Critical Factors Affecting Quality of Building Projects: Professionals Service Providers’ Perspectives

Abstract

Professional service providers play critical roles in achieving building project goals. They manage every complexity during construction activities to enhance competitiveness and sustainability in the construction industry. Notwithstanding, previous studies lacked in-depth explorations of professional service providers’ views on critical factors affecting the quality of building projects. Consequently, this paper evaluates critical factors that affect the quality of building projects from the professional service providers’ views. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire as an instrument of data collection. Various factors that can affect the quality of building projects garnered from extant literature were used to elicit the opinions of Architects, Structural Engineers, Mechanical/Electrical Engineers and Quantity Surveyors who were employed in specific clients’ projects. Severity and frequency responses of each factor were used to determine the importance index, and the ranking of factors among the professionals was determined. Percentage Rank Agreement Factor (PRAF) was used to measure the agreement of the importance ranking. One sample t-test and correlation analysis were used to determine the significance of each factor and the degree of relationships among the professionals. The findings from the research analysis revealed 30 significant factors affecting the quality of building projects. The top five most critical factors are ‘previous relationship with the client’, ‘client’s involvement in design process’, ‘client’s financial position’, ‘ability to choose the right design team’ and ‘new methods for service leverage’. The t-test showed that all the factors are significant towards ensuring quality building projects. A strong correlation exists between Architects and Quantity Surveyors, and between Architects and Structural Engineer. The Architects and M&E Engineers exhibited low correlation. Likewise, the correlation between the Structural Engineers and M&E Engineers was low. This study presents useful insight into the totality of quality from all stakeholders in the industry. It highlights factors that are key to achieving the desired quality of building projects.