reasons related to unsuccessful 4 Results and Discussion
experience (delays) of plans
Poor planning 26 4.1 Delay Factors Evaluation and Group Formation
Poor coordinating and organizing 26
Poor leadership 15 At this stage, delay factors were analysed and evaluated based
on the categories. The rationale behind the factors evaluation

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and group formation is to gather similar factors with attributes (consultant, contractors and owners) (0.722, 12); delays in
clearly related to each other, minimize the factor numbers for response to contractor or consultant (information delays
analysis and measure group combine effects on delays. The due ill decision-making process) (0.708, 21); poor com-
results indicated that the 66 delay factors come together to munication between contractor and other parties (0.684,
make up six groups as follows, with the RII and rank in 30); delays in response to contractor (0.674, 34); con-
brackets, viz. (RII, R). flict among the involved parties (0.654, 46); state bureau-
cracy (0.638, 51); compensation issues and disagreement
Group 1 comprises the finance competence factors (total
on the valuation of work done (0.636, 52); uncooper-
number 8) which consist of problems in cash flow (irregular
ative consultant (0.622, 58); uncooperative owner/client
payments) (0.866, 1), delays in payment to contractor (0.846,
(0.608, 62).
2); difficulties in project financing (not having sufficient
funds) (0.844, 3); inadequate client finance and payments Group 5 consists of the external factors (total number 5)
for completed work (0.844, 4); inflation effect on materials which consist of excessive bureaucracy in government–
purchasing (0.776, 5); financial conflicts between the con- owner/contractor deals (0.698, 24); material shortage (0.648,
tractor and his sub-contractor (0.706, 22); financial conflicts 48); high governmental fees (0.63, 54); traffic motion
between the contractor and his workers (0.666, 39); finan- surrounding the site (0.626, 55); severe weather on site
cial conflicts between the contractor and his subordinates 0.548, 64). Group 6 is technical skills factors (total num-
(0.662, 42). ber 15) which consist of delays in handing over project
site (0.720, 13); equipment and tool shortage (0.718, 14);
Group 2 consists of project management factors (total num-
design changes (0.708, 20); multiple project by the same
ber 19) consist of contractor’s poor site management (0.754,
contractor at the same time (0.698, 23); inefficient execu-
6); ineffective planning, scheduling, controlling and quality
tion methods (0.696, 26); frequent failures due to shortage
monitoring (0.748, 7); no productivity studies during imple-
in maintenance and technical support (0.672, 35); prob-
mentation phase (0.726, 8); enforce unrealistic time schedule
lems in importing from abroad (0.662, 41); usage of old
(0.726, 9); contractor’s improper planning (0.718, 15); poor
obsolete (outdated) machinery (0.658, 44); incorrect soil
project management (0.714, 17); slowness in decision-
analysis (0.630, 53); labour shortage (0.624, 56); usage of
making (0.714, 18); difficulties in completing the documents
inappropriate equipment and tools (0.620, 59); specifica-
and the verifications (0.692, 27); demotivated contractor’s
tions disparity (non-conformity) (0.614, 60); interference
team (0.686, 28); lack of control of sub-contractors (0.686,
between different sub-contractors tasks (0.598, 63); stor-
29); neglecting safety regulations (0.680, 31); delays in
age problems (0.508, 65); manpower overestablishment
preparation of contract documents (0.672, 36); project sched-
(0.504, 66).
ule changes (0.670, 37); variations in rules and regulations
(0.664, 40); demotivation among workforce (0.660, 43); dis-
loyalty among workforce towards the company (0.658, 45); 4.2 Delay Factors Analysis
contractor’s prejudices (0.650, 47); unnecessary interference
in contractor work (0.624, 57); damaging penalties imposed According to the questionnaire results, the analysis of delay
on contractors (0.610, 61). factors was performed using RII values. The findings indicate
that the problems in cash flow (irregular payments or non-
Group 3 is the knowledge competence experience factors
occurrence of timely payments) factor were shown to be the
(total number 9) which consist of lack of skilled labour
first among the factors that cause delays in road construction
(0.724, 10); incompetent contractor (0.716, 16); shortage of
projects in Sudan, while the manpower overestablishment
qualified technical staff (0.708, 19); no upgrading capability
(more labour than needed) factor was the least among the
in contractor’s philosophy (0.696, 25); delays in drawings
causes of delay in road construction projects in Sudan. The
or any other documents preparations (0.678, 32); inadequate
ranking of top and least ten delay factors is shown in Tables 4
contractor’s experience (0.676, 33); mistakes during the con-
and 5.
struction stage (0.668, 38); frequent variation in orders for
For the purpose of management framework develop-
the same task (0.642, 49); mistakes in specifications (frequent
ment, the 66 delay factors were categorized into six groups,
modifications/amendments) (0.638, 50).
i.e finance competence, project management, knowledge
Group 4 is the collection of team working trust factors competency experience, team working trust, external and
(total number 10) which consist of poor communication technical skills. The ranking of the six-factor groups is shown
and coordination problems among involved parties (consul- in Table 6. Among these categories the ‘finance competence
tant, contractors and owners) and governmental authorities, factors group’ with RII ranking of 0.776 had the highest rank-
at different project stages (0.724, 11); poor communica- ing, while the ‘external factors group’ was ranked lowest with
tion and coordination problems among involved parties an RII value of 0.630. The result of the delay factor analy-

