# Critical Factors behind Construction Delay in Petrochemical Projects in Saudi Arabia
## 7 Discussion of the Results
### RII Ranking  
The gathered data were analyzed to develop the Relative Importance Index (RII) and Frequency Adjusted Importance Index (FAIL). If the number is high, that means the high importance level of the cause factor and vice versa. Table 4 illustrated both RII values and the ranks of those potential delay factors rated using five scales for the impact level. The Relative importance index (RII) equation was used to generate these values. Then, the generated values were ranked from highest to lowest to identify the top five factors having the highest RII value. The list below shows the top potential factors listed in order from the highest to lowest from the top five:  
1. Delays in material or equipment delivery. 2. Poor site management and supervision by contractors. 3. Poor planning and scheduling of projects by the contractor. 4. Long time for approval and decision making by owner. 5. Delays in getting work permits. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**S/n**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Potential Delay Factor**} & \multicolumn{8}{c}{**Impact Level**} \\ \cline{3-8}  & & **1** & **2** & **3** & **4** & **5** & **Total Response** \\ \hline
1 & Poor site management and supervision by contractors. & 3 & 19 & 43 & 21 & 4 & 90 \\
2 & Conflict between main contractor and subcontractor. & 11 & 29 & 38 & 8 & 4 & 90 \\
3 & Poor planning and scheduling of projects by the contractor. & 7 & 24 & 33 & 17 & 9 & 90 \\
4 & Delays in material or equipment delivery. & 4 & 17 & 40 & 20 & 9 & 90 \\
5 & Delays in handing over the construction site to the contractor. & 3 & 35 & 37 & 10 & 5 & 90 \\
6 & Shortage of skilled laborers for the contractor. & 12 & 14 & 34 & 25 & 5 & 90 \\
7 & Weather effects. & 20 & 23 & 38 & 7 & 2 & 90 \\
8 & Changes of scope/design during construction. & 4 & 27 & 39 & 16 & 4 & 90 \\
9 & Delays in getting work permits. & 3 & 17 & 32 & 22 & 16 & 90 \\
10 & Lack of effective communication between the parties involved. & 5 & 29 & 32 & 22 & 2 & 90 \\
11 & Inaccurate design drawings/ documents by the designer. & 11 & 22 & 37 & 18 & 2 & 90 \\
12 & Lack of experience and knowledge of contractor staff. & 9 & 31 & 29 & 18 & 3 & 90 \\
13 & Rework due to errors during construction. & 8 & 35 & 29 & 14 & 4 & 90 \\
14 & Delays in progress payment by owner. & 25 & 30 & 25 & 6 & 4 & 90 \\
15 & Government and political related issues. & 37 & 29 & 15 & 6 & 3 & 90 \\
16 & Delays in contractor payment to sub-contractors and suppliers. & 14 & 28 & 38 & 5 & 5 & 90 \\
17 & Long time for approval and decision making by owner. & 6 & 21 & 37 & 19 & 7 & 90 \\
18 & Shortage of materials or equipment. & 18 & 24 & 37 & 10 & 1 & 90 \\
19 & Unforeseen (unexpected) site conditions. & 22 & 32 & 29 & 6 & 1 & 90 \\
20 & Wrong construction methods. & 26 & 32 & 26 & 5 & 1 & 90 \\
21 & Inflation and escalation of material prices. & 24 & 32 & 29 & 4 & 1 & 90 \\
22 & Delays related to sub-contractors’ work. & 7 & 29 & 41 & 11 & 2 & 90 \\
23 & Low productivity by contractor labor. & 10 & 24 & 42 & 11 & 3 & 90 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: _Cont._ \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**S/n**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Potential Delay Factor**} & \multicolumn{8}{c}{**Impact Level**} \\ \cline{3-8}  & & **1** & **2** & **3** & **4** & **5** & **Total Response** \\ \hline
16 & Delay in contractor payment to sub-contractors and suppliers. & 6 & 13 & 38 & 20 & 13 & 90 \\
17 & Long time for approval and decision making by owner. & 2 & 2 & 27 & 33 & 26 & 90 \\
18 & Shortage of materials or equipment. & 3 & 7 & 29 & 38 & 13 & 90 \\
19 & Unforeseen (unexpected) site conditions. & 2 & 15 & 35 & 29 & 9 & 90 \\
20 & Wrong construction methods. & 3 & 17 & 28 & 31 & 11 & 90 \\
21 & Inflation and escalation of material prices. & 4 & 12 & 45 & 22 & 7 & 90 \\
22 & Delays related to sub-contractors’ work. & 3 & 9 & 29 & 42 & 7 & 90 \\
23 & Low productivity by contractor labor. & 4 & 8 & 24 & 44 & 10 & 90 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}