The Investigation of the Role of RFID in Mitigating Delay Factors in Construction Projects

Abstract

The examination of factors that delay construction projects is essential to project management. This study examined the effects of the potential delay factors on projects’ completion time, using Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tools part of Internet of things (IoT) as a moderator variable in the model. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out and data from 466 respondents were collected from the population of four provinces in northern Iraq (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja). Stratified random sampling was applied amongst the three groups of owners, supervisors, and contractors, and the resulting data were analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that management-related issues had the strongest effect on the dependent variable, and the external issues had the weakest effect. Also, IoT technology negatively moderated between the independent and dependent variables. The research consequently suggests some mitigation strategies to reduce the delay factors in construction projects.

Keywords

• construction projects
• delay factors
• RFID
• IoT
• moderator
• focus group