Visualising the impact of change orders on productivity in construction projects

Abstract

Change orders are common in most construction projects and include indirect costs, such as cumulative disruption costs, as well as direct costs. However, proving and quantifying damages due to changes are difficult task; in particular, estimating the lost productivity is the most difficult task. Although there are several methods to calculate the lost productivity resulting from delay and/or disruption due to changes, they have limitations in proving damages. In this respect, visualisation of impacts is a feasible method of showing and analysing the impact of change orders on productivity. This paper shows a practical process that provides a novel visualisation method to analyse and quantify the impacts of change orders on project performance. Using the proposed approach, the impact of change orders on different activities could be identified and then estimated for the productivity loss. Ultimately, the paper contributes to the body of knowledge by helping construction professionals demonstrate and quantify the impact of change orders on the schedule and productivity concurrently towards a reasonable resolution in construction claims.