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Table 4 Ranking of top 10 delay factors

Rank Factors-related group Delay factors Relative Importance
Index

1 Finance competence Problems of cash flow (irregular payments/ 0.866

non-occurrence of timely payments)
2 Finance competence Delays in payment to contractor 0.846
3 Finance competence Difficulties in project financing (not having sufficient 0.844
funds)
4 Finance competence Inadequate client finance and payments for completed 0.844
work
5 Finance competence Inflation effect on materials purchasing 0.776
6 Project management Contractor’s poor site management 0.754
7 Project management Ineffective planning, scheduling, controlling and quality 0.748
monitoring
8 Project management No productivity studies during implementation phase 0.726
9 Project management Enforce unrealistic time schedule) 0.726
10 Knowledge competency experience Lack of skilled labour 0.724

Table 5 Ranking of least 10 delay factors

Rank Factors-related group Delay factors Relative Importance
Index

57 Project management Unnecessary interference in contractor work 0.624

58 Team working trust Uncooperative consultant 0.622
59 Technical skills Usage of inappropriate equipment and tools 0.620
60 Technical skills Specifications disparity (non-conformity) 0.614
61 Project management Damaging penalties imposed on contractors 0.610
62 Team working trust Uncooperative owner/client 0.608
63 Technical skills Interference between different sub-contractors tasks 0.598
64 External Severe weather on site 0.548
65 Technical skills Storage problems 0.508
66 Technical skills Manpower overestablishment (more than needed) 0.504

Table 6 Ranking of the groups that causes the delay fully owned, funded and controlled by the government. The
Rank Factors-related group Mean Relative problem of cash flow and project contractors to pay for labour
Importance Index and materials occurs frequently and is a major cause of road
construction project delays.
1 Finance competence 0.776
To minimize the effect of impacts of the finance com-
2 Project management 0.687
petence delay factor group on road construction projects,
3 Knowledge competence experiences 0.683 using the option of a public–private partnership (PPP) should
4 Team working trust 0.667 be considered. As practiced in the developed countries, the
5 Technical skills 0.643 PPP approach can be utilized as a key financing avenue
6 External 0.630 between the private and government sectors in road con-
struction projects. Therefore, a PPP may be able to minimize
the effects of the delays caused by the finance competence
sis of the financial competence factors group is presented group of factors, given that PPP is able to source funds and
in Table 7. It shows that the problem of cash flow (irregu- regular payments from the private sector. This will benefit
lar payments/ non-occurrence of timely payments) has the both the private and public (government) sectors and conse-
highest RII value of 0.866 and highest RII ranked factor quently leads to the benefits flowing to the whole community.
among all identified 66 delay factors. Sudan is considered Another possible solution for finance competence group of
as a developing country, and road construction projects are delay factors that should be considered is bank financing

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Table 7 The finance competence factors group

S. no. Rank Factors-related group Relative Importance
Index

1 1 Problems in cash flow (irregular payments) 0.866

2 2 Delays in payment to contractor 0.846
3 3 Difficulties in project financing (not having sufficient funds) 0.844
4 4 Inadequate client finance and payments for completed work 0.844
5 5 Inflation effect on materials purchasing 0.776
6 22 Financial conflicts between the contractor and his sub-contractor 0.706
7 39 Financial conflicts between the contractor and his workers 0.666
8 42 Financial conflicts between the contractor and his subordinates 0.662

