Assessment on Factors Causing Poor Quality in
Building Construction of Myanmar
Khin Su Su Wai#1, Aye Mya Cho *2
#
Civil Engineering Department, Mandalay Technological University
Mandalay, Myanmar
1 2
khinsusuwai235@gmail.com, amcho.civil@gmail.com
Abstract—Quality, in construction projects should be regarded
as the fulfillment of expectation of those contributors involved in
such projects. The quality of the construction process is the
quality of integrated action due to human, material, machinery,
process methodology and work environment, also known as
process quality. This paper describes the findings of an ongoing
research project, presents the important factors that have
significant affect on the quality of building construction project
in Myanmar. The aim of this research is to assist all stakeholders
to plan effectively before starting a project by creating awareness
and paying enough attention to minimize the quality problems
and eliminate extra costs incurred to make corrective actions. In
this research, questionnaire survey is launched to experienced
engineers and construction contractors for identifying factors
that cause poor quality for improving it on future construction
projects. Top ten factors causing poor quality are identified by
industrial recommendations. As a result, the most influenced
factors are lack of quality system, lack of training courses for
labour, lack of skilled labor, lack of quality policy, lack of
systematic time schedule, low affective project management
system, low income level and wages of labour, lack of skill and
experience of supervision and contractor staff, lack of contractor
supervision and inadequate inspection.
Keywords—Management, Material, Human Skill, Machine,
Environment, Quality Standard
I. INTRODUCTION
With the advent of globalization and the competitive
market, the emphasis on quality management has increased.
Quality has become the most important single factor for the
survival and success of today’s companies. Customer
demands for better products and services at the lowest
possible costs have put tremendous pressure on firms to
improve the quality of products, services, and processes to
compete in the market and improve business results. It became
important that construction projects be more qualitative,
competitive, and economical to meet owner’s expectations.
Systematic quality work reduces the costs of failure in one’s
own work and in the final product. Moreover, the standards
can make quality work more efficient by creating uniformity.
A contractor’s in-house quality assurance system is of utmost
importance; it prevents problems and their reoccurrence and
allows his or her clients to relax. Therefore, the main objective
of this research is to obtain local consensus on the factors
affecting quality that represent the views of the building
construction industry in Myanmar and to determine the
relative importance of these factors. The level of
implementation and contractors’ perceptions are also
discussed.
II. QUALITY PROBLEMS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Establishment and achievement of acceptable levels of
quality in construction projects has long been a problem but
despite a significant amount of investigation already being
undertaken to examine quality failures and their causes,
construction projects are still encountering numerous quality
problems. Poor quality performance that results in increased
rework and has significant impacts on cost and schedule is the
major defects experienced in construction projects. Drawing
and specification are not at satisfactory levels of quality and
do not clearly always state the intention of the designer.
Successful companies need to meet their customer
expectations through superior implementation of their quality
policies, however currently many customers are still not
satisfied with the quality of constructed projects. Construction
materials sometimes do not meet specified standards and this
also leads to subordinate quality on projects. The lack of
qualified personnel is a major barrier in the implementation of
quality systems. Quality negligence produces many negative
effects to construction companies in achieving the desired
levels of quality and low quality process implementation leads
to the often ultimate poor quality of projects.
III. QUALITY DEFECT SOURCES IN CONSTRUCTION
A variety of authors have provided different categorizations
of quality problems, but there have been few attempts to
collect together and unify the major sources and factors that
affect quality in a comprehensive manner. This paper utilizes
five main sources that are commonly found in construction
projects. They are manpower, materials, machine and
equipment, methods and environment (4M+E).
