Dear participant

Oil & Gas industry has been the main source for Oman national income and its
projects have increased in the past years. Delivering projects on time and Budget is
vital to ensure production sustainability. Unfortunately, some projects have not met
its targets.

The below academic Survey is being conducted as part of a research program enrolled,
, in order to highlight the major causes of project performance setbacks and how to
improve project targets .
All answers are subject to privacy and will be used exclusively for the research
purpose only. There is no right or wrong answer and if a question you are not sure of ,
please answer with your best judgment or just skip it.

Thank you for time, your valuable feedback is appreciated.

If any clarification is needed, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime.
Sincerely

Ahmed, 98081114
 THE QUESIONNAIRE

1. Age:

2. Gender:

3. Education:

High school Diploma Bachelor Master Doctorate

4. How long is your Work Experience:

5. Job title:

6. Department:
Engineering Procurement Construction Commissioning Operation
Other

1. How many employees of the company are:

2. What is the Company status:

Public Private Joint Venture
 3. Project profile :

Please fill in the table below :

Project Name

Project category

Capex

Project type

Contract Strategy
Time overnn
period

Cost overrun

Examples to fill in the table:

A. Project category: Oil & Gas production station (upstream) , LNG, Pipelines
Refineries and Petrochemical plants (downstream)

B. How much the Capex of the project:

< $50 mln < $100 mln < $200 mln >$200 mln
C. Project type involved:
Brown (project with existing facility) Green ( brand new):
D. What strategy of contract of the project: EPC EP+C E+P+C

E. How much overrun they suffer:

Time overun (months or years or %):
Budget overrun ($ or %) :
Please indentify the level of importance for each of the following
factors that affect schedule performance in a project, time
overrun.,
Time overrun: the project exceeds its planned finish date

1. Not important : such factor plays no role in project time and cost
performance.

2. Slightly important : such factor is minor important for project

time and cost performance .

3. Moderate important: such factor is medium important for project

time and cost performance.

4. Important: such factor is essential but not extremely vital for

project time and cost performance.

5. Very important: such factor is extremely vital for project time and
cost performance.
Statement Not Slightly Moderate Important Very
important important important
Please indicate level of important:

1. Factors that affect time overrun only:

A: Management :
1. Slow decision making by owners

2. Poor site management and

supervision(contractor)
3. Management of Subcontractor

4. Poor understanding of scope of work during

tendering (contractor )

5. Inappropriate construction methods

implemented

6. Conflicts among joint owners of the project

(for joint-venture projects)

B Contract Management

7. Ineffective ‘delay penalties’ or ‘incentives for

early delivery’

8. Selection of the lowest bidder for construction

contractor

9. Unrealistic contract durations imposed by

client

10. Unsuitable contract type( reimbursement ,

lump sum, etc)
11. Contract strategy (EPC,EP+C,E+P+C)
12. Complications and delay in the tendering
process
13. Mistakes and discrepancies in contract
documents

14. Poorly defined or vague scope of work

(contracts)
15. Poor definition of payment
milestones/distribution of cash flow
16. Poor definition of interfaces resulting in scope
 creep

C. Project Planning & Control

17. Ineffective planning and scheduling by the
main contractor
18. Poor management of contractor’s schedule
19. poor monitoring and control
20. Inadequate Quality assurance control
D. Safety

21. Accidents during construction – labor injuries

– Infectious disease (contractor)

22. Inadequate application of safety rules and

regulations by contractor

E. Communication:
23. Poor communication and coordination by
contractor with other Parties
24. Poor communication between site management
and labor force
25. Lack of communication between designers and
contractors
26. Lack of communication between client and
project team
27. Inadequate coordination among designers from
different disciplines
28. Poor interaction with vendors in the
engineering and procurement stages
2. Technical & Design
Factors:
29. Rework due to errors by contractor or sub-
contractor
30. The use of state of art technology and model in
construction: like 3D model
31. Inconsistence of technical specifications
32. Client interfaces
33. Clients' change orders — large quantities of
extra work
34. major changes in design during construction
35. Insufficient data collection and survey before
design
36. Imperfect data transmission to vendors for
long lead items
37. Lack of operation procedure
38. Mistakes and discrepancies in design
documents
39. Lack of involvement of operations and
maintenance staff in the design phase
40. Reengineering of different units caused by
poor basic design package
41. Delay in preparation and approval of drawings
during construction work
42. Low engineering completed before
construction start
43. late in reviewing and approving design
documents by owner
3.Finance Factors:
44. Variations and claims
45. Finance and payments of completed work by
client to main contractor.
46. Payment to subcontractor
47. Contractor's poor cash flow management
4.Resoruces Factors:
A. Materials & Equipments:

48. Delay in start of purchasing long-lead items

49. Contractor poor procurement managements
50. Delay in manufacturing long lead items
51. Quality and productivity of materials
52. Shortage in material & equipment
53. Slow delivery of materials

54. Low ability of contractor to provide imported

material
55. Non-adherence of material specifications –
provided by client –to drawings
56. Construction plant and equipment breakdowns
57. Poor inspection and testing of equipment and
material at supplier site
B. Human Resources:

58. Lack of ownership in the project (Design

contractor)
 59. Lack of leadership qualities in managers

60. Frequent change of client managers

61. Labor problems-personal conflicts — strikes
62. Low labor productivity
63. Low of Morale and motivation of the
workforce:
64. Inadequate main contractor experience
65. High turnover of skilled staff
66. Lack of experts in commissioning
67. Low experience of contractor in planning and
controlling
68. Lack of experience in inspection
69. Shortage of experienced & skilled Manpower
and qualified engineers
5 5.External Factors:
70. Unfamiliarity with government regulations and
laws
71. Changes in government regulations and laws
72. Obtaining permits from governmental
organization
73. Effect of social and cultural factors
74. Changes in market conditions
75. Excessive bureaucracy in project owner
operation
76. Vandalism — robbery
77. Unforeseen ground conditions & Weather
condition

