Time–Cost Relationships in Australian Building Construction Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 131, Issue 2
Abstract
Project time–cost relationships were examined by using project scope factors as predictors for 161 construction projects that were completed in various Australian States using the multiple regression technique of weighted least squares. The analysis was performed between project duration (i.e., time), project type, procurement method, tender type, gross floor area (GFA), and number of stories. An alternative model to that proposed by Bromilow more than three decades ago for forecasting time and cost performance is proposed. It is shown that GFA and the number of stories in a building are key determinants of time performance in projects. Furthermore, the results indicate that cost is a poor predictor of time performance. Limitations and practical implications of the research are also presented.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the four anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which have helped improve the quality of this manuscript. In addition, the writers would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Australian Research Council (DP-0453258).
References
Alreck, P. L., and Settle, R. B. (1985). The survey research handbook, Irwin, Homewood, Ill.
Bromilow, F. J. (1969). “Contract time performance expectations and the reality.” Build. Forum, 1(3), 70–80.
Bromilow, F. J., Hinds, M. F., and Moody, N. F. (1980). “AIQS survey of building contract time performance.” Build. Econ., 19, 79–82.
Bromilow, F. J., Hinds, M. F., and Moody, N. F. (1988). The time and cost performance of building contracts 1976–1986, The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Bresnen, M. J., Haslam, C. O., Beardsworth, A. D., Bryman, A. E., and Hell, T. E. (1988). “Performance on site and the building client.” Occasional Paper 42, Chartered Institute of Building, Ascot, U.K.
Chan, A. P. C. (1994). “Evaluation of novation contract.” Proc., National Construction and Management Conf., Univ. of New South Wales (UNSW), New South Wales, Australia, 383–396.
Chan, A. P. C. (1996). “Determinants of project success in the construction industry of Hong Kong.” PhD thesis, Univ. of South Australia, South Australia, Australia.
Chan, D. W. M. (1998). “Modelling construction durations for public housing projects in Hong Kong.” PhD thesis, The Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). (1987). “Code of estimating practice supplement one: Refurbishment and modernisation.” CIOB, Ascot, U.K.
Construction Industry Development Agency (CIDA). (1993). “A report on the time and cost performance of Australian building projects completed 1988–1993.” CIDA and the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Earthman, G., and Draeger, (2001). “Experiencing a renovation: A practical guide for principals.” Publication No. 2100201. National Association of School Principals, Washington, D.C.
Faniran, O. O. (1995). “The project environment, organizational characteristics of construction firms and the effectiveness of construction planning efforts: A study of the interrelationships.” PhD thesis, Univ. of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hester, W. T., Kuprenas, J. A., and Chang, T. C. (1991). “Construction changes and change orders: Their magnitude and impact.” Source Document 66, Construction Industry Institute, The Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
Ibbs, C. W., and Allen, W. E. (1995). “Quantitative impacts of project change.” Source Document 108, Construction Industry Institute, The Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
Ireland, V. (1983). “The role of managerial actions in cost, time, and quality performance of high rise commercial building projects.” PhD thesis, Univ. of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Kenley, R. (2001). “The predictive ability of Bromilow’s time–cost model: A comment.” Civ. Eng. Pract., 19(8), 759–764.
Love, P. E. D. (2002). “Influence of project type and procurement method on rework costs in building construction projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 128(1), 18–29.
Ng, T., Mak, M. M. Y., Skitmore, M., and Varnam, M. (2001). “The predictive ability of Bromilow’s time–cost model.” Civ. Eng. Pract., 19(2), 165–173.
Oppenheim, A. N. (1992). Questionnaire design, interviewing, and attitude measurement, Pinter, London.
Quah, L. K. (1988). “An evaluation of the risks in estimating and tendering for refurbishment work.” PhD thesis, Dept. of Building, Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh, U.K.
Skitmore, M., and Ng, T. (2001). “Australian project-time analysis: Statistical analysis of intertemporal trends.” Civ. Eng. Pract., 19(5), 455–458.
Tabachnick, B., and Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics, 3rd Ed., Harper Collins, New York.
Walker, D. H. T. (1994). “An investigation into the factors that determine building construction time performance.” PhD thesis, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
Williams, T. (2002). Modeling complex projects, Wiley, Chichester, U.K.
Yeong, C. M. (1994). “Time and cost performance of building contracts in Australia and Malaysia.” MSc thesis, Univ. of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Yogeswaran, K. (1998). “Sources, causes, and minimization of contractual claims in civil engineering projects in Hong Kong.” PhD thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, The Univ. of Hong Kong.
Yousef, G., and Baccarini D. (2001). “Developing a cost–time model for estimating construction durations of sewerage projects in Perth, Western Australia.” J. Constr. Res., 2(2), 213–220.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 131 • Issue 2 • February 2005
Pages: 187 - 194
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2002
Accepted: Mar 15, 2004
Published online: Feb 1, 2005
Published in print: Feb 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.