1 | P a g e
Def ect w a st e p ro b le m i n t he co nst ruct io n I nd ust ry ! ! !
Collapse of buildings
Source Aljazeera News, 2019
Student Number: W19042969
Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering
Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE18ST, United
Kingdom
2 | P a g e
onstruction defect can be defined as a fault in design, the worship and material system which leads to project failure.
Collapse of buildings
Source: (Aljazeera News, 2019))
C
Generally, defects occur as a result of failure to follow required guidelines resulting to
financial, property and personal damages as argued by Robson, (2015). Construction defects
are usually hard to identify since only experts can analyze when a procedure is not correctly
followed (Waziri, 2016).
Types of construction defects
Design defects
Errors in designing
Source:(Katume, 2017))
Design defects occurs when engineers and architects make errors when
planning on how facilities are going to be constructed. The most likely losses
errors that might occur includes the water penetration plan, poor draining
system design and inadequate structural support leading to occurrence of
(Cogurcu2015).
3 | P a g e
Material defects
Material defects in projects
Source: (Hazem, 2017)
Workmanship
Source:(Levelset,2018)
Material defects occurs when inferiorproducts are
used during the construction. The material used in
construction projects is based on the requirement of
the end products. the higher the quality of the end
product, the higher the material quality that should
be used. The use of inferior products means that the
buildings and infrastructures cannot last for long
period ((Tayeh, et, al, 2017)
The interpretation of designs is important for the safety of the
occupants and users of buildings. Workmanship is a scenario
where construction is not undertaken as per the directions of the
designers. It results from misinterpretation of designs and pans
leasing to poor quality of buildings (Bagdiya&Wadalkar,2015)
4 | P a g e
How defects lead to wastages in the construction industry
Effects of defects in construction
Source:(LMT,2018)
In construction works, defects must be corrected otherwise, they might lead to greater losses in
future. The wastage in defects comes as a result of additional work that needs to be performed to
correct defects that are noted.
Financial wastages
Financially, organizations are forced to use more funds to undertake repairs as a result of additional
work to mend the effects of defects. Since projects are run under strict budgets, there is need for
project managers to ensure that the actual expenses do not exceed the budget. However, it is
difficult for project managers in construction project to ensure that budget is actualized since more
resources will be allocated in order to amend the defects.
Human resource wastage
In terms of human resources, organizations are made to committee more employees for repairs as
opposed to using the employees in undertaking other important stages of the projects. In presence of
defects in construction projects hence means that employees will be used to undertake repeat tasks
rather than undertaking progress tasks and advancing the projects (Dey, et al., 2017).
Time wastage
Construction projects are undertaking in consideration with a time plan. This means that project
managers are required to follow the project plans in order to deliver each milestone at the right
time. However, the presence of defects in the projects is likely to lead to delays in the process of
project management (Gulghane&Khandve, 2015). Since defects have to be solved immediately,
they are realized, time is used when trying to redo the work. This leads to time wastage and project
delay. Milestones cannot be reached at the required time since employees have to concentrate in
amending the defects to reduce risks of losses and accidents upon completion of the project (Tejale,
et al., 2015).
Material wastages
Before the commencement of projects, engineers and designers guide the
project managers in terms the required material when undertaking the
construction works. The control of material used is important as it ensures
that cost is controlled (Arshad, et al., 2017). However, defects call for
unplanned material to be used when redoing the construction work in order
to fix errors that occurred. This hence might lead to demolition of some
parts as the project managers try to fix problems associated with defects.
This results to the excess use of material than the planned for hence leading
to increase in project cost (Udawatta, et al., 2015)
5 | P a g e
Causes of defects in construction industry
Fishbone image of causes of defects in the construction industry
Source:(Ilie&Ciocoiu, 2010)
Generally, the causes of defects can be categorized in to six components as shown in the
above fishbone diagram.
Material
Material challenges that might lead to defects includes poorly stored material. Construction
material needs to be stored in a good manner that will minimize chances of destruction. Such
material includes metal which needs to be stored in places with less moisture to avoid
rusting. Other material such as cements, ballast and stones need to be safely stored in order
to avoid breakages and destruction by water as argued by (Jingmond&Ågren, 2015). The use
of expired material is also a challenge in the construction management and is likely to lead to
defects in the final products. such material includes paints, cements and other manufactured
commodities used in construction work. This is likely to affect the quality of the buildings.
Composition of components used in the building process might lead to defects in case
measurements are not done in the required way. A perfect example is the mixture of ballast,
sand and cements. Failure to ensure that material is well balanced is likely to lead to defects
in the buildings the use of expired material is also a challenge in the construction
management and is likely to lead to defects in the final products. such material includes
paints, cements and other manufactured commodities used in construction work. This is
likely to affect the quality of the buildings.
