Unraveling Construction Delays: Development of a Stakeholder-Driven Comprehensive Mitigation Tool

Delays pose serious risks involving loss of productivity, cost overrun, and substandard quality, hindering the successful completion of construction projects worldwide. Comprehending the causes of delays is difficult due to the complex industry dynamics and evolving nature of interrelated causes. This study aims to categorize the published literature using content analysis and then identify and analyze the contractual delay causes based on the categories. Further, it also proposes a comprehensive stakeholder-driven tool for their mitigation. A content analysis was performed on the articles systematically selected using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocol. The analysis classifies the literature into eight categories, encompassing 54 distinct contractual delay causes. Further remedial measures (RMs) proposed in the literature were examined and refined by integrating them with project management principles (PMPs) of the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) guide. Following this, thirteen refined RMs are derived. A comprehensive tool was developed to link the measures with corresponding delay causes. This tool also assigned the accountable stakeholder for implementation. This sequence of analysis and integration facilitated the presentation of a novel pathway for delay mitigation. Thus, it provides researchers and practitioners with a structured and adaptable method. By addressing a widely acknowledged yet underexplored area of contractual delays, the present work establishes a structured basis for theoretical advancement and practical standardization of adaptable delay mitigation practices.