Construction Delay Analysis Method Based On Float Theory

With China’s modernization and the stable growth of its economy, more and more construction projects occur, in which construction delays happen frequently. Meanwhile, it’s usually difficult to determine the responsible party when such delays happen, due to the large investments, long periods, multiple involving parties, management difficulties and structure complexity of the projects. Because all the existing analytical methods of construction delays are obviously flawed, a reliable and sufficient method is eagerly needed.A construction delay is a time delay of a whole construction project which occurs when at least one procedure is not finished on time. It usually leads to a series of changes, including a delay of completing time, lower working efficiency, the acceleration or stop of construction process, increased costs and the termination of a contract. In general, the party in a contract who suffers a loss because of a construction delay may claim for a compensation to the other party who is responsible for the delay. However, in reality, situations tend to be complicated:the delay caused by one party may or may not affect the completing time of the whole project, hence, it may or may not lead to loss of the other party. What’s more, some of the delays are caused by responsibilities or risks of a single party, while others may be caused by both parties or even factors beyond the control of both parties, such as natural disasters.In this thesis, firstly, the basic theories and methods on construction delay analysis are introduced, including the definition and classification of construction delays, concurrent delays and ownership of float time, with the last two most special concepts discussed in detail. Secondly, existing commonly-used analytical methods of construction delays are studied with their strong and weak points compared. Then, based on the features of float time, the definition and theorems on path float time are given, with relevant proof procedures provided. A new construction delay analytical method with float time considered and some relevant principles arethen put forward. Next, the new method is adopted in calculating, analyzing and distributing construction delays of an actual construction project. Finally, traditional analytical methods are used in the same example. By comparing the analysis results, we found that unlike traditional analytical methods which do not consider float time and the mutual influence between adjacent procedures, hence, leading to disputes in the distribution of delay responsibilities, the new method, by calculating the free float time of each procedure and total float time, can clarify the influences between each procedures and solve the problem of responsibility distribution in complex situations such as concurrent delays. To sum up:by taking float time into consideration, the new analytical method of construction delays has a broader scope of application than traditional methods since it can distribute the responsibilities for delays more reliably and reasonably, and can better reduce the disputes caused by the delays.