Measurement
Measurement in the building process is determined by the lay out designs. Workmanship is
very important when it comes to putting the layout design in to actuality. There is need to
ensure that scaling and estimations are done well to reduce chances of defects in size and
length (Choudhry, et al., 2017).
Machine
Machines are likely to lead to defects in case there is power failure. Such incidence might
cause delay and destruction. Human error where employees are required to feed the
machines might lead to the wrong results hence defects in the projects. There is also a risk in
wrong feed rate since construction machines depends on the instruction given by the
operators (Bagdiya&Wadalkar, 2015).
Employees
Generally, human aspects in the construction project is important since projects
are realized through the human resource efforts. However, defects might result
from inadequate training of the employees where they take a job without full
knowledge of what is required of them. The risk of human error is also likely to
lead to defects (Gamil& Rahman, 2017).
Environment
Environment in which buildings are established is likely to affect the
construction work.
Subsurface Moisture Incursion might affect the strength of buildings in terms of
its strength. This is likely to lead to defects following cracks as a result of excess
moisture (Ye, et al., 2015). Weaknesses of soil is likely to lead to Foundation
Displacement which might also result to cracks and need to rework. Insufficient
climate control such as the failure to protect building site from excess water from
rain, non-regulated sunshine among other factors might also lead to defects
(Aljassmi, et al., 2016).
6 | P a g e
Methods
Poorly design methods are likely to mislead engineers in their construction works. This hence makes it a risky affair as use of such designs might lead to defects. On the other hand,
project plan that does not in to consideration all activities in to place is likely to lead defects since some activities might be skipped (Asgari&Rahimian, 2017).
The case study of Sampoong Department Store, South Korea collapse.
ne other greatest disaster ever seen in the construction industry is the collapse of Sampoong Department Store(Fay, 2019). The main cause of the collapse as per the reports by
investigators was because of poor planning, poor material of construction and poor design. This case led to the death of five hundred pole most of them being workers(Fay,
2019).Human ignorance and greed were the major reasons for the errors that occurred during the construction causing massive losses. This shows how failure to consider important
aspects during construction could lead to, massive losses(Fay, 2019).
Sampoong Department Store, South Korea collapse
Source, Great Disasters
O
From the case study above, it is hence observable that
Financial wastages
Human resource wastage, Time wastage, Material wastages
are experienced since the building caused losses of lives,
time to evacuate the affected and the waste of human
resources who were engaged in building process(Fay, 2019)..
Solutions to the defect wastage problem
Employee training
Through employee training, employees will be able to understand their
roles in the construction. They will also be able to understand the most
important activities and how to undertake them. As a result, there will
be a decline in chances of making errors hence minimizing defects in
construction industry (Hanaysha, 2016).
Employee training
Source: (Andriotis, 2018)
7 | P a g e
Expert consultation
There is need to consult experts in every stage of construction. The project managers should work together with the external experts in order to ensure that all activities are undertaken in
accordance with the plan and quality needed. The experts will help in checking gaps that might lead to defects in constructions (Elziny, et al., 2016).
Proper Environmental analysis
Experts consultation Collapse of buildings
Source: (Reporting, 2019) Source:(Pentago,2018)
Proper project management strategies
Project management process
Source:(Kerzner,2018)
In order to reduce chances of defects caused
by environment, the construction engineers
should study environmental factors such as the
surface level of water, the probability of
having earthquakes among other factors before
settling on the site. This will help to reduce the
probability of occurrence of a defect as a result
of occurrence of an environmental risk (Tixier,
et al., 2016).
Project management process
Source: (Kerzner, 2017)
Proper planning of activities is important in ensuring that there is a
good procedure followed. Through strategic project management, the
project managers are going to ensure that there is no omission of
important activities in construction hence reduce chances of defects in
building (Kerzner, 2017).
8 | P a g e
References
Aljassmi, H., Han, S. and Davis, S., 2016. Analysis of the complex mechanisms of defect generation in construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 142(2), p.04015063.
Aljazeera News. 2019. Four killed in Taiwan building collapse after quake. [Online]. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/hotel-collapses-taiwan-major-earthquake-180206171245403.html (Accessed
on 8/4/2020).
Andriotis, N. 2018. 5 Popular Employee Training Methods for Workplace Training. [Online]. Available at: https://elearningindustry.com/how-choose-training-methods-for-employees (Accessed on 8/4/2020).
Arshad, H., Qasim, M., Thaheem, M.J. and Gabriel, H.F., 2017. Quantification of material wastage in construction industry of Pakistan: An analytical relationship between building types and waste generation. Journal
of Construction in Developing Countries, 22(2), pp.19-34.
Asgari, Z. and Rahimian, F.P., 2017. Advanced virtual reality applications and intelligent agents for construction process optimisation and defect prevention. Procedia engineering, 196, pp.1130-1137.
Bagdiya, N.V. and Wadalkar, S., 2015. Review paper on construction defects. IOSR J. Mech. Civ. Eng, 12(2), pp.88-91.
