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Abstract
This thesis describes the study of the effect of project complexity on contract time with particular reference to programming of the building construction process. The building process is unique because of the continuous variation of the technological, organizational, psychological and environmental constraints that exist within the system of work flow. The variation of these constraints has led to a continual change of complexity within a project and also from project to project. Structured interviews with experts confirmed that there is a rapid increase in complexity of modern building construction, and this complexity has become a vital determinant that must be considered in many managerial decision making processes.
In practice however, the level of complexity of a project is often measured subjectively, by simply assuming that the higher the cost of a package or project, the greater its complexity. The failure of this method to deliver a clear cut measure of complexity in practice, let alone an indication of its variation, has led to many uncertainties such as the requirement of a services coordinator during construction, direct effect of variations, contingency amount, etc. In this thesis, a method of determining the level of construction complexity that could be used for managerial decision making processes has been developed.
Case studies of selected building projects in the South East of England and structured interviews with experts in the industry were used to collect raw data and information. A mathematical heuristic model was developed and a computer program has been written to calculate the numerical measure of complexity. Tests were conducted on real projects and the results indicated that it is possible to measure complexity in modern buildings.(DX177898).