Table 8 Effects of delay factors in road construction projects [sample 4.4 Correlation Analysis
n = 100]
RII Effect of delay factors Rank The Pearson’s correlation between all 66 delay factors in road
construction projects in Sudan and the six effects of delay
0.840 Cost overrun 1
which obtained from the survey were evaluated among values
0.780 Time overrun 2
of importance indices. The results reveal that 31 factors cause
0.680 Dispute 3
effect of time overrun, 10 factors with cost overrun, 9 with
0.600 Arbitration 4 arbitration, 9 with total abandonment, 4 factors with dispute
0.600 Litigation 4 and 3 with litigation. The groups comprising attributes depict
0.590 Total abandonment 5 the highest correlation value with effects of delay in Table 9.

schemes. This approach can be helpful to sustain the required 4.5 Minimizing the Delays in Road Construction
cash flow needed for the road construction project. Bank Projects
financing schemes could be the main contributor to mini-
mize the road construction delays due to project financial This section elaborates the 19 methods for minimizing the
problems by addressing cash flow issues such as irregular delays in road construction projects. On the basis of available
payments/non-occurrence of timely payments. data, these methods were ranked after calculating RII values,
as shown in Table 10. The methods with the highest rank of
4.3 Effects of Delays in Road Construction Projects 0.880 RII value depict the highest impact on minimizing the
delay time in road construction projects. The two methods
The ranking of effects of delay in road construction projects that show this benefit are: the choice of a project manager
is shown in Table 8. It shows that the cost overrun effect has with sufficient knowledge and experience relevant to project
the greatest impact on delay in road construction projects, fol- management, and the use of appropriate tools and techniques
lowed by the time overrun effect, the dispute effect and then for the project. The lowest RII score of 0.688 is for the method
the arbitration effect and the litigation effect, which were of compressing construction duration. The methods ranking
both shown to have the same impact on delays in road con- will help organizations to manage the delays and will result in
struction projects. Lastly, the total abandonment effect has the important impact of helping to minimize the delay in road
the least impact on delay in road construction projects in construction projects. All these methods would be considered
Sudan according to the RII ranking score. The major rea- in the development of the proposed management framework.
son for the high impact of cost overrun effect on project This technique was followed by the experts during the panel
delay time on road construction projects can be attributed to discussion session.
the additional costs incurred as a result of the delay. These In addition to the analysis and findings of the survey,
additional costs include extra labour cost and higher man- a brainstorming session was held with a group of engi-
agement cost, due to the extended delay of completion of neers with technical expertise relevant to the study. The
the project. Moreover, the effect of delay (i.e. from cost or main results obtained from this session were: the ranking
time overruns) may affect the project cost in addition to the of the significant issues, adding attributes or identifying any
associated costs of disputes (e.g. arbitration costs, litigation missing-related issues and grouping and classification of the
costs). data. This brainstorming session provided the input data for

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Table 9 Correlation analysis of delay factors and effect of delays for each attribute
Group Factors Attributes Correlation Effects of Delay

Finance-competence Financial conflicts between the contractor and his 0.240 Arbitration
sub-contractor
Inflation effect on materials purchasing 0.004 Cost overrun
Difficulties in project financing (not having sufficient funds) 0.228 Cost overrun
Problems in cash flow (irregular payments/non-occurrence 0.177 Cost overrun
of timely payments)
Inadequate client finance and payments for completed work 0.195 Cost overrun
Delays in payment to contractor 0.264 Cost overrun
Financial conflicts between the contractor and his labors 0.144 Time overrun
Financial conflicts between the contractor and his 0.346 Total abandonment
subordinates
Project management Neglecting safety regulations 0.112 Arbitration
Fluctuation in rules and regulations 0.138 Arbitration
Slowness in decision making 0.077 Cost overrun
Unnecessary interference in contractor work 0.001 Litigation
Manpower demotivation 0.112 Time overrun
Disloyalty among manpower toward the company 0.076 Time overrun
Poor project management 0.148 Time overrun
Demotivated contractor’s team 0.198 Time overrun
Contractor’s improper planning 0.194 Time overrun
Contractor’s poor site management 0.080 Time overrun
Problems with sub-contractors (lack in controlling 0.038 Time overrun
sub-contractors)
No productivity studies during implementation phase 0.207 Time overrun
Ineffective planning, scheduling, controlling and quality 0.296 Time overrun
monitoring
Delays in preparation of contract documents 0.192 Time overrun
Enforce unrealistic time schedule 0.070 Time overrun
Project schedule changes 0.097 Time overrun
Contractor’s prejudices (believing he is the best and can 0.101 Time overrun
stay on top without benchmarking and continuous
development
Damaging penalties imposed on contractors 0.251 Total abandonment
Difficulties in completing the documents and the 0.073 Total abandonment
verifications
Knowledge competency experience Frequent variation in orders for the same task 0.131 Arbitration
Lack of skilled labor 0.094 Cost overrun
Inadequate contractor’s experience 0.113 Time overrun
Mistakes during the construction stage 0.079 Time overrun
Incompetent contractor (mal-management skills) 0.236 Time overrun
Shortage of qualified technical staff 0.202 Time overrun
No upgrading capability in contractor’s philosophy 0.093 Time overrun
Delays in drawings or any other documents preparations 0.358 Time overrun
Mistakes in specifications (frequent 0.188 Time overrun
modifications/amendments)

