The antecedents of construction project change: an analysis of design and build procurement application

TLDR: In this article, the causal nexus of change during the construction phase is assessed and delineated; the key affecting factors are thematically grouped under headings: extent and severity; time in relation to implementing; instigating party; individual(s) responsible for managing the change; reason for the change, available resource; recoverable or non-recoverable; contract / project type; type of client.

Abstract: Purpose: This research seeks to excoriate, define and delineate the main drivers of ‘change’ in commercial construction projects and generate guidelines on how to minimise exposure to the associated adverse effects upon project stakeholders. Methodology: The research adopts mixed doctrines through a combination of epistemological lenses, embracing two primary philosophical stances: (i) interpretivism, to identify the primary drivers of change based on a systematic literature review and (ii) a post-positivist, inductive approach to analyse the results of change within a Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Design and Build (D&B) construction project case study. Findings: The causal nexus of change during the construction phase is assessed and delineated; the key affecting factors are thematically grouped under headings: extent and severity; time in relation to implementing; instigating party; individual(s) responsible for managing the change; reason for the change; available resource; recoverable or non-recoverable; contract / project type; type of client. Following this, the effects of change on key elements of the project are encapsulated and recommendations for adaptations which may provide improved experiences are offered. Originality: The study tackles the common issue of managing the deleterious effects of change on commercial construction projects, defining management techniques to minimise stakeholder tribulation.

Figures

Figure 1 – Process Flow Diagram for the Research Approach Adopted.

Figure 5 – Analysis of Key Terms of Construction Change Research with Fifty Occurrences (CWTS, 2019)

Figure 4 – Web of Science Analysis of Construction Change Research Over Time

Table 4 - Analysis of Leading Contractors’ Quantity Surveying Role Descriptions Taken from Contractor Websites

Figure 9 – Comparison of Overall Practitioners’ Ranking of Importance vs The Effects Imposed by Change on Each Element

Figure 8 – Comparison of Overall Practitioners’ Ranking of Parties’ Control Over Change vs The Likelihood of Each Party to Initiate Change

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What have the authors contributed in "The antecedents of construction project change: an analysis of design " ?

This research seeks to excoriate, define and delineate the main drivers of ‘ change ’ in commercial construction projects and generate guidelines on how to minimise exposure to the associated adverse effects upon project stakeholders. The research adopts mixed doctrines through a combination of epistemological lenses, embracing two primary philosophical stances: ( i ) interpretivism, to identify the primary drivers of change based on a systematic literature review and ( ii ) a post-positivist, inductive approach to analyse the results of change within a Joint Contracts Tribunal ( JCT ) Design and Build ( D & B ) construction project case study. The causal nexus of change during the construction phase is assessed and delineated ; the key affecting factors are thematically grouped under headings: extent and severity ; time in relation to implementing ; instigating party ; individual ( s ) responsible for managing the change ; reason for the change ; available resource ; recoverable or non-recoverable ; contract / project type ; type of client. Following this, the effects of change on key elements of the project are encapsulated and recommendations for adaptations which may provide improved experiences are offered. The study tackles the common issue of managing the deleterious effects of change on commercial construction projects, defining management techniques to minimise stakeholder tribulation. 

Q2. What are the future works mentioned in the paper "The antecedents of construction project change: an analysis of design " ?

Further research into change management from the perspective of sub-contractors, designers, employers or other stakeholders may produce nuance to the current results. 

Q3. What are the popular procurement methods?

Modern procurement methods such as Construction Management Risk (CMR), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) are becoming increasingly popular options over DBB, as a result of DBB being generally considered flawed (Tilacz, 2008). 

Q4. What is the effect of late change on the workforce?

In cases where change is instigated late in the process, ie during the physical works on site of after the works have taken place, the workforce often become incredibly demotivated by the imposition of abortive works and unnecessary rework, leading to a decrease in quality when carrying out the change. 

Q5. What is the effect of change management on relationships?

In cases where contractors or sub-contractors communicate poorly or use changeas an opportunity to extract profit or recoup time to offset earlier delays, relationships will inevitably diminish along with trust. 

Q6. What are the main clusters of terms in construction change research?

Five main clusters have formed viz: (i) red - terms such as delay, conflict, cost overrun and negative impact, providing an indication of the negative effects of project change; (ii) yellow - terms such as collaboration, innovation, commitment and successful implementation, providing a much more positive outlook on construction change management; (iii) blue - terms such as area, period, type, year, region, suggesting this cluster relates to project characteristics and its influence on change outcomes; (iv) purple - terms such as plan, assessment, control and consideration, suggesting this cluster relates to the control mechanisms associated with change management; (v) green – terms such as organizational change, education, theme, transformation, which indicates this cluster relates to the post-completion perspective of change.< Figure 6 - Analysis of Key Terms of Construction Change Research with Ten Occurrences(CWTS, 2019) >Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with a variety of construction practitioners with differing perspectives, backgrounds and years of experience – See Table 2. 

Q7. What is the main reason why the construction industry is so important?

Because the construction sector contributes to 6% of the UK economy (House of Commons, 2019) one can deduce that change within the construction and civil engineering sector is comparatively disproportionately high and this is perhaps attributable to the bespoke nature of construction projects (Blismas, et al., 2011) and an often ill-informed client (Gamil and Rahman, 2017). 

Q8. What is the main reason why the quantity surveyors are not mentioned in the job descriptions?

The lack of technical knowledge of the quantity surveyor forces assumptions, which leads to errors forcing the operational team to working harder and longer to overcome resulting delays. 

Q9. What is the effect of change management on the relationship between contractors and suppliers?

In cases where a contractor uses change as an opportunity to communicate and build on the relationship with the client and supply chain, the relationship should benefit, but only provided the changes are managed well and are implemented successfully. 

Q10. What is the main reason for the lack of input in change management?

The information suggests that the lack of operational input in change management may be the cause of the detrimental effect on the programme since programme was thought to be of low importance to the commercial respondents who seemingly carry out most of the change management procedures, and those who rank the programme as important are seemingly not providing the level of input required as noted by respondent R6: