LAUSR

Abstract With the rapid development in Sri Lanka, a number of highway projects are on the increase. Quite often, these projects suffer cost and time overruns predominantly because of variations. Although many studies have done on the root causes of variations, they have not been focused on proximate factors of variations that lead to disputes in Sri Lankan road projects. This study while taking a qualitative approach included a literature survey, a document review and 15 semi structured interviews with the use of three case studies on Grade 3 Road Projects administered by ICTAD Publication No. ICTAD/SBD/02, Second Edition January 2007, Standard Bidding Document for Procurement of Works. Findings were validated via three expert interviews. By analyzing data using content analysis, 16 root causes, 23 proximate causes and 10 major effects of variations were identified. Although disputes are inevitable, there are measures that can be employed to manage the disputes. The study recommends a best practice guideline with 15 approaches so as to reduce the number of variations which inter-alia include the preparation of proper documentation, reviewing of design and establishment of a proper mechanism itself for processing and evaluating variations.