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Table 9 continued
Group Factors Attributes Correlation Effects of Delay

Team working trust Delays in response to contractor or consultant (information 0.067 Cost overrun
delays due ill decision-making process)
Uncooperative owner/client 0.038 Dispute
Poor communication and coordination problems among 0.163 Dispute
involved parties (consultant, contractors and owners) and
governmental authorities, at different project stages
Compensation issues and disagreement on the valuation of 0.077 Dispute
work done
Conflict among the involved parties 0.152 Time overrun
Uncooperative consultant 0.155 Time overrun
Delays in response to contractor 0.281 Time overrun
Poor communication and coordination problems among 0.168 Time overrun
involved parties (consultant, contractors and owners)
Poor communication between contractor and other parties 0.154 Total abandonment
State bureaucracy 0.205 Total abandonment
External high governmental fees 0.117 Arbitration
Traffic motion surrounding the site 0.166 Arbitration
Excessive bureaucracy in government-owner/contractor 0.214 Dispute
deals
Severe weather (hot – cold) on site 0.002 Litigation
Material shortage 0.232 Time overrun
Technical skills Storage problems 0.179 Arbitration
Usage of inappropriate equipment and tools 0.229 Arbitration
Usage of old obsolete (outdated) machinery 0.209 Arbitration
Labor shortage 0.116 Cost overrun
Delays in handing over project site 0.109 Cost overrun
Problems in importing (from abroad) 0.122 Litigation
Specifications disparity (non-conformity) 0.065 Time overrun
Multiple project by the same contractor at the same time 0.278 Time overrun
Frequent failures due to shortage in maintenance and 0.144 Time overrun
technical support (low availability)
Inefficient execution methods 0.178 Time overrun
Incorrect soil analysis 0.090 Time overrun
Equipment and tool shortage 0.300 Total abandonment
Manpower over establishment (more than needed) 0.125 Total abandonment
Design changes 0.211 Total abandonment
Interference between deferent sub-contractors tasks 0.128 Total abandonment

preparing the framework to compliment the major findings proposed to minimize the delays in construction projects in
from the survey. All these identified elements had been the Sudan, a framework was developed to improve the manage-
main input in developing the management framework that ment of a project throughout its life cycle. The development
has the potential to minimise the delay in road construction of the framework based on the stage–gate approach controls
projects in Sudan. the progress made in the project activities and ensures that,
due to the requirements that need to be met in order for the
4.6 The Concept of the Management Framework project to pass through the ‘gate’, the movement to the next
Development phase of the project does not carry over non-completed activ-
ities from the previous phase, so helping the project schedule
Based on the analysis of results obtained from the survey and stay on time and within budget. This concept is provided in
from the brainstorming session on the methods and actions the Project Control Framework handbook [25], with the aim

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Table 10 Minimizing the delay

