Critical Factors Influencing Quality Performance in Construction Projects

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1 Critical Factors Influencing Quality Performance in Construction Projects Chinchu Mary Jose 1, Ambili S 2 1 M Tech scholar,department of Civil Engineering,MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, Malappuram, Kerala, India 2 Assistant Professor,Department of Civil Engineering,MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, Malappuram, Kerala, India Abstract:Quality is one of the important aspects of all projects. Quality in construction cannot exist without a project and a construction project cannot exist without quality. The quality of a product or service can be its ability to ensure complete customer satisfaction and will depend upon the use of product. The main objective of this paper is to identify the critical factors affecting quality performance in construction projects and to suggest ways to improve the quality performance of construction projects. A preliminary survey identified 75 attributes responsible to impact quality performance of the projects. Statistical analysis of questionnaire responses on the attributes resulted into two distinct sets of success and failure attributes. Using factor analysis in SPSS found critical success and failure factors affecting quality performance of construction projects. Keywords: construction industry, quality performance, questionnaire survey, success factors, failure factors, neutral factors I. INTRODUCTION Construction projects are highly increasing in India. The level of success of construction projects greatly depends on the quality performance. Quality is one of the critical factors in the success of construction project. The concept of construction project development may be impaired without a good knowledge and successful management of the impact of environmental factors influencing the performance of such projects. In the realm of project management, the schedule, cost and quality achievement is also referred to as the iron triangle. Out of these three aspects, it is the achievement of schedule and cost compliances that the project management is attending to most of the time. This results in a half-hearted attempt to achieve quality at project sites. In order to achieve the schedule and cost objectives, project quality is sometimes also overlooked. Helping the construction companies to identify the critical attributes responsible for achieving the desired quality level (success factors) and also to find the attributes adversely affecting the project quality (failure factors) has been the motivating factor behind this study. It is realized that maximization of the success factors and minimization of failure factors will ensure the construction industry realizes its quality goals. Realizing these aspects, the present study was undertaken to suggest ways to improve quality as well as to take care of certain critical factors that may lead to loss of quality. II. LITERATURE REVIEW Collins (1996) describes quality as the world s oldest documented profession. Quality professionals use a number of definitions to define project quality. Quality in its simplest form can be defined as: meeting the customer s expectations, or compliance with customer s specification [1]. Barnes (1987) emphasizes that the control of the performance of the installation, building or engineering structure DOI : /IJRTER MTNWS 65

2 should be managed in the same way as the management of time and cost [2]. Jha (2009) found that, out of the five commonly used project performance criteria compliances to schedule, cost, quality, nodispute and safety the quality compliance has come second next to schedule compliance [3]. Edwards (2007) has emphasized that there always has been a difficulty to measure and observe the qualitative aspects of the building because of cultural bias, subjectivity and varied backgrounds of both evaluator and end user [4]. Anderson (1992) has discussed about the importance of quality and its related management practices in a construction project and has also mentioned about the criticality of those practices in ensuring successful project performance [5]. Tam and Le (2007) emphasize that quality must be given equal importance as scope, time and cost and if the project s stake holders are not satisfied with the quality of the project management or the end product, the project team should modify the scope, time and cost so as to meet the stakeholder s requirements. Also it is the responsibility of the project team to have a good rapport in particular with the main customers and see to that the concept of quality is thoroughly understood. The reason behind the failure of many technical projects is that the project team focuses only on meeting the written requirements of many products and ignores the needs and expectations of stakeholders [6]. Jha and Iyer (2006) observed that delivering projects of poor quality may result in loss of productivity, additional expenditures due to rework and repair etc. in the short term and in the long term can drastically bring down the reputation of the company. Hence it is very important for the companies to monitor the quality performance of the construction project during the course of the project [7]. Pheng (2004), through case studies, has shown that total quality management (TQM) a successful management philosophy in the manufacturing and service industry could be replicated in the construction industry with similar benefits. The benefits may be in terms of reduction in quality costs, and better employee job satisfaction [8]. Chua et al. (1999) have developed a hierarchical model for construction project success for different project objectives. For quality objectives they find that it is influenced by four main project aspects, namely, project characteristics, contractual arrangements, project participants, and interactive processes [9]. III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To identify and evaluate various factors affecting the quality performance of construction projects. To identify the critical factors affecting quality performance of construction projects. IV. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the study, a huge amount of documented data on completed projects was required. Owing to the non-availability of documented data on completed projects in India, a questionnaire survey approach was considered to find the impacts of various attributes on quality performance. 4.1 Data Collection Method On the basis of previous studies on factors influencing quality performance in construction projects 65 factors are identified. These factors were identified through several literature surveys and suggestions from experienced persons. A questionnaire is prepared using these factors. The questionnaire is distributed among construction experts. The response were measured using a Likert scale system ranging from 1 referring to adversely affecting the quality, 2 to significantly affecting the quality 3 to marginally affecting the quality, 4 to No effect, and 5 to helps in improving the quality.this research is based entirely on the responses received from the selected construction engineering experts. A total of 60 questionnaires were distributed to construction experts. The responses were analyzed using SPSS software. The mean responses on the attributes can be All Rights Reserved 66

