Factors causing delay of materials delivery in construction industry in Eastern province of Saudi Arabia

One of the main causes of project schedule delay is material delivery as it plays a significant role in construction and effects profitability of all parties involved in the project. This paper introduces study conducted to investigate, identify, and rank the most key factors causing material delivery delays in construction industry in Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia. Factors are assessed and ranked after collecting the data from the respondents using a web-based and paper questionnaire. Forty-two responses were gathered from experts in various positions in construction industry in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The study found that the most important factors that cause delay of building material delivery in construction industry in Saudi Arabia are late issuance of purchase order, late adoption of material, Delays in approving shop drawings, Late issuance of invoices to contractor, Late issuance of supplier payment. The paper is original in the sense that although many researches have been conducted to name causes of construction schedule delay, extremely limited research conducted to identify causes behind delay in building material delivery. In addition, the areas of knowledge and practice covered in the identified factors were distributed and not available in one source. The identified factors are derived from personal interviews with selected project managers, project engineers, construction supervisors and the others from distinct positions in project department and from the relevant literature.