Bagdiya, N.V. and Wadalkar, S., 2015. Review paper on construction defects. IOSR J. Mech. Civ. Eng, 12(2), pp.88-91.
Choudhry, R.M., Gabriel, H.F., Khan, M.K. and Azhar, S., 2017. Causes of discrepancies between design and construction in the Pakistan construction industry. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 22(2),
pp.1-18.
Cogurcu, M.T., 2015. Construction and design defects in the residential buildings and observed earthquake damage types in Turkey. Natural Hazards & Earth System Sciences, 15(4).
Dey, S., Manikanda Prabhu, S. and Siva Subramani, G., 2017. Identification and mitigation of factors affecting human resource productivity in construction. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology,
8(1), pp.123-131.
Elziny, A.A., Mohamadien, M.A., Ibrahim, H.M. and Fattah, M.A., 2016. An expert system to manage dispute resolutions in const ruction projects in Egypt. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 7(1), pp.57-71.
Gamil, Y. and Rahman, I.A., 2017. Identification of causes and effects of poor communication in construction industry: A theo retical review. Emerging Science Journal, 1(4), pp.239-247.
Gulghane, A.A. and Khandve, P.V., 2015. Management for construction materials and control of construction waste in construction industry: a review. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications,
5(4), pp.59-64.
Hanaysha, J., 2016. Examining the effects of employee empowerment, teamwork, and employee training on organizational commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229(298-306), pp.298-306.
Hazem, Z. 2017. Construction defect management – Risk analysis of causes and effects. [Online]. Available at: https://www.planradar.com/construction-defect-management-risk-analysis-and-effects/(Accessed on
8/4/2020)
Ilie, G. and Ciocoiu, C.N., 2010. Application of fishbone diagram to determine the risk of an event with multiple causes. Management research and practice, 2(1), pp.1-20.
Jingmond, M. and Ågren, R., 2015. Unravelling causes of defects in construction. Construction Innovation.
Katume, N. 2017. 3 Ways to avoid Construction Defect Claims. CR. [Online]. Available at: https://constructionreviewonline.com/2017/09/3-ways-to-avoid-construction-defect-claims/(Accessed on 8/4/2020)
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Level set. 2018. Defects in Construction: How to Identify and Avoid Them [Online]. Available at: https://www.levelset.com/blog/construction-defects/ (Accessed on 9/4/2020).
LMT. 2018. Waste of Defects; causes, symptoms, examples and solutions. [Online]. Available at: https://leanmanufacturingtools.org/129/waste-of-defects-causes-symptoms-examples-and-solutions/(Accessed on
8/4/2020).
Pentago, C. 2018. Strategies You Need for Successful Project Management. [Online]. Available at: https://www.business2community.com/strategy/3-strategies-need-successful-project-management-01926965
(Accessed on 8/4/2020).
Reporting MD. 2019.expert consultation importance.[Online]. Available at: https://reportingmd.com/mips-2019-are-you-in-or-out-macra-exemptions-thresholds-and-eligibility/expert-consultation-3/ (Accessed on
8/4/2020).
Robson, P.E.B., 2015. Structural repair of traditional buildings. Routledge.
Smart Bricks. 2018. Construction Defect – Here Is One Ultimate Guide. [Online]. Available at: https://gosmartbricks.com/construction-defect-here-is-one-ultimate-guide/(Accessed on 8/4/2020).
Tayeh, B.A., Al-Hallaq, K., Yusuf, M.O. and Sabha, F.A., 2017. Effects of construction phase errors on maintenance of school buildings in Gaza Strip. Effects of construction phase errors on maintenance of school
buildings in Gaza strip, 5(01).
Tejale, D.S., Khandekar, S.D. and Patil, J.R., 2015. Analysis of construction project cost overrun by statistical method. International Journal, 3(5), pp.349-355.
Tixier, A.J.P., Hallowell, M.R., Rajagopalan, B. and Bowman, D., 2016. Automated content analysis for construction safety: A natural language processing system to extract precursors and outcomes from unstructured
injury reports. Automation in Construction, 62, pp.45-56.
Udawatta, N., Zuo, J., Chiveralls, K. and Zillante, G., 2015. Improving waste management in construction projects: An Australian study. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 101, pp.73-83.
Waziri, B.S., 2016. Design and construction defects influencing residential building maintenance in Nigeria. Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, 10(3).
Ye, G., Jin, Z., Xia, B. and Skitmore, M., 2015. Analyzing causes for reworks in construction projects in China. Journal of Management in Engineering, 31(6), p.04014097.
Fay, K. 2019.The Sampoong Department Store Collapse. Great disasters. [Online]. Available at: http://www.greatdisasters.co.uk/the-sampoong-department-store-collapse/ (Accessed on 5/6/2020)