A. Human(Manpower)
As the main activity part of production process, the overall
quality and individual ability of human will determine the
results of all quality activities. So, human are considered as
both the controlled targets and controlling motivation of other
quality activities. The contents of human control includes the
overall quality of organization and individual's knowledge,
ability, physical condition, psychological state, quality
consciousness, behavior, concept of organizational discipline,
and professional ethics. Moreover, personne nel performing work B. Data Analysis Method
affecting conformity to product requir uirements shall be In order to identify the imp mpact of above factors on the
competent on the basis of appropriate education,
ed training, quality of construction, it is necessary
n to rank them in the
skills and experience. order of importance. To determ rmine the relative ranking of the
B. Materials factors, a five- point weighingg sscale w is used to indicate the
Materials (including raw materials, finish
ished products, semi- relative importance of a contribu
ibutor i in a construction quality,
finished products, components and par parts) are material where "5" represent "extrem emely significant", "4" "very
conditions of construction, and materiall quality is one of significant"; "3" "moderately significant".
si A factor rated "4"
necessary conditions to ensure constructionion quality. Material or "5" will be interpreted as a significant contributor of
quality problems are commonly found in; construction quality, the one ne rated "1" or "2" will be
(1) Material procurement interpreted as an in significant
nt contributor, while that with a
(2) Material testing "3" is taken as uncertain. Thee relative
re importance index (RII)
(3) Storage and usage used to indicate the relativee iimportance of a contributing
factor i to the construction qualit
ality is given by
C. Construction Machinery and Equipments nts
Construction machinery and equipmen ents are essential ∑w
Relative Importance Index RII
facilities for the modern construction ion, reflecting the
construction power of the enterprise, and having a direct where w is the mentioned sca scale for rating a factor by the
impact on the project progress and quality.y. Therefore, quality respondents which ranges from m 1 to 5; A is the highest weight
is controlled in the type and performan ance parameters of in the scale; and N is the total nu
number of respondents.
construction machinery and equipmentt which match the
conditions, technology and other factors oof the construction C. Identification of Significant
nt VVariables
site. To identify the significant variables
var of quality, firstly mean
D. Construction Methods and standard deviation, score ored by all respondents, are
Construction methods are reflected in the concentration of calculated. The determination of the most significant variables
technical solution, process, testing methods,
ds, and arrangements is based on one- samples z statistic,
st at a 95% confidence
of construction procedures for construc ruction adopted by interval that estimates the parameter
p appearing in the
construction contractors. hypothesis. The null hypothes esis is rejected if the ρ-value
obtained is less than the 0.05 level
lev of significant.
E. Environment
V. RESEARCH FINDIN INGS AND DISCUSSION
Creating a good environment will play an important role in
guaranteeing the quality and safety of con
onstruction projects, The findings of this paper are
re supported by the results of the
achieving civilized construction, and settin
ting social image of survey which identified signi gnificant factors causing poor
construction. Control of construction envi
nvironment includes quality in building constructionn projects in Myanmar.
not only the understanding, restriction, trtransformation and
A. Characteristics of Responden
dents
usage of natural environment, but also activities
act of creating
working environment and environment mana anagement. The following pie charts re
represent the characteristics of
respondents.
IV. RESEARCH METHOD
Site Engineer Director
In this paper, questionnaire survey was utilized
ut as the main 23% 10% Managing
research instrument to collect requiredd data and analyze Director
ordinal scale and level of significant. Th
The sample for this 13%
research was selected from a population tion of construction
enterprises in the industry. Consultant
6%
Project Chief
A. Questionnaire Survey Engineer Project Engineer
In order to investigate the factors influen encing on quality of 32% Manager 6%
construction projects in Myanmar, a questionnaire is 10%
developed based on the findings of the reseasearch studies as well
as literature on related work carried outt in i other countries.
Totally sixty seven (67) possible factors with w six groups are
Fig. 1 Designation
ions of respondents
identified in the questionnaire. These are (1) management
related factors; (2) technical related fact actors; (3) material Fig.1 shows respondent’ss designation that 23 % of
related factors; (4) labor related factors; (5)
5) equipment related respondents are site engineers, 32
3 % are projects engineers, 10
factors; and (6) environment related factor tors. Thirty-one (31) % are project managers, 6 % are consultant, 6% are chief
construction companies are surveyed as sample for this engineers, 13% are managingg directors
d and 10 % are project
research. directors.
