Effects of Schedule Pressure on Construction Performance

Accelerating a project can be rewarding. The consequences, however, can be troublesome if productivity and quality are sacrificed for the sake of remaining ahead of schedule, such that the actual schedule benefits are often barely worth the effort. The tradeoffs and paths of schedule pressure—and its causes and effects—are often overlooked when schedule decisions are being made. This paper analyzes the effects that schedule pressure has on construction performance, and focuses on tradeoffs in scheduling. A research framework has been developed using a causal diagram to illustrate the cause-and-effect analysis of schedule pressure. An empirical investigation has been performed by using survey data collected from 102 construction practitioners working in 38 construction sites in Singapore. The results of this survey data analysis indicate that advantages of increasing the pace of work—by working under schedule pressure—can be offset by losses in productivity and quality. The negative effects of schedule pressure arise mainly by working out of sequence, generating work defects, cutting corners, and losing the motivation to work. The adverse effects of schedule pressure can be minimized by scheduling construction activities realistically and planning them proactively, motivating workers, and by establishing an effective project coordination and communication mechanism.This research was sponsored by the Department of Building, National University of Singapore (Academic Research Grant No. R-296-000-081-112). The support obtained from Mr. Sangjin Han, Project Manager, Samsung Corporation Singapore, is gratefully acknowledged. The writers acknowledge the assistance of the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful, thorough, and constructive comments and suggestions. Finally, they thank all of the respondents who participated in their survey