S. no. Rank Methods to minimize the delay RII
in road construction projects
1 1 Choosing a project manager with sufficient knowledge 0.880
and experience of project management and the use of
appropriate tools and techniques
2 2 Application of project management principles in the 0.858
early project stages
3 2 Site management and supervision 0.858
4 3 Complete and proper design at the right time 0.856
5 4 Make sure there is a clear plan included in the project 0.848
document before starting the project
6 5 Proper project planning and scheduling 0.836
7 6 Periodic review of progress for each project stage 0.832
8 7 Clear information and communication channels 0.824
9 8 Effective strategic planning 0.822
10 9 Evaluation of each project stage before moving to 0.816
another stage
11 10 Use appropriate construction methods 0.816
12 10 Proper material procurement 0.808
13 11 Accurate initial cost estimates 0.802
14 12 Frequent coordination between the parties involved 0.798
15 13 Use proper and modern construction equipment 0.794
16 14 Collaborative working in construction 0.780
17 15 Proper emphasis on past experience 0.776
18 16 Use up-to-date technology utilization 0.772
19 17 Compressing construction durations 0.688

Fig. 2 Road construction

project life cycle in Sudan Pre-Project Project Engineering Construction
Phase Feasibility Development and Closing
Phase Phase Phase

Fig. 3 Stage–gate process flow Gate 1 Gate 2 Gate 3

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Project
Closed

to provide a structured approach to the methodology of con- of these phases allows development of a clear set of guide-
struction project management through common procedures lines for the planning of different stages through the project
for project definition, planning, and design construction and life cycle, including the aspects of budgets, manpower, mate-
maintenance, and to ensure completion and delivery at the rials supply, as well as for scheduling project activities and
scheduled time and budgeted cost. A number of thoughts milestones, and for the project’s activity review.
and suggestions proposed by the group of experts were also
incorporated in the framework construction. Later on, a focus 4.6.2 Stage–Gate Approach
group discussion was used to verify and validate the proposed
management framework. The principle of the stage–gate process is based on the devel-
opment of a coherent series of stages and gates as shown in
4.6.1 Project Life Cycle Fig. 3. Each ‘stage’ is defined by a set of specific project
activities related to the phase of the road construction project
The different phases of the project life cycle illustrate the that represents the stage. The short-term objective of each
sequence of activities from the project’s start to its end. For stage is to make technical progress and gather the informa-
this study, and based on the practices in the road construction tion needed to move towards the project’s completion, such
industry in Sudan, the main phases of the road construction that it passes through the gate to the next stage. The ‘gates’ are
project life cycle have been simplified as shown in Fig. 2. Use the checkpoints where a comprehensive review of the project

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Fig. 4 Gate evaluation criteria

activities for the previous stage is done. Decisions about for each stage is prepared as a part of the evaluation process
‘passing through a gate’ are made based on pre-determined by the gate keepers as specified in Fig. 4. All stage–gates
criteria relating to the previous phase’s activities, to ensure must have clear, well-understood criteria so that gatekeepers
that they have been fully achieved. The structure of each stage can make objective and timely decisions. Criteria must be
includes activities of that stage of the project conducted by the specific enough to engage management in the decision pro-
project manager and his team, and the deliverables (specified cess and enable them to ascertain the risks and benefits of
through integrated project analysis that must be completed going forward. Every project team has a principal investiga-
much earlier by the project team) before the project is moved tor who is responsible for project execution and interaction
through the next ‘gate’. This transition is decided by the ‘gate with gatekeepers. Criteria for each stage–gate is different,
keeper’ on the basis of various decision points. and the criteria become more rigorous as the project pro-
gresses. A list of rules is agreed upon to keep the review
4.6.3 Construction of the Management Framework process unbiased. The nature and particular aspects of a par-
ticular project determine when and how stage–gate reviews
The objective of the management framework is to identify take place. A summary of the questions to be asked at all
the ways to minimize the effects of delay in road construc- stage–gate reviews will ensure the quality implementation
tion projects in Sudan. Particularly, attention was given to and completion of any road construction project.
methods of preventing any cost overrun and time overrun,
as the findings from the study suggest these factors (cost 4.7.3.1 Pre-project phase
overrun and time overrun) have a significant influence on all This is the first phase and starts at the earliest possible time.
the phases of the road construction project life cycle. How- In this phase, all the principles of the project are set out
ever, the majority of the proposed methods were about the and the basic arrangements established. These include the
application of various management ‘tools’, while there were project management office (PMO) and the strategic planning
also methods that put emphasis on having a well-trained and office. Also, the structure of the gate keepers’ work and their
competent project team and contractors. Moreover, as dis- selection are put in place in this stage. All the matters related
cussed in the analysis, it is clear that the need to have a more to financial issues and legal procedures should be completed
effective control on the entire project life cycle, from the at this stage. A summary of the pre-project phase activities
pre-project phase through the construction phase and to the are mentioned as follows:
closing phase, requires periodic reviews of the progress made
at each phase, such as by performing a full evaluation at each (1) Set strategic initiatives (strategic planning office)
stage of the project before moving to the next stage. (2) Develop the project financial model
The next section elaborates how the stage–gate approach
is applied to each phase of the project life cycle. The project (a) Financing
activities for each project phase are listed, followed by the (b) Direct funding
set of deliverables that is expected for completion of each (c) PPP
stage. A set of evaluation criteria relevant to the activities (d) Social partnership (for small projects)

