The establishment of performance criteria for the evaluation of procurement of senior staff and private housing projects in the State of Qatar

Al-Derham, H R (1999) The establishment of performance criteria for the evaluation of procurement of senior staff and private housing projects in the State of Qatar. PhD thesis, University of Glamorgan, UK.

Abstract

A study by the Supreme Planning Council called the attention of problems during the procurement of Senior Staff Housing projects leading to less effective project outcomes. The SPC report put the blame on the current regulations of the scheme. This research evaluated SSH projects in comparison with Private Housing (PH) projects, which were not affected by SSH regulations. A model was developed as part of this research study. The model sets out to embrace the relationships between the variables in the building process. The model takes six main groups of independent variables, namely those that affect the client, the land acquisition, the design phase, the construction phase, disputes and SSH regulations. The effectiveness of the housing projects was measured against quantitative and qualitative performance indicators. The performance variables tested were unit cost; percentage of cost overrun; speed of construction; percentage of time overrun; client's satisfaction with cost and time; client's overall satisfaction; client's rating on quality; aesthetic quality and technical quality. As this study is the first of its kind, exploratory interviews with industry participants were conducted to gain a better understanding of construction practice in Qatar as well as to firm up the design of the client's questionnaire, aesthetic and technical quality evaluation techniques. The main field study resulted in 61 SSH projects and 34 PH projects. The research revealed that PH projects are more effective than SSH projects. It was found that SSH regulations are not the main reason for a less effective outcome. The main reasons were the unclear objectives and bad decisions made by the SSH clients. The research also revealed poor quality workmanship, old construction techniques and the use of inadequate construction materials. Also, a lack of, proper contract forms and means of dispute resolution. There are no institutions for consultants or contractors and a lack of training and development. Together, these factors contribute to the client's poor image of the industry. The research provides recommendations for reorganising the industry to improve its output. These include establishing Construction Industry Council, forming institutions for consultants and contractors, and establishing Housing Council.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Thesis advisor: Hibberd, P; Djebarni, R and Mustapha, F
Uncontrolled Keywords: building process; construction phase; dispute resolution; disputes; evaluation; housing projects; performance; regulation; training; valuation; workmanship; client; consultant; contractor; effectiveness; interview; Qatar
Index terms: construction phase, field study, interview, evaluation technique, regulation, resolution, performance indicator, land acquisition, construction industry, effectiveness, independent variable, housing project, satisfaction, unit cost, aesthetic, time overrun, construction material, project outcome, performance criteria, Qatar, design phase, building process, questionnaire, workmanship, cost overrun, housing, dispute
Subjects: Geography, research methods, building construction, industry analysis, project completion, statistical analysis, construction type, project controls, contractual condition, conflict resolution, professional practice, performance management, building materials, housing and residential development, real estate economics, data collection methods, project delivery, dispute resolution, financial and cost management, performance measurement, factor and component analysis, political science, evaluation and assessment methods
Topics: Time Control, Governance, Cost Management, Geographical Context, Contract Administration, Quality Management, Project Management, Design Practice, Research Practice, Legal Issues, Construction Technology, Site Management, Engineering Principles, Urban Studies, Stakeholder Management
Descriptive scope: 5 PCTEA

N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here