FACTORS INFLUENCING QUALITY OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; A CASE OF KASARANI CONSTITUENCY IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA
FACTORS INFLUENCING QUALITY OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; A CASE OF KASARANI CONSTITUENCY IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA
Kennedy Kibuchi Kimaru - Master of Arts in Projects Planning and Management of the University of Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. Timothy Maitho - University of Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT
In the last few decades, the building construction industry has experienced challenges of quality which are complex and different. The building construction industry in Kenya has been associated with disruptions in quality therefore causing cost and time problems. Many of the quality challenges are a product of inadequate planning. In Kenya, there have been reports of poor administration of residential building construction projects, a superfluous surge in project usage lacking organization and budgetary arrangements, and exorbitant project management. The collapse of residential buildings has been reported severally, especially in the capital city of Nairobi. The purpose of the study was to assess the factors influencing quality of residential building construction projects in Kasarani Constituency of Nairobi County. The following specific objectives guided the research; to assess the influence of construction equipment, project funding, project management, and modern technology on quality of residential building construction projects in Kasarani Constituency of Nairobi County. The study adopted a descriptive research design targeting practitioners in the residential building construction industry including architects, structural engineers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, land surveyors, quantity surveyors, construction project managers and private developers. The sample size was 385 respondents, and the non-probability sampling technique was used in the study. Data collection in the study was done by administering questionnaires and carrying out interviews. Descriptive statistics, such as frequency, means, percentage and standard deviation, were used to interpret the data. A regression analysis was conducted in order to show how construction equipment, project funding, project management and modern technology influence quality of residential building construction projects in Kasarani Consituency of Nairobi County. The key finding of the study was that there was a positive and significant correlation between construction equipment (r=0.695, p-value <0.05); project funding (r=0.831, p-value <0.05); project management (r=0.776, p-value <0.05) as well as modern technology (r=0.743, p-value <0.05) on quality of residential building construction projects in Kasarani constituency of Nairobi County. This implied that the nature of construction equipment, the level of project funding and project management as well as the level of application of modern technology were positive determinants of quality of residential building construction projects in Kasarani constituency of Nairobi County. The recommendations are that the right construction equipment should be used in the construction of residential buildings. Competent project managers should be engaged to manage the residential building construction projects. The clients and contractors should have enough cash flow to execute projects. Appropriate technologies such as Building Information Modelling should be adopted quickly in the residential building construction sector to minimize errors, and improve quality of works.
