Monsoon risks for construction sites in India

Monsoon is a major weather phenomenon and has a substantial impact on construction activities in India. In this paper an attempt has been made in developing a frame work for objective assessment of the impacts of monsoon for building works. A study has been made for a housing project which were at various stages of constructions during the monsoon. Time and cost data were collected from the contractor. Extra time for items like foundations which are sensitive to monsoon are assessed with reference to the existing weather records. Monte Carlos simulations were conducted to assess the impacts of time and cost that could be attributed to monsoon. It has been found that the monsoon has increased the project duration by about 5% and the cost by 12%. The study indicates that specific planning for monsoon impact for each project is a worthwhile proposition in cities like Kolkata, India.