Construction Projects Delay Mitigation Framework Using Balanced Scorecard and Quality Function Deployment

Abstract

Delays in many projects mostly occur in the construction phase which may have a consequent impact on the project’s overall performance in areas such as profitability, quality, and safety. This project demonstrates the importance of applying proper management tools to overcome delays in the construction industry. Its aim is to propose a framework which can be implemented to effectively manage construction projects, and hence, mitigate delays. A literature review was conducted to identify the critical factors that would assist in overcoming or mitigating delays. Two management tools were used which are the balanced score card (BSC) and quality function deployment (QFD) to construct the framework. These tools were used to design a survey questionnaire to develop a matrix for analysing the best methods for mitigating delays based on the different BSC perspectives. Findings of this study indicate that the most important factors that influence the achievement of the project’s financial goals primarily belong to client-related factors, followed by contractor and project management team-related factors. The proposed integrated BSC and QFD framework can therefore serve as a systematic and structural approach for ranking the critical enabling factors of delay mitigation based on the severity of their impact to the project’s financial success, thereby helping construction industry professionals prioritize goals and mitigate delays more effectively.