Mitigating construction project schedule overruns

There are many factors that contribute to the causes of schedule overruns in construction projects. This ranges from factors inherent in the technology and its management, to those resulting from the physical, social, and financial environment. Schedule overruns can give rise to disruption of work and loss of productivity, late completion of project, increased time related costs and third party claims and abandonment or termination of contract. Schedule overruns are costly and often result in disputes and claims. Hence, the need to identify mitigation measures of construction projects overruns that will bring about the timely delivery of construction projects. This paper assesses the measures to mitigate against construction projects schedule overruns in the Gauteng Province construction industry in South African. The data used in this paper were derived from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to construction professionals in the study area. Data received from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics procedures. Findings revealed that proper project planning and scheduling, effective strategic planning, site management and supervision, amongst others, were the major mitigation measures of construction projects schedule overruns in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the subject of the measures of mitigating against construction project schedule overruns in the Gauteng Province construction industry.