The study examined the performance of the Safira Gold Mansion two-story Appenzelle housing project using Earned Value Management (EVM), an analytical approach that evaluates project progress by combining cost performance and schedule performance into one framework. The results suggest that construction projects may appear financially controlled on paper while experiencing hidden inefficiencies during implementation.
The findings are relevant for housing developers, project managers, and policymakers as residential construction continues to expand in Indonesia’s urban and suburban areas.
Why Housing Project Performance Matters
Residential construction remains one of the major contributors to economic activity and urban growth in Indonesia. Medium-scale housing developments increasingly adopt phased construction systems, where homes are built after sales are secured rather than simultaneously.
While this model reduces upfront investment pressure, it introduces new management challenges. Construction progress becomes uneven between units, material delivery schedules become harder to coordinate, and labor utilization becomes less predictable.
The project analyzed in this study reflected these conditions.
According to project records reviewed by the researchers, the development experienced delays linked to material availability, labor constraints, interruptions during finishing work, and reduced effective working days. These operational conditions created differences between planned progress and actual implementation.
By week 43 of construction, cumulative project progress had reached only 33.72 percent, while the original target had been 57.10 percent. That created a schedule deviation of 23.38 percentage points.
Turning Construction Data Into Project Performance Insights
To understand the scale of the problem, the research team analyzed project documents rather than conducting surveys or experiments.
The study used a quantitative evaluation design based on secondary project data, including:
- Planned and actual S-curves
- Project scheduling records
- Budget planning documents
- Actual cost realization reports
- Weekly progress monitoring reports
The researchers then applied Earned Value Management to compare planned work, completed work, and actual spending over time.
Instead of relying on traditional project tracking methods that examine only costs or only schedules, the analysis connected both dimensions simultaneously to estimate overall project health.
This allowed the team to identify whether spending efficiency matched physical construction progress.
Cost Performance Fell Below Expected Levels
The analysis found that the project’s cost efficiency weakened significantly as implementation progressed.
At week 43, the Cost Performance Index (CPI) reached 0.64.
In project performance analysis, a CPI value below 1 indicates that the project is spending more money than the value of work being successfully delivered.
The study also reported a negative Cost Variance (CV) of Rp149.53 billion.
That result indicates cost overrun conditions, meaning actual project expenditure exceeded the value generated by completed work.
Additional forecasting using Estimate at Completion (EAC) showed that final project spending was expected to rise beyond the original project budget.
Several factors contributed to this outcome:
- Increased operational expenses caused by schedule delays
- Higher implementation costs during construction stages
- Suboptimal utilization of project resources
- Uneven construction progress across housing units
The project used a phased development model, meaning not all housing units progressed at the same speed. At the observed stage, only part of the planned housing inventory had reached completion.
A Broader Lesson for the Construction Industry
The study highlights an important shift in how project performance should be evaluated.
Construction projects are often judged by visible progress or budget absorption alone. However, the researchers argue that these indicators can overlook hidden inefficiencies that accumulate over time.
Axel Prasetya Adoe and colleagues from Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya emphasized that project evaluation should integrate implementation data with cost and schedule indicators to represent actual field conditions more accurately.
Their interpretation suggests that performance measurement becomes more useful when operational realities such as labor delays, vendor issues, and uneven construction sequencing are considered alongside numerical indicators.
For housing developers, the findings suggest stronger coordination between procurement, scheduling, and workforce planning.
For construction managers, integrated monitoring may improve early detection of delays and budget pressure.
For policymakers and infrastructure stakeholders, the study reinforces the importance of data-driven project control systems that support more efficient delivery of housing developments.
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