 Bureaucracy 61.29% 20
≤ 5 yrs >30 yrs 21-30 yrs
21 Lower quality continues improvemement 61.29% 20
10% 6% 6% Lack of process improvement 60.65% 22
Supplier impact 60.00% 23
11--20 yrs Lack of cooperation among projec
ject parties 59.35% 24
26
26% Unfair subcontract conditions 59.35% 24
6-10 yrs Poor relationship and partnering among
am
52% 59.35% 24
participant
Reduce subcontractor responsibilit
ility 58.71% 27
Lack of cooperation between subcbcontractor
58.06% 28
and main contractor
Fig. 2 Experiences of respondent
ents Table 1 shows that the respospondents rank "Lack of quality
policy and systematic time schehedule" in the first position with
Fig.2 shows experiences of respondentsnts that 6 % of the
importance index (I.I = 69.68 68%), which indicates the high
respondents have >30 years and 21-300 years experience
importance of quality policy in order to get desired quality.
respectively. And then 26 % have experienc
ences of 11-20 years,
Lack of quality policy can create
ate a lot of quality problems and
52 % have experiences of 6-10 years ars and 10% have
so top management should en ensure that quality objectives,
experience of ≤5years at construction works
ks.
including those needed to meet
eet the requirements for product,
B. Factors Influencing Poor Quality at Con
onstruction Projects are established at relevant fun
functions and levels within the
organization. The quality shallll be measurable and consistent
Common factors influencing poor quali ality at construction
with the quality policy. Moreoreover, lack of systematic time
projects in Myanmar are as follow:
schedule is a strong indicationn tthat not using systematic time
1) Management Related Factors: s: Because quality schedule which can cause poor or quality. So contractors should
management is such an important aspectt in construction and do with systematic schedule inn all
a activities. It can be seen that
building projects, in order to increase the ultimate project other factors cause poor quality
qu in Myanmar building
quality and to reduce rework, revision and
nd waste and failure construction as their importantt in
index (I.I) are high.
costs over the entire project lifecycle,, th
the importance of
2) ctors: The relationship between
Technical related facto
greater involvement of all relevant proje
oject participants in
unclear drawings, standard and an poor coordination among
quality management issues needs to be fully
ful understood and
project participants have a similar
s detrimental effect on
embraced by project teams.
quality. The establishment of a data
d collection system can help
The findings of management related facto
ctors can be seen in construction companies to sett upu an information base which
Table 1 according to important index. can lead to an earlier recognition
ion of defects.
TABLE I TABL
BLE II
RANKING OF MANAGEMENT RELATED FACTORS
FA RANKING OF TECHNICA
CAL RELATED FACTORS

Management related factors I.I Rank Technical related factors I.I Rank
Lack of quality policy 69.68% 1 Lack of quality control system 72.90% 1
Lack of systematic time schedule 69.68% 1 Lack of adequate inspection 67.10% 2
Low affective project management system 69.03% 3 Inadequate close supervision 67.10% 2
Lack of contractor supervision 67.74% 4 Incorrect construction method 67.10% 2
Unclear procedure for accepting performed Incomplete drawing and specificat
cation 66.45% 5
65.81% 5
activities Incompetent subcontractor 65.81% 6
Shorten objective 65.16% 6 Poor performance of quality toolsls and
65.81% 6
Inappropriate method of contractor selecting 65.16% 6 techniques
Lack of management commitment 64.52% 8 Nonconformity to codes and stand ndard 65.81% 6
Poor training system 63.87% 9 Design complexity 65.16% 9
Lack of quality department 63.87% 9 Lack of motivation and capabilitie
ities of site
65.16% 9
Invalid scope of the project (type and nature) 63.87% 9 staff
Poor quality procedure 63.23% 12 Poor application of quality system
em 63.23% 11
Lack of using a standard contract 63.23% 12 Poor data collection system 61.94% 12
Lack of using cost control system 63.23% 12 Incomplete and inconsistency off design
d
61.29% 13
Lack of written contract with clear documents
62.58% 15
conditions Inaccurate bill of quantity 60.65% 14
Not using a system to evaluate subcontractor Misinterpretation of drawing andd
