Causes, Effects, Benefits, and Remedies of Change Orders on Public Construction Projects in Oman
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136, Issue 5
Abstract
Change orders are usually issued to cover variations in scope of work, material quantities, design errors, and unit rate changes. This paper discusses variations in public construction projects in Oman by investigating causes of variations, studying their effects on the project, identifying the beneficial parties, and suggesting remedies to alleviate related problems. Tasks included an analysis of four actual case studies and conducting a field survey via a questionnaire. It was determined that the client’s additional works and modifications to design were the most important factors causing change orders, followed by the nonavailability of construction manuals and procedures. The most important effects of change orders on the project were found to be the schedule delays, disputes, and cost overruns. The contractor was found to be the party most benefiting from the change orders followed by the consultant and then the client. A set of remedial actions were suggested and respondents viewed that the revision of registration of consulting offices would be the most important action followed by establishing standard documents for design procedures and building a national database about soil conditions and services.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136 • Issue 5 • May 2010
Pages: 615 - 622
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 19, 2008
Accepted: Sep 18, 2009
Published online: Sep 19, 2009
Published in print: May 2010
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