1 research outputs found
Causes of variation order in building and civil engineering projectsin Nigeria
Variation does not only affect labour productivity but also leads to the dispute, time and cost overrun. Consequently, it affects projects performance. It is, therefore, imperative for construction professionals to eliminate unnecessary additional cost from a project so as to optimize the clientâs benefit against input resources. This paper identifies and examines the most significant causes that contribute to the variation orders. Also, Nigerian construction industry is used as a case study. Variation orders causing factors were assessed. Questionnaires were administered to clients, consultants and contractors to elicit information regarding variation causing factors. These factors were analyzed using frequency aggregation, mean score method and subsequently ranked according to their severity. The result revealed three most significant causes of variation which are: âChange of planââ with the highest frequency of 58% then followed by ââConflicting contract documents (50%). The next most frequent causing factors were the âsubstitution of materialsâ and âchange in designâ each with frequency of 43%. The least causing factor of variation was the âerror and omission in designâ with the frequency of 10%. Also differing site condition, new government regulation, weather condition were identified as other cause of variation with the frequency of 27%, 29% and 10% respectively. It has also shown that most critical source of variation order is the client due to change of plan then followed by consultant due to conflicting contract document