3 as the indicators of effectiveness of the attributes. In the present study it is assumed that if the mean score of responses for any attribute is significantly greater than 4.5, that attribute contributes positively to the success of the project and it is named as a success attribute and, conversely, if the mean score is significantly less than 3.5 then it causes a negative impact and is named as a failure attribute. However, an attribute with a mean score falling between 3.5 and 4.5 can be considered as neutral as it would have neither positive nor negative impact. The mean values of the responses on each of the attributes based are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Mean scores of the response ratings Sl.No Factors influencing quality performance Mean value 1 Coordinating ability and rapport of PM with owner representatives Authority to take day to day decisions by the PM s team at site Commitment of all parties to the project Understanding of responsibilities by various project participants Project manager s authority to take financial decision Coordinating ability and rapport of PM with other contractors at site Project manager s technical capability Scope and nature of work well defined in the tender Positive attitude of PM, and project participants Training the human resources in the skill demanded by the project Construction control meetings Ability to delegate authority to various members of his team by PM Leadership quality of PM Negative attitude of PM, and project participants Poor human resource management and labor strike Mismatch in capabilities of client and architect Vested interest of client representative in not getting the project completed in time Holding key decisions in abeyance Conflicts among team members Reluctance in timely decision by top management Conflicts between PM and top management Top management s backing up the plans and identify critical activities Top management s enthusiastic support to the PM and project team Understanding operational difficulties by the owner, engineer thereby taking appropriate decisions Availability of resources as planned throughout the project duration Effective monitoring and feedback by the project team members Developing and maintaining a short and informal line of communication among project team Timely decision by the owner or his engineer Hostile social environment Hostile political & economic environment Harsh climatic condition at the site Inadequate project formulation in the beginning Urgency emphasized by the owner while issuing tender All Rights Reserved 67

4 34 Selection of PM with proven track record at an early stage by top management Delegating authority to project manager by top management Developing and maintaining a short and informal line of communication among project team Construction control meetings Ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques by PM Reluctance in timely decision by PM Lack of understanding of operating procedure by the PM Coordinating ability and rapport of PM with top management Tendency to pass on the blame to others Project completion date specified but not yet planned by the owner Conflicts between PM and top management Monitoring and feedback by client Monitoring and feedback by top management Timely decision by the owner or his engineer Ability to delegate authority to various members of his team by PM Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical knowhow Size and value of the project being large Effective monitoring and feedback by PM Effective monitoring and feedback by the project team members Favorable climatic condition at the site Commitment of all parties to the project Conflicts between PM and other outside agency such as owner, subcontractor or other contractors Conflicts among team members Leadership quality of PM Aggressive competition at tender stage Selecting key team members Conformance to codes and standards Selection of contractor Selection of designer Completeness and consistency of design documents Availability of good quality construction materials Labor management system Using labor with high experience Income level and wages of labor Implement quality control and assurance system Feedback system Execution Financial problems arise during construction Revision of plan & schedules frequently Maintenance of equipments properly Adoption of latest techniques on site Clear procedure for accepting performed activities All Rights Reserved 68

