A Study of critical success factors affecting construction quality in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The word "Quality" has different meanings. One of the most accepted definitions for quality in the construction industry is client satisfaction. Identification and quantification of quality factors become a necessity to control and assure quality in any construction project. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify and quantify the critical factors affecting construction quality in Sri Lanka. A systematic procedure was used to identify factors affecting construction quality and narrow them down into a meaningful and manageable list. The factors that affect construction quality were then quantified and arranged according to their importance. A desk study and questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the possible quality factors and Cause and Effect analysis, Relative Important Index and Analytic Hierarchy Process tools were applied to analyze data and prioritize the critical quality factors. According to the analysis, materials category is the most important quality category followed by manpower, methods and machines. Material selection, site management, quality assurance and control system, manner of execution of work are the most critical quality factors within materials, manpower, methods and machines categories respectively.