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(3) Adopt legal procedures Furthermore, the possible deliverables from the project fea-
(4) Establish project team and inform PMO sibility phase include:
(5) Inform decision support & information unit
(6) Identify gatekeepers (internal & external experts + top (1) Approved analysis for cost–benefit
management) (2) Audited full feasibility study
(7) Identify specific skills and competencies required to (3) Approved business case
deliver the project. (4) Type of technology to be engaged
(5) Relevant regulations and authorities that control the
The information needed for decision-making on continuing project
the project and moving to the next project stage depends (6) Quality assurance & acceptance criteria report
on the completion of work during the previous stage, which (7) Project performance requirements report
includes all the pre-determined deliverables. The possible (8) Project functional specifications
deliverables from the pre-project phase are as follows: (9) Project team members, project manager and the list of
their set roles and responsibilities.
(1) Project proposal report including strategic fit and prior-
ities. The project manager is the principal investigator who is
(2) Financial model report. responsible for the project’s execution, as well as for the
(3) Legal procedures check list. interaction with gatekeepers. The gatekeepers are provided
(4) Gatekeeper’s formation letter (internal & external experts with the necessary information about the gate review process.
+ top management). They understand that the aims to evaluate the progress of the
(5) Study report of the up-to-date technology to be utilized project through a series of stages against a set of criteria that
(decision support). are defined at the outset of each stage. Therefore, it is neces-
(6) Acknowledge specific skills or competency levels to sary to take into consideration financial issues regarding the
deliver the project. project such as making sure that the cash flow takes care of
both irregular payments and non-occurrence of timely pay-
ments, as well as financial conflicts that might arise between
4.7.3.2 Project feasibility phase the contractor and his subordinates within the project imple-
mentation period. In addition to that, the finance competence,
The project feasibility phase ensures that essential steps such which attributes for the highest factor in road construction
as environmental impact assessments and traffic forecast delays in Sudan, must also be taken seriously by making
have been completed after a full consideration of all issues. alternative solutions for maintaining adequate financing such
The completion of the minutes of pre-feasibility meetings as by sharing the financial burden between the government
and checks on the economic benefits and completion of a full and the contractor through a PPP arrangement. Lastly, the
cost benefit analysis, as well as other relevant issues such as use of bank financing schemes, which could provide the
political, social and technology issues, are dealt with in this road construction project with the required cash flow, should
phase. The appointment of a project team along with detail of also be considered. The bank financing scheme would min-
their roles and their job descriptions is done after the initial imize the road construction period by solving the problems
feasibility study and reviewing of the business case. A firm of cash flow (irregular payments/non-occurrence of timely
business/financial model is proposed in this phase. Priorities payments) because bank finance provides the required cash
have to be set in relation to quality assurance and criteria for for the road construction projects and extends the period for
acceptance of materials. The summary of activities related to easier payback of the loans through instalments by the client.
the project feasibility phase is mentioned below:
4.7.3.3 Engineering development phase
(1) Assess the environmental impact and the economic ben- The objective is to identify or reduce risks that may occur
efits and affect the completion of the project at predefined points
(2) Conduct traffic forecast in time and to define the development specifications of the
(3) Do a cost–benefit analysis road construction project being undertaken. A comprehen-
(4) Provide a complete business case and feasibility study sive analysis is required in this phase, which includes all the
(5) Specify the performance requirements requirements with a functional analysis. Another important
(6) Set the quality assurance & acceptance criteria task in this phase is to select the principal contractor through
(7) Assign project team (roles & responsibilities) the rules and systems operating in relation to this process, and
(8) Assign the project team manager/principal investigator. through the different type of selection processes including

