Analysis of critical coordination activities of Indian construction projects

The performance of Indian construction projects, when measured in terms of their adherence to schedule or cost have not been always encouraging. Literature review and interaction with professionals in the field reveal that many a time the root cause of failure of a project can be attributed to the poor coordination among project participants. With the arrival of large projects involving multiple participants, the coordination has become all the more important. Yet no adequate emphasis seems to have been given to understand and develop coordination as an important management function. The present study identifies 59 coordination activities. Through a questionnaire survey conducted among Indian construction professionals and subsequent analysis, 33 important coordination activities are selected that has significant contribution in checking cost overruns. Factor analyses of responses on important activities reveal contribution of coordination activities in seven different areas to achieve cost adherence. These areas are planning; execution; team building; documentation; fulfilment of contractual obligation; resource identification; and monitoring of critical path activities.