Factors that affect Cost

Overrun only

Please indentify the level of

 importance for each of the
following factors that affect
Budget performance in a project ,
cost overrun.
Cost overrun: the project exceeds
its planned allocated budget
78. Slow decision making by owners
79. Management of Subcontractor
80. Poor understanding of scope of work during
tendering (contractor )
81. Inappropriate construction methods
implemented
82. Selection of the lowest bidder for construction
contractor
83. Contract strategy (EPC,EP+C,E+P+C)
84. Unsuitable contract type( reimbursement ,
lump sum, etc)
85. Complications and delay in the tendering
process
86. Mistakes and discrepancies in contract
documents
87. Poorly defined or vague scope of work
(contracts)
88. Poor management of contractor’s schedule
89. Inadequate Quality assurance control
90. Poor communication and coordination within
all stakeholders:
91. Rework due to errors by contractor or sub-
contractor
92. Clients' change orders — large quantities of
extra work
93. major changes in design during construction
94. Mistakes and discrepancies in design
documents
95. Mistakes during construction stage — wrong
jobs
96. Low engineering completed before
construction start
97. Variations and claims
98. Finance and payments of completed work by
client
99. Payment to subcontractor
100. Contractor's poor cash flow management
101. Quality of material
102. Shortage in material & equipments
103. Slow delivery of materials & equipment
104. Construction plant and equipment breakdowns
105. Delay in start of purchasing long-lead items
106. Inadequate contractor experience
107. Shortage of experienced & skilled Manpower
and qualified engineers
108. Labor problems-personal conflicts — strikes
109. Low labor productivity
110. High turnover of skilled staff
111. Changes in government regulations and laws
112. Changes in market conditions
113. Excessive bureaucracy in project owner
operation
114. Instability of the US dollar
115. Inaccurate cost estimation
116. price fluctuations of construction materials &
equipment
117. Additional works
118. High interest rates charged by the banks on
loans received by the contractor
119. High cost of labor
120. Number of construction Going on at the same
time
121. High cost of machinery and its maintenance
122. Economic instability
123. Insurance cost
124. Contractual claims
125. Severe overtime
126. Currency exchange

Additional:
 When a project is delayed or exceeded Never Rarely Sometimes Very Alwa
its planned budget , there are effects often ys
take place , Other than (time overrun
and cost overrun)

Please indentify the level of

frequency for each of the
following effects as a result of
time and budget over run in a
project.

127. Dispute :
disagreement mainly between Client
and main contractor.

128. Arbitration:

process to solve the dispute by the

hands of a third party without going to
legal courts
129. Litigation:

process to solve the dispute by going to

legal courts
130. Total Abandonment:
Discontinue the progress of the project,
not completing it temporality or
permanently.
131. Reduced profit
132. Penalties
133. Loss of reputation of main construction
contractor:
134. Reduction in project Quality
 Additional :

What are the success factors of

good performance in Mega
projects?

In order for a project performance to

be successful, meeting its target of
schedule and budget, what do you
think the successful factors, models and
frame work that essential to be
implemented

Please indentify the level of

importance for each of the
following key enablers for a
successful project delivery
F: Success factors:

 What are the successful factors for a Not Slightly Moderate Important Very
important important import
better performance in Mega projects ant
in Oil and gas sector in Oman?

135. Better utilization of Lesson learned from past

 projects

136. Creating the one Team one goal spirit between

contractors , Vendors and the client
137. Clarity of the project scope and definition:
138. The use of state of the art modeling for the
Project.
139. Engage experienced contractors and
consultant.
140. Awarding bids to the best contractor not to the
lowest bidder
141. Efficient contract management.( controlling
the additional work and by having a
comprehensive contract document)
142. Specify a realistic contract period for the
contractor.
143. Efficient construction planning by the main
contractor.
144. Efficient site management and supervision.
145. Efficient quality management system.
146. Speed up the site activities by the use of the
sub-contractors.
147. Timely response to contractor’s inquiries.
148. Accurate initial cost estimates
149. Detailed design within the planned schedule
150. Regular progress meeting.
151. Leadership skills of key personnel as well as
the sense of ownership
152. Set KPIs weekly for the main contractor
153. Efficiency and effectiveness of Management of
change
154. Early contractors involvement in the project
155. Early involvement of vendors in the design
stage
156. Focusing on a holistic approach of the
schedule rather than on the completion of
individual activities
157. Effective tracking of in-progress schedule
deviations.
158. Resources availability ( Manpower &
Materials)
159. The use of pre-fabrication process for piping
and steel materials and manage them properly.
160. Pay progress payment to the contractor on time
161. Identify and order long lead items early
162. Clear definition of roles / responsibilities /
accountabilities for work force
163. Presence of Commissioning and Operations
representatives during Detailed design Phase
164. Presence of active Interface between
engineering, construction and operations
165. Provide platforms for technical clarification
and Minimize the delay in responding to them
166. Effective risk allocation and control

167. Additional:

1. Do you think project type (brown or green) affect project targets?

YES NO
2. Which one is more likely to suffer time and cost overrun ?

Brown ( a project in a existing facility) or Green ( a project in new field))

3. Which contract strategy is more likely to suffer from time and cost overrun ?
EPC EP+C
4. Which contract type is more likely to suffer from time and cost overrun ?
Lump sum Reimbursement others:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR VALUABLE INPUT