62.58% 15 59.35% 15
performance specification
Lack of auditing system 61.94% 17 Inaccurate measuring instrument 59.35% 15
Lack of cooperation between supervision and Bad of preparation and approve of shop
61.94% 17 58.06% 17
contractor’s staff drawing
Lack of using integrated project execution Poor communication 57.42% 18
61.94% 17
system Poor coordination of subcontractotor works 57.42% 18
 The research shows that lack of quality control system" (I.I Lack of skill and experience of contractor
67.74% 3
= 72.90%) is very important and ranked first. Quality control staff
is a process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in a Low income level and wages of labour 67.74% 3
product or service. Lack of quality control system causes Weak in labor management system (lack of
serious quality problems and so it should have quality control 66.45% 6
record)
team with systematically method to identify products or
Poor workmanship 65.16% 7
services that do not meet a company’s specified standards of
quality. Lack of adequate inspection, inadequate close Lack of motivation of workforce 62.58% 8
supervision, incorrect construction method have same The respondents rank "Lack of skilled labour" in the first
significant index (I.I=67.10%) and are strong indication of position with importance index (I.I = 70.97%), which
poor quality. indicates skilled labour play essential role in construction
project. According to the response, training programs are
3) Material Related Factors: The adaptation of a good
urgently required to be skillful the construction workers.
material management system helps in improving quality of the
Moreover, the skills and experiences of the contractor and
project. Controlling the quality, delivery time of construction
supervision staff show the high score among the sub-factors
material to the site leads to easement of implementation of
influencing quality as shown in Table 4.
different construction activities and decreases interruptions.
TABLE III
5) Equipment Related Factors: Construction machinery
RANKING OF MATERIAL RELATED FACTORS and equipments are essential facilities for the modern
construction, reflecting the construction power of the
Material related factors I.I Rank enterprise, and having a direct impact on the project progress
Low quality of material 67.10% 1
and quality.
Unavailability of good quality construction
65.81% 2
materials TABLE V
Using unclear material management system 64.52% 3 RANKING OF EQUIPMENT RELATED FACTORS
Lack of material past report 61.94% 4 Equipment related factors I.I Rank
Lack of cooperation between contractor and Lack of proper construction equipment 61.29% 1
60.65% 5
material suppliers Lack of equipment management system 60.65% 2
Improper material storage 56.77% 6 Inadequate equipment maintenance 54.19% 3
The respondents rank low quality of material (I.I = 67.10%) The respondents rank "lack of proper construction
as the first factor causes poor quality. Then one of the major equipment and equipment management system" in the higher
sub-factors highlighted by the respondents that affect quality position, which indicates that the contractor should select
is the unavailability of good quality construction materials construction machinery and equipment in accordance with
(I.I=65.81%).And the third important factor is using unclear advanced technology, economic rationality, production
material management system. So, the contractor should application, reliable performance and safety, with the
purchase materials based on the integrated consideration of applicability and reliability to a specific project.
engineering characteristics, construction contracts, and the
scope of application, construction requirements, the 6) Environment Related Factors: Creating a good
performance and price of materials. The procurement should environment will play an important role in guaranteeing the
be arranged in advance according to the construction quality and safety of construction projects. Control of the
schedule. Project manager department or enterprises should natural environment, working environment and
establish common information of material suppliers and track management environment are important facts to provide
the market timely. If necessary, material sample or field trip is better quality.
