Controlling Of Variation Orders in Highway Projects in Jordan

Abstract

Variation orders are the most disruptive and unpleasant events of the projects because of their impacts on cost and completion date of the project. This study is about the variation orders in highway projects that are the most severe problems in the highway projects. Variation order is any modification to the contractual terms of a project by the owner or the owner's representative, it can be a work that is added to or deleted from the original scope of work of a contract, which alters the original contract amount and/or completion date. Change orders are common to most projects, and very common with large projects. This study focuses on the causes of variation orders and their impacts on time and cost. Management system is suggested to control the variation orders of highway projects in Jordon. The data collected from two sources the primary is the survey questionnaire conducted with project managers, contracting, and consulting businesses in highway projects. The secondary is from selected completed highway projects. According to the questionnaire results, the most ten important causes are change of schedule, ambiguous design details, change of plan or scope, conflict between contract documents, lack of coordination, safety considerations, client financial problem, change in design by consultant, socio-cultural factors, and change in government regulations. The main impacts of variation orders are time delays, cost overrun, increase in overhead expenses, turnover of professionals and project team. According to the research findings, a management system has been proposed through the project lifecycle (conceptual, design and construction stages) to control the occurrence of variations and as a result, reducing their impacts. This system was evaluated through another questionnaire and the results showed that the proposed system would be successful tool for controlling variation orders occurrence in the highway projects in Jordan.