An Evaluation of Change Order Factors Affecting Building Construction Projects in Nigeria

Abstract

Construction projects (CPs) are inherently prone to change orders (COs) due to their complex, dynamic, and capital-intensive nature, as well as the involvement of multiple stakeholders. COs if left unmanaged, can significantly compromise overall project success. Although numerous studies have investigated change order factors globally, the occurrence and influence CO exert in projects vary across regions and may change over time. This study evaluated the likelihood of occurrence (LO) of CO factors and the extent to which the factors could result in COs in building construction projects. Quantitative research approach was adopted. Structured questionnaires were administered to construction practitioners to collect data using convenience sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Findings revealed 'change in economic conditions', 'change of schedule', and 'unforeseen problems', to be the CO factors with highest LO in CPs. Additionally, 'change in economic conditions', clients' inflexible stance on project', 'errors and omissions in design' were found to be the top CO factors with highest tendency of resulting in CO in CPs. The Kruskal-Wallis test further revealed no statistically significant difference in respondents' overall ratings. The study concludes that, several CO factors have high LO in CPs which could potentially results to changes during CPs execution. The study recommends early identification of potential factors that could result to changes in CPs to minimise cost and time variations in CPs execution.