Modern Applied Science; Vol. 8, No. 4; 2014 ISSN 1913-1844 E-ISSN 1913-1852 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 16 Significant Factors Causing Time Overrun in Construction Projects of Peninsular Malaysia Aftab Hameed Memon 1 , Ismail Abdul Rahman 1 , Muhammad Akram 1 & Nornashima Md Ali 1 1 Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia Correspondence: Aftab Hameed Memon, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia. Tel: 60-14-272-5620. E-mail: aftabm78@hotmail.com/aftabm78@gmail.com Received: March 25, 2014 Accepted: April 22, 2014 Online Published: June 25, 2014 doi:10.5539/mas.v8n4p16 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/mas.v8n4p16 Abstract This study has identified the significant factors causing time overrun in Malaysian construction industry. Investigation through survey was carried out in central and southern parts of Malaysian among the respondents from three categories i.e. client, consultant and contractors. The feedback was received from 75 respondents against 300 companies contacted. The feedback was analyzed statistically which revealed that cash flow and financial difficulties faced by contractor, poor site management and supervision, incompetent subcontractor, shortage of workers and financial difficulties of the owner are major contributors of time overrun. The author recommends that the problem of time overrun can be controlled through proper planning of work, committed leadership and management, and effective communication system. Keywords: time overrun, causative factors, Malaysian construction industry 1. Introduction In this era of industrialization, Malaysian construction industry is key role player for economic and social development of the country (Ibrahim et al., 2010). But this industry is continuously facing severe concern of time overrun. It has become an essential need that effort be taken to lessen these overruns in time despite amplified uncertainties and complexities (Ribeiro, 1999). Currently, construction sector is considered as one of the riskiest, dynamic and challenging sector. This sector faced disaster between year 1997 and 2000 during the ASEAN economy crisis, but then is getting better gradually (Rahman et al., 2010). However, the schedule delay is a commonly faced criteria in the construction project due to poor risk management applications. In Malaysian construction industry, time overrun is one of the critical problems faced in the construction project (Memon et al., 2011). Hamzah et al. (2011) mentioned that, time overrun often causes disorder in workflow and reduces of productivity. Consequently, projects are completed beyond the contract time which can result in budget overrun, contractual claims or also abandonment of the projects (Abedi et al., 2011a). As reported by Utusan Malaysia on 2 nd Jun 2009, 80% of Public Works Department known as Jaban Kerja Raya (JKR) projects in year 2008 were delayed, and the government had to bear the increased cost as well as waste of time and energy (Embong, 2011). Various practices have been adopted by the government to overcome this problem such as involving the private sector in government developments, hiring of experience project managers so that the projects can be managed effectively for achieving completion of time. However, the time performance of construction projects is still poor (Embong, 2011). This problem of time overrun is caused by various factors, and in order to control this problem, it is very essential to adopt effective management actions especially to control the factors causing time overruns (Sambasivan & Soon, 2007). Hence, this study focused on identifying the significant time overrun factors. The limitations of this study include that the data sampling was done in central (Wilayah Persekutuan, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan States) and southern part (Johor and Melaka states) of Peninsular Malaysia. 2. Related Works Construction is a vast industry which provides various projects for residential, industrial or commercial facilities (William, 2010). Hence, huge sum of money are expended for providing new facilities or retrofitting existing facilities to satisfy the needs of society for shelter and economic growth. Construction industry is an essential sector for any country as it provides necessary requirement for improving the standard of life (Abedi et al.