THE IMPACT OF DESIGN CHANGES IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ON THE COST CHARGED BY CONSULTANT OFFICES

Abstract

Abstract In any construction project, a large number of modifications occur. The consequences of those modifications may result in additional costs due to the re-design of the project on each member of the project’s stakeholders. The financial impact of modifications during the construction phase of a project on consultant offices will be explored in this study. The aim of this study is to investigate the cost of the modifications and to examine the type of relationship between the time spent on the design to accomplish the modifications and the amount of money earned in the return of the extra work done. As a wrong estimation of the additional cost may lead to an atrocious financial impact on the office and dramatic consequences. Professional interview method was used to collect data from four different Lebanese consultant offices. Eleven projects were selected in this study. These projects were categorized into three different groups based on the initial cost of the structural design. A regression model that can be used to forecast the cost of extra work for modifications based on the initial design cost was derived in this study. The outcome of this study will simplify the forecasting of cost of any modification in construction projects.