Govender, N; Laryea, S and Watermeyer, R (2025) Factors influencing the quality of project documents produced by construction professionals in South Africa. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 21(4), pp. 585-613. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
This research aims to identify and compare the factors influencing the quality of documents produced by different construction professionals in the South African construction industry. While previous studies have predominantly focused on design quality, this study adopts a comparative approach, encompassing a broader range of built environment disciplines. A survey was conducted with 507 construction professionals, including architects, civil/structural engineers, quantity surveyors, electrical engineers, and mechanical engineers. The survey data, analyzed using descriptive analysis, revealed 20 key factors affecting document quality, with 10 identified as most important. Notably, technical skills/knowledge emerged as a critical factor not previously emphasized in other studies, while low fees, highlighted in earlier research, were reaffirmed as an important factor. This study enhances construction literature by providing a detailed, discipline-specific analysis of factors affecting document quality, filling a gap in the existing research literature.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | document quality; project documents; South Africa; survey |
| Index terms: | structural engineer, documents, South Africa, design quality, technical skill, survey, construction professional, built environment, architect, construction industry, quantity surveying, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, critical factor |
| Subjects: | professional development, infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, data collection methods, profession, risk assessment, Geography, professional practice |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Risk Management, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Urban Studies, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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