Service quality factors in the construction sector: A literature review :

This paper has done literature review to identification of the service quality factors that are
considered more important in the construction sector, it has been used to measure quality and
success factor of project. The research methodology is based on articles review from 6
scientific data base. In all cases, the traditional models of service quality were used to explain
and adapt to specific contexts. The parameters used in these models are reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles so as to maintain construction quality. In
some cases, additional dimensions were added. Success factors seem to be related to project
management, communication skills, professional skills, quality of the final product, design,
care during execution and innovation, are parameters that are looked for in in today’s
construction industry. A rounded, adaptable and flexible attitude seems to be relevant to face
dynamic and turbulent conditions and changing customer’s requirements and expectations.
Overall, conservative approach which characterises this sector has prevailed.

Barriers to applying the design-build procurement method in Hong Kong:

Despite the global use of the design-build (D&B) method to manage construction projects,
barriers always prevailed that hinder its successful deployment. This paper focuses on earlier
work and investigates the barriers that incumber the use of the design-build procurement
method in the construction industry. Literature investigation, an empirical study was
conducted by means of a questionnaire survey. The top-3 barriers to the implementation of
D&B were ‘D&B contractors carry a high degree of risks and liability’, ‘The Contractor
tendering for the D&B project will suffer if contract is not awarded to him’, and ‘D&B
contractors do not have in-house architects and engineers. Questionary containing different
factors was used to determine the level of agreement of the D&B participants on the rating
exercise. Results show existence of common factors in between respondents the client,
contractor and consultant groups, and also among all D&B participants on the rating of the
problems of running D&B projects. Kendall’s coefficient was used to measure agreement
between identified 16 rating system.

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT IN DESIGN/BUILD PROJECTS:

Despite high success, QFD has been applied only rarely in the construction industry. The
design/build contractor, is responsible for design and construction, would find the QFD
methodology useful. A qualitative approach in the form of interviews with experienced
contractors involved in D/B contracts was used to study the relevance of QF. The
implementation of QFD depends mainly on, client, D/B contractor, and local government.
Study highlights the major constrain was inability of client to communicate his requirement.
It was noted from interviews that the allocation of a greater profit margin and longer
construction period by the client would help the contractor to improve design quality through
a refinement of the design proposal, with appropriate staffing. Decisions for implementation
of QFD by the contractors were subjected to attitude and factors that depends on
organization. Findings also revealed most of respondent believe that he larger contractors, or
even government organizations, should spearhead the implementation of QFD. Because of
better availability of resources and management policies to comprehensive implementation of
QFD.

Key drivers for adopting design build: A comparative study between project
stakeholders:
In construction industry the need for a relationship-based procurement by considering the
stakeholders to promote the right project delivery method is most important. Design-Build
(D-B) helps to overcome incompleteness of Design-Bid-Build (D-B-B) in delivering
construction projects. Key drivers for D-B adoption among the 3 main stakeholders client,
consultant, and contractor where identified. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was employed
to assess reliability from identified 16 key drivers. The key D-B drivers that are mutual
between stakeholders are “maximize the use of resources between project team members,”
“share expertise (design and technical) with project team members,” “well-organized project
team structure,” and “high success rate”. Project clients: “better project pricing”. Contractors:
“greater allocation of risks to contractors”. The specific key D-B drivers for consultants are
“interest in the design-build,” “reduce works variations,” and “better track record”. Client
financial capability, Adequate cash flow by the D-B contractor, High interest in construction
management and design knowledge, Good teamwork, Systematic tendering process,
Economic impact, Greater allocation of risks to contractors were major drivers between
project stakeholder.
CONTRACTOR SELECTION FOR DESIGN/BUILD PROJECTS:
Traditional method inadequate in meeting the demands and challenges of DB contract. The
major criteria that affect the contractor selection is. Project nature and all associated factors
which affects the section of contractor. And proposes alternative method to select the
contractor. It depends on whether the project is ‘‘simple’’ or ‘‘complex’’ based on which
either a single-stage or two-stage contractor selection procedure can be selected. In cases of
projects of complex nature, the proposed contractor selection procedure is in two distinct
phases, namely, prequalification/short listing and bid evaluation. This pass/fail filter stage
checks for compliance with the established basic benchmark requirements. Next, steps are
taken, using the formulas developed and described to determine the prequalification score.
The essential components of design/build bids are the technical proposal and the price
proposal. the design/build approach is mostly adopted in complex situations, a more detailed
evaluation methodology is usually needed. Comparing bid for nonprice attribute to obtain
best value for money. The correct choice of a contractor using more than just a low bid
criterion should thus contribute significantly to the overall success of the design/build project,
ideally resulting in a ‘‘win-win’’ environment for both the client and the design/build team.