5 V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Based on the mean scores of the response ratings, the identified factors influencing the quality performance construction project is divided into success attributes, failure attributes and neutral attributes. The identified success attributes are: 1. Coordinating ability and rapport of PM with owner representatives, contractors at site 2. Authority to take day to day decisions by the PM s team at site 3. Commitment of all parties to the project 4. Understanding of responsibilities by various project participants 5. Project manager s authority to take financial decision 6. Availability of good quality construction materials 7. Project manager s technical capability 8. Scope and nature of work well defined in the tender 9. Positive attitude of PM, and project participants 10. Training the human resources in the skill demanded by the project 11. Favorable climatic condition at the site 12. Construction control meetings 13. Leadership quality of PM 14. Top management s backing up the plans and identify critical activities 15. Availability of resources as planned throughout the project duration 16. Top management s enthusiastic support to the PM and project team 17. Availability of resources as planned throughout the project duration 18. Effective monitoring and feedback by the project team members 19. Developing and maintaining a short and informal line of communication among project team 20. Timely decision by the owner or his engineer 21. Selection of PM with proven track record at an early stage by top management 22. Delegating authority to project manager by top management 23. Developing and maintaining a short and informal line of communication among project team 24. Ability to delegate authority to various members of his team by PM 25. Coordinating ability and rapport of PM with top Monitoring and feedback by top management 26. Timely decision by the owner or his engineer 27. Ability to delegate authority to various members of his team by PM 28. Effective monitoring and feedback by PM 29. Effective monitoring and feedback by the project team members 30. Monitoring and feedback by client 31. Commitment of all parties to the project 32. Leadership quality of PM 33. Selecting key team members 34. Conformance to codes and standards 35. Selection of contractor 36. Selection of designer 37. Completeness and consistency of design documents 38. Availability of good quality construction materials 39. Using labor with high experience 40. Income level and wages of All Rights Reserved 69

6 41. Implement quality control and assurance system 42. Feedback system 43. Execution 44. Maintenance of equipments properly 45. Adoption of latest techniques on site International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering & Research (IJRTER) The identified failure attributes are: 1. Negative attitude of PM, and project participants 2. Poor human resource management and labor strike 3. Harsh climatic condition at the site 4. Vested interest of client representative in not getting the project completed in time 5. Holding key decisions in abeyance 6. Conflicts among team members, PM and Top management 7. Reluctance in timely decision by top management 8. Conflicts between PM and top management 9. Mismatch in the interest between engineer and architect 10. Inadequate project formulation in the beginning 11. Urgency emphasized by the owner while issuing tender 12. Ignorance of appropriate planning tools and techniques by PM 13. Reluctance in timely decision by PM 14. Lack of understanding of operating procedure by the PM 15. Tendency to pass on the blame to others 16. Project completion date specified but not yet planned by the owner 17. Conflicts between PM and top management 18. Conflicts between PM and other outside agency such as owner, sub-contractor or other contractors 19. Conflicts among team members 20. Aggressive competition at tender stage 21. Financial problems arise during construction The identified neutral attributes are: 1. Understanding operational difficulties by the owner, engineer thereby taking appropriate decisions 2. Hostile social environment 3. Hostile political & economic environment 4. Uniqueness of the project activities requiring high technical know-how 5. Size and value of the project being large 6. Labor management system 7. Revision of plan & schedules frequently 8. Clear procedure for accepting performed activities The neutral attributes are eliminated as these factors are assumed to have no effect on the quality performance of a construction project. Factor analysis was performed separately on 45 success attributes and 21 failures attributes. Initially, the extracted factors were all orthogonal to each other in nature, were not amenable to interpretation. Therefore, an oblique rotation of the reference axes, called varimax rotation was performed and All Rights Reserved 70