required, and the strict instruction of quality items in material TABLE VI
procurement contracts should be paid attention. RANKING OF ENVIRONMENT RELATED FACTORS
4) Labour Related Factors: Knowledge, skill and
Environment related factors I.I Rank
experience of labors play an important role toward improving
Poor weather condition 59.35% 1
quality of the project. Highly experienced labor is the main Poor work environment(such as safety,
factors influencing quality. Personnel performing shall be 55.48% 2
noise, temperature, humidity, lighting, etc)
competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, Socio- economic environment 52.26% 3
skills and experience. The respondents rank poor weather condition (I.I = 59.35%)
TABLE IV as the first factor causes poor quality and work environment
RANKING OF LABOUR RELATED FACTORS was second rank. Contractor should grasp data and
information of hydrology, geology and meteorology of
Labour related factors I.I Rank
construction site, in order to establish construction plans and
Lack of skilled labour 70.97% 1 measures with the consideration of the characteristics. They
Lack of training courses for labour 70.97% 1 should arrange the layout of mechanical equipment, materials,
Lack of skill and experience of supervision 67.74% 3 components, roads, pipelines, and various large temporary
facilities and for protective measure.
C. Group Influencing Poor Quality of Construction Projects poor quality does not depend only on construction managers,
but also on the client, consultants, contractor, suppliers,
The top sixteen (16) significant factors are shown with
foremen and labourers. This means all project participants
importance index rank and hypothesis analysis in Table 7.
need to be committed, involved, and worked together to detect
Hypothesis test is as follow:
any poor quality and minimize it as soon as the defect occurs.
Null Hypothesis: Ho: There is insignificant degree of
They should conduct regular training programs for foremen
agreement among respondent.
and labourers, and educate them to understand the concept of
Alternative Hypothesis: Ha: There is significant degree of
quality and technical procedure. Training programs can be
agreement among respondent.
organized by government, by providing simple skill standards
H o: µ = 3 H a: µ > 3 for contracting companies. Moreover, there is a common
TABLE VII
perception that standards are applied inconsistently across the
HYPOTHESIS TEST ON FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY construction industry. So it should make the construction
process transparent on-site, so every person involved in the
Factors Rank P-value Hypothesis process is able to identify any problems. Supervisors and
Lack of quality control system 1 0.001157 Reject Ho foremen should be involved in every project meeting to
Lack of training courses for
2 0.001262 Reject Ho discuss any possibility to reduce poor quality. They felt
labour
Lack of skilled labour 2 0.005946 Reject Ho
excluded from the development and implementation of quality
Lack of quality policy 4 0.026149 Reject Ho management initiatives on-site. Establish cooperation and
Lack of systematic time regular meetings amongst project participants, involve all
4 0.004907 Reject Ho construction personnel from different levels, increase trust
schedule
Low affective project with one another and encourage working together as partners.
6 0.021303 Reject Ho
management system On the other hand, standard quality control system and team
Low income level and wages
7 0.018864
should be built for Myanmar construction industry
Reject Ho
of labour improvement.
Lack of skill and experience ACKNOWLEDGMENT
7 0.018864 Reject Ho
of supervision
Lack of skill and experience The author would like to express special thanks to her
7 0.0248 Reject Ho
of contractor staff supervisor, Dr. Aye Mya Cho, Associate Professor,
Lack of contractor supervision 7 0.034191 Reject Ho Department of Civil Engineering, Mandalay Technological
Lack of adequate inspection 11 0.039269 Reject Ho University, for her useful guidance, patience, supervision and
Inadequate supervision 11 0.039269 Reject Ho giving valuable ideas during a long period of this research.
Don’t
Incorrect construction method 11 0.072731 The author wishes to acknowledge to all respondents in
Reject Ho
Don’t Myanmar Construction Industry for their patient answering
Low quality of material 11 0.065574
Reject Ho and helpful in questionnaire survey.
Weak in labor management
15 0.044963 Reject Ho REFERENCES
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