Factors Influencing Change Orders in Horizontal Construction Projects: A Comparative Analysis of Unit Price and Lump Sum Contracts

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Khalafalla, Mohamed, Mulay, Tejal, Bernadin, Shonda L
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Khalafalla, Mohamed
Mulay, Tejal
Bernadin, Shonda L
author_facet Khalafalla, Mohamed
Mulay, Tejal
Bernadin, Shonda L
contents Change orders (COs) are a common occurrence in construction projects, leading to increased costs and extended durations. Design-Bid-Build (DBB) projects, favored by state transportation agencies (STAs), often experience a higher frequency of COs compared to other project delivery methods. This study aims to identify areas of improvement to reduce CO frequency in DBB projects through a quantitative analysis. Historical bidding data from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was utilized to evaluate five factors, contracting technique, project location, type of work, project size, and duration, on specific horizontal construction projects. Two DBB contracting techniques, Unit Price (UP) and Lump Sum (LS), were evaluated using a discrete choice model. The analysis of 581 UP and 189 LS projects revealed that project size, duration, and type of work had a statistically significant influence on the frequency of change orders at a 95% confidence level. The discrete choice model showed significant improvement in identifying the appropriate contract type for a specific project compared to traditional methods used by STAs. By evaluating the contracting technique instead of project delivery methods for horizontal construction projects, the use of DBB can be enhanced, leading to reduced change orders for STAs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_00281
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Factors Influencing Change Orders in Horizontal Construction Projects: A Comparative Analysis of Unit Price and Lump Sum Contracts
Khalafalla, Mohamed
Mulay, Tejal
Bernadin, Shonda L
General Economics
Economics
Change orders (COs) are a common occurrence in construction projects, leading to increased costs and extended durations. Design-Bid-Build (DBB) projects, favored by state transportation agencies (STAs), often experience a higher frequency of COs compared to other project delivery methods. This study aims to identify areas of improvement to reduce CO frequency in DBB projects through a quantitative analysis. Historical bidding data from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was utilized to evaluate five factors, contracting technique, project location, type of work, project size, and duration, on specific horizontal construction projects. Two DBB contracting techniques, Unit Price (UP) and Lump Sum (LS), were evaluated using a discrete choice model. The analysis of 581 UP and 189 LS projects revealed that project size, duration, and type of work had a statistically significant influence on the frequency of change orders at a 95% confidence level. The discrete choice model showed significant improvement in identifying the appropriate contract type for a specific project compared to traditional methods used by STAs. By evaluating the contracting technique instead of project delivery methods for horizontal construction projects, the use of DBB can be enhanced, leading to reduced change orders for STAs.
title Factors Influencing Change Orders in Horizontal Construction Projects: A Comparative Analysis of Unit Price and Lump Sum Contracts
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.00281