7 factors and their corresponding loadings were obtained. In the first case (for success attributes) ten of the factors explain a total of % of the variance whereas for the second case (for failure attributes) seven of the factors explain a total of % variance and those factors can be called as the critical factors influencing quality performance of a construction project. Fig. 1 explains the total variance of success factors and Fig. 2 explains the total variance of failure factors. Fig.1 Variance explained by success attributes: Fig.2 Variance explained by failure attributes. The reliability of the factor model was also checked with the communalities of each variable. Communalities of all the variables are found to be much greater than 0.3 that signifies that the factor model is reliable for the study. Owing to the higher level of variance showed by the factors extracted and the reliability of the factor analysis exhibited by the communality, the factor results were relied upon. VI. CONCLUSIONS Compliance with quality specifications is an important performance measure of any construction project. The repercussions and consequences of poor quality can be a loss in productivity; additional expenditure by way of rework and repair; loss of reputation, leading to loss in market share; and eventually being put out of business. To help companies cope with the quality demands imposed by customers, through attending to the attributes affecting the quality of construction projects, has been the motivation behind this study. Through interviews of construction professionals and by searching the relevant literature, 75 project attributes were compiled. Out of these 75 attributes, 45 attributes were referred to as success attributes in the study which helps to achieve the desired quality, 8 All Rights Reserved 71

8 referred to as neutral attributes in the study which will have no effect on quality, whereas the presence of 21 failure attributes were found which may affect adversely to the achievement of the desired quality performance. The conclusions derived from the study are given below. Negative attitude of PM, and project participants, poor human resource management and labor strike, harsh climatic condition at the site, vested interest of client representative in not getting the project completed in time, holding key decisions in abeyance, conflicts among team members, PM and top management, reluctance in timely decision by top management are found to adversely affect the quality performances of projects. The extent of the contribution of various success factors varies with the performance ratings of the project. Coordinating ability and rapport of PM with owner representatives, contractors at site is observed to be the most significant factor at almost all levels of the quality performance rating. The other two factors that have a significant contribution in improving the project quality are found to be Authority to take day to day decisions by the PM s team at site and Commitment of all parties to the project. of the other success factors contributing to the quality performance of a construction project is identified to be understanding of responsibilities by various project participants, project manager s authority to take financial decision, availability of good quality construction materials, project manager s technical capability, scope and nature of work well defined in the tender, positive attitude of PM, and project participants, training the human resources in the skill demanded by the project. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Authors like to express sincere gratitude to our principal Dr. V H Abdul Salam for providing such quality facilities in our esteemed institution for our paper. Authors extend sincere gratitude to all teaching and non-teaching staffs for their valuable advice and help to move forward with the paper. REFERENCES 1. Kumar Neeraj Collins, Jr., F. C. (1996) Quality: The Ball in your Court (New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw-Hill). Drucker, P. F. (1969) Concept of the Corporation (Boston, MA: Beacon Press). 2. Barnes, M. (1987) Construction Project Management, Seminar on Construction Project Management, October, London, UK 3. K.N. Jha & C.T. Chockalingam (2009) Prediction of quality performance using artificial neural networks, Evidence from Indian construction projects Journal of Advances in Management Research, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2009, pp Edwards, S.R. (2007), Modelling perceptions of building quality a neural network approach, Building and Environment, Vol. 42, pp Anderson, S.D. (1992), Project quality and project managers, International Journal of Project Management, pp Tam, V.W.Y. and Le, K.N. (2007), Quality improvement in construction industry by using a Vandermonde interpolation technique, International Journal of Construction Management, Vol. 25, pp K. N. Jha & K. C. Iyer (2006) Critical Factors Affecting Quality Performance in Construction Projects Total Quality Management, Vol. 17, No. 9, , November Pheng, L.S. (2004), Implementing total quality management in construction firms, ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp Chua, D.K.H., Kog, Y.C. and Loh, P.K. (1999), Critical success factors for different project objectives, ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 125 No. 3, pp. All Rights Reserved 72