Interruptions and delays in a capital project

A huge amount of work has been done to find better ways of managing projects. But most projects still finish late and cost more than expected. This article looks at the reasons for delays in one capital project. Among the contributing factors were uncertainties about times, optimism in the planning stage, a lack of commitment to schedules, and an assumption that project managers could overcome any problems they met during execution. One important feature of this project was a planned break during the execution. Planners did not properly allow for the disruption this break would cause, and the project was soon eight weeks behind schedule.