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bidding or direct selection on the basis of pre-qualifications. cess of control, monitoring and others. The project manager
This step is very influential in the project, so it is necessary should ensure that all other commissioning activities have
to be very precise at this stage. There is also need for preci- been completed in a satisfactory manner. The summary of
sion in other processes like the topographical, geotechnical activities related to project construction and closing phase
and environmental surveys, since their results may change is:
the design and/or the method of construction. Planning for
project-related matters have to be considered in this phase,
including budgeting and allocation of the resources that are (1) Issue notices to enter and take possession of land
regarded as being very critical as input to the next (project (2) Construct and commission scheme
construction and closing phase). (3) Hand over asset for operation with as-built drawings and
The findings from questionnaire data for this study indi- health and safety file
cate that the group of ‘financial factors’ contains the five (4) Agree final account with contractor
highest ranked factors in the entire list of factors that cause (5) Open scheme to traffic
delay to road construction projects. As such, the sourcing of (6) Contractor completes outstanding works (or re-work)
materials, issues relating to finance, and some other factors (7) Complete a review of project delivery.
within this group of factors, are likely to have a significant
direct impact on the project if not properly addressed. Other
issues that need to be addressed in this phase include the 4.8 Review and Assessment of the Proposed
preliminary and detailed design for the entire project. The Management Framework
summary of activities related to the engineering development
phase is presented as follows: After developing the initial framework, the proposed man-
agement framework was brought to the attention of the
(1) Plan project management focus group for review and evaluation. The development of
(2) Conduct topographical, geotechnical and environmental management framework is based on the findings that were
surveys extracted from the questionnaire data analysis, and from the
(3) Analyse project functional requirement expert panel discussion, with reference to guides extracted
(4) Perform preliminary and final design from previous frameworks developed by other researchers,
(5) Identify the project construction specification along with the output of the focus group’s discussion and
(6) Plan project construction remarks. The major inputs of the focus group were bordered
(7) Select contractor. into two points:

On completing this phase and prior to moving to the project

i The most important factor identified to be directly affect-
construction phase, some of deliverables that should be
ing road project delays in Sudan was the financial factor.
reviewed and checked by gatekeepers include:
Therefore, it is recommended to adopt the PPP approach
for project funding, as well as socially motivated funding
(1) Complete topographical, geotechnical and environmen- of projects, in order to make use of national development
tal survey. organization funds and funding from similar organiza-
(2) Complete project management plan including budget- tions, supported by bank finance.
ing, resources and risk mitigation. ii The significant issue with respect to the workforce was
(3) Approved project design specifications. found to be inadequate training and lack of skills, and
(4) Validated project development model it is suggested to overcome this challenge by creat-
(5) Validated project construction specifications ing opportunities for technical training and continuous
(6) Validated project construction plan on-the-job capacity building, and by contractors pay-
(7) List of contractors. ing more attention to getting assistance from technical
training institutions. A similar concept is practiced in
4.7 Project Construction and Closing Phase Malaysia through CIDB [26].

This phase is where the road project is constructed, com-

missioned and handed over for operation. At the end of this The proposed management framework was then further
phase, the project is ‘signed off’ and closed down. All the refined based on the inputs from the focus group discussion,
previous phases discussed above lead up to this phase, which and come up with the final framework as proposed by this
is concerned with the construction, and all the steps and pro- study mentioned in the Fig. 5.

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Arab J Sci Eng (2018) 43:1925–1940 1939

Fig. 5 Proposed management framework (created and designed by authors)

5 Conclusion and when to enhance, continue and/or discontinue a project.

This stage–gate approach promises to be very valuable tool in
The study undertaken and described in this paper is con- helping to minimize losses and maximize profits. It will also
cerned with the problem of delays in road construction help to improve the management process by effective utiliza-
projects in Sudan. The delays have many consequences such tion of resources, as well as in the planning of the project’s
as cost and time overruns, lowering the quality of com- development and implementation. Furthermore, it will also
pleted roads, major interruptions in physical movement, and ensure personnel quality, financial budgeting and appropri-
abandonment or cancellation of some projects. All these con- ate methods for project execution, as all necessary planning
sequences lead towards additional budget or associated costs, and monitoring will have been put in place to ensure a hitch-
and such problems should be viewed in relation to the limited free project execution with minimal delays and completion
budget available for road construction projects at the state and within the contracted time.
national level. The very high costs resulting from delays in
road construction mean a significant reduction in the total
length of roads annually being constructed or repaired and
often mean the construction work is of lower quality. References
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