The Need for a Structured Construction Clients’ Performance Assessment in Kenya
Gwaya Abednego1, Wanyona Githae2, Sylvester Munguti Masu3
1Gwaya Abednego , Lecturer- Construction Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) NAIROBI, KENYA.
2Wanyona Githae, Senior Lecturer- Construction Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) NAIROBI, KENYA.
3Sylvester Munguti Masu, Senior Lecturer- Real Estate and Construction Management, University of Nairobi (UON), NAIROBI, KENYA.
Manuscript received on December 08, 2014. | Revised Manuscript received on December 15, 2014. | Manuscript published on January 05, 2014. | PP: 47-51 | Volume-3 Issue-6, January 2014. | Retrieval Number: F1974013614/2014©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: In recent years there has been a tremendous increase of construction projects in Kenya. There has also been a growing concern among construction clients on why the industry is not achieving the stated objectives. Clients criticize the industry for not always achieving what they need and the majority of them are not satisfied with the quality of the construction industry. Many of the problems encountered in the design and construction phases originate from poor definition of scope and inadequate pre-project planning. Clients are very instrumental in the early stages of project definition and their input is very essential towards successful project execution. The main problems are frequently attributed to poor planning and poor identification of clients’ needs which act as contributory factors to inadequate project performance. One approach that could help improve construction project performance is to pay more attention to the role of clients in scope definition particularly at the initial stages of project implementation and also by having a structured client input and performance assessment criteria. The pre-project planning phase presents the best opportunity for clients to achieve their objectives because it is at this stage that they can express their needs properly. Despite their important role in construction projects there has not been much research on a structured assessment of the Clients’ role in construction projects. The main aim of this paper is to develop a framework for improving scope planning and management to enable construction clients overcome the problems they encounter with other project participants. The framework will enable construction clients in Kenya identify and communicate their needs more clearly to the other project participants. In recent years there has been a great concern over the performance of the construction industry in Kenya. For Instance there have been a number of accidents on construction sites. Buildings have been reported to have collapsed in Nairobi and Kiambu among other counties. However, the observed challenges are not unique to the Kenyan Situation. Sherif (2002) has indicated similar challenges in the UK. This has led to many reports being published there criticizing construction, stating that it is characterized by low achievement and low productivity and offering no solutions to overcome some of the stated problems.
Keywords: Modeling, project management, Scope.