Factors Slowing Construction Projects
The lateness of construction projects is one of the foremost problems that occur regularly in construction projects. The correlation is very related to scheduling and the process of managing projects. The scheduling activity and process of managing projects were conducted since the first beginning of the projects. Otherwise, there are some aspects that are out of the control of engineers and human resources which involve the life-cycle of projects, and cause the lateness of the project. The variety of those aspects could be varied, ranging from internal or external factors.
Weather
The high rate of global warming and climate change issues makes work-activity becomes fluctuate, and one of them is impacting construction projects. The oscillation of weather conditions makes the possibility of project execution will be changing from time to time. Aspects that have been discussed, planned, and accepted in the preconstruction meeting (pcm) can be altered along with time, and be pointed in the execution phase. Rain weather is one of conditions that regularly impacted execution phase of construction projects. As we know, Indonesia is one of the tropical countries and has a geographic position over the equator lines, which makes Indonesia has two main weather, rainy and dry.
The problem in Indonesia while executing construction projects is when the project faces rainy weather. There are so many activities that are not suitable when rain, like work in concrete, rebar, installation of bricks, and others. Those activities will be suitable if executed in dry conditions. While rain comes on that activity, stagnation occurs along with them. Employees without good experience and knowledge of rainy moments will be confused farmer/worker. Without prior knowledge in decision making, both employees and project managers will lack and miss the moment, badly causing the entire of work-cycle projects.
The options are two: keep going even the weather is rainy, or postpone of the activity that also will equals to adding work time or overtime options.
Cashflow
The next aspect that causes the life-cycle of construction projects is cash flow of the project. The positive percentage of cash flow will equal the positive effect of construction project execution. Contradictive with those, the negative trend of cash flow will cause the lateness of execution of the project. Based on the facts that I found, the grow rate of construction projects rise to 47.03% than the previous year (between 2020 and 2021 in Indonesia) as shown in the figure below.
That picture means that the need for good allocation process for construction projects and added with measured distribution. Will be better if it can be efficient. For efficiency purposes, could be found by identifying items of work. Efficiency will be equalized also with the numerous options in every item of work.
For efficiency and to keep good cashflow, every company usually has its own way on manage it. But in construction projects, usually items that spend a lot of cost are a volume quantity of concrete and steel/rebar. Those two items also was author explained in another section of journal under title “”Waste material in construction project”.
The management and efficiency of cash in managing construction materials has several pattern and are also based on the agreement between vendors. The term will be several, by progress, milestone, lumpsump, etc.
Motivation
At least 36.32% of motivation or willingness of employees de-gradation by the factor of work environment, promotion opportunity, etc. This data proves that the motivation of employees plays a key role. Their several cases could be assessed as the reason. When I tried to finish a project in industrial manufacturing for example, that time is filled with the surge of pandemic covid-19. Regulation by the government and management of the company requires every employee should be following healthy protocol covid-19 by the government. Further, those regulations affect the employee which works in renovation and extension infrastructure of the main building of manufacture. In the lifecycle of the project, the implementation of healthy protocol for covid-19 affecting the work balance of employees (especially in construction projects in which I was involved). For example, during my work previously as a project manager in a manufacturing project, every employee should be doing self-test or swab test which spent the time at least 5 minutes, on the other hand total of employees is in hundreds. There so much time was spent without effectiveness, and not only that, but the permit of work to be processed also has a long period, which affects the lateness possibility of the project become high.
The lateness of projects may occur regularly and accepted by engineers across globe. Their many methods was approached to fix on this problem. From my personal experiences, all of the variables that regularly occur back to those aspects that I explain above, but can not be done with only those 3 (three) aspects. Definitely, with the rise of century and technology, some factors that cause the lateness of the projects can be done or can be enlarge.
