Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
681–687
www.elsevier.comrlocaterautcon
Abstract
To perform rational defect prevention, it is necessary to have knowledge about defects, their causes and associated costs.
The purpose of the study presented here is to stimulate improvements by indicating where preventive measures are most
effective as well as how to perform them. A study of defects in construction was performed during the period 1986–1990. A
new and deeper study has been performed by the same research group during 1994–1996. Seven building projects have each
been monitored during a 6 month-period. Observers spent 8 h a day at the site analysing and describing defects occurring. A
total of 2879 defects have been collected and fully described, including their root causes. Formal interviews with 92 key
persons have been made. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Building project; Causes of defect; Defect; Defect cost; Quality cost
0926-5805r99r$ - see front matter q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 6 - 5 8 0 5 Ž 9 8 . 0 0 1 1 4 - 9
682 P.-E. Josephson, Y. Hammarlundr Automation in Construction 8 (1999) 681–687
Table 1 breaks up. Most actors only take part for a limited
The origin of defects in a number of studies Ž% of total defect time. Therefore, the organisation is continuously
cost.
changing during the process. This study was per-
During During
formed to find potentials for improvements in these
production maintenance
organisations.
"R&D-West" Summary of Summary of
Some of the most important roles in a building
1986–1990 w10x several studies several studies
project organisation are played by the client, de-
Client 3 5–15 0
signer, contractor, sub-contractor, material supplier,
Design 20 15–30 40–55
Production 54 35–55 20–45 machine supplier, and the user. It is through the
Material 20 5–20 5–15 coordinated actions of these actors that the building
Maintenance 0 0 5–10 is actually built. In similar ways, defects in the
Other 3 0–15 0–10 product or in the process can be ascribed either to
the actors or to the coordination amongst them.
Motivation alone is not enough. If an individual is rely on opinions from the actual organisation. Non-
to act correctly, on the basis of hisrher own personal fulfilment of these opinions gives rise to defects.
prerequisites, the individual must also have the nec- The changes which are made because of new or
essary knowledge and the necessary information for changed needs during production or use phase are
the specific task. Knowledge is information and not seen as defects.
understanding about a subject which a person has in
his or her mind or which is shared by all human 2.2.3. Consequences and correctiÕe measures
beings w6x. Knowledge includes skill and experience. By ‘consequence’, we mean all consequences of a
Skill is the knowledge and ability that enables you to manifest defect, which includes consequences for
do something such as a job, game, or sport very well both the product and the process. By ‘corrective
w6x. Experience is knowledge or skill of a particular measure’, we mean all actions performed with a
job that you have gained because you have worked view to completely or partly remedying manifest
at the job for a long time w6x. Information about the defects, and their consequences. The extent of conse-
operation is received in communication between in- quences and corrective measures taken constitutes
dividuals or between organisations. the defect cost.
Motivation, knowledge and information are mutu-
ally dependent w13x. For instance, insufficient infor-
mation involves lower motivation. 3. The method
The concepts of risk and stress are also used in
the analysis of causes. Calculated risk is part of all The method used is based on our study performed
actions, and thus it is difficult to avoid defects from 1986 to 1990 w10,13x. The method has been
entirely. The term ‘risk’ implies that there is a modified to a minor extent. The organisation of the
probability of a defect. ‘Calculated risk’ means a study, i.e., the group of companies and the research
conscious probability of defects. Higher calculated group, is the same as in the first study.
risk means that a higher probability of defects is
accepted. 3.1. The building projects
Stress seems to characterise temporary organisa-
tions. Stress is the general reaction of an organism, In this study, six projects are each being followed
which is activated when the individual is threatened up during a six-month period, and one project is
w23x. followed up for four months. The seven projects are
being performed by different companies. The pro-
jects have been chosen with the intention of acquir-
2.2.2. Erroneous action and manifest defect ing knowledge about different types of projects.
We distinguish between erroneous action and Some characteristics are presented in Table 2.
manifest defect, i.e., the result of an erroneous ac-
tion. The manifest defect is a non-desired condition
Table 2
in the product or process. We start from Ref. w21x,
The building projects
which author defines defect as ‘the non-fulfilment of
Project Type New Type Production Time
intended usage requirements’. constructionr of cost Žmonths.
Some requirements are given by law and in regu- conversion contract ŽSEK M.
lations, building standards, etc., as well as in contract A Museum NewrConv General 30 12
documents, site meeting records and other project B School New Turnkey 130 13
documentation. However, not all requirements can C University New General 100 16
be specified. Every individual also has non-ex- D Industry New Turnkey 21 14
pressed basic needs. There are also many details E Housing Conversion General 15 4
F Fire station New Turnkey 55 15
which are difficult to specify. These demands are G Shopping Conversion General 30 13
referred to as ‘usage’ requirements. Sometimes the centre
specified requirements are wrong. In such cases we
684 P.-E. Josephson, Y. Hammarlundr Automation in Construction 8 (1999) 681–687
Ø Project A is a conversion of an old museum, six-month period. One observer is placed at each
and a technically complicated new construction of an site. The observer has no other task than to register,
entrance. It has a complicated client organisation, follow-up and describe defects occurring.
including several authorities to consult, strict saving By making rounds on site, the observer has daily
demands and small spaces. For reasons of financing, contact with all the personnel, the building contrac-
the time of production was cut down from 17 to 12 tor’s as well as the subcontractor’s personnel. When
months. necessary, the observer contacts the client, designers,
Ø Project B mainly concerns a new construction material manufacturers, etc. He takes part in meet-
of an upper secondary school. For part of the build- ings and reads all documentation. Each observer has
ing, the framework of an old fire station is used. The been educated in the method and introduced at the
school personnel were not employed when the con- site. During the study the observer and the re-
struction work started. There were specific demands searchers have continuous contact. At special meet-
for an allergy-free school. This is a complex building ings, the observers compare notes.
because of the many different methods and materials The observers are engineers or civil engineers.
used. Six of them have less than ten years and one has 30
Ø Project C is a new construction of a university years of experience from construction. Our first study
building. The building is of high technical standard, showed that young people with only limited experi-
especially the ventilation. The time of production ence of construction are the most successful in the
was shortened from 20 to 16 months at a very late data collection. People with more experience tend to
stage. The project organisation consists of companies perceive some situations as normal and for that
and individuals who have worked together before. reason fail to describe them as defects.
Ø Project D concerns a new construction of two The data collection consists of three main parts.
similar multi-dwelling blocks, which are similar to Ø Defect descriptions. Each defect is described
two 5-year old blocks in the same area. The total on a special form. Approximately 20 questions are
price has been forced down because the contract is coded. They are supplemented with detailed descrip-
part of a larger contract. The production work is tions of causes, erroneous action, manifest defect,
strongly influenced by a large development pro- consequences and corrective measures. The defect
gramme in the company. The site is exposed to cost is estimated. Sketches, drawings and pho-
strong winds. tographs are appended. A total of 2879 defects were
Ø Project E is a conversion of an industry build- registered. Some of them consisted of several similar
ing, with a very short production time. Many work defects.
activities are ongoing at the same time. Periodically, Ø Project description. To enable the analysis,
there are lot of workers in small spaces. The building each building project is fully described. Among other
includes many installations. Except for these charac- things, the project organisation and the site organisa-
teristics, it is quite a simple construction. tion changes during the process, systems for leading,
Ø Project F concerns a new construction of a fire planning methods, policies regarding choice of sub-
station. Part of the building includes many installa- contractors, etc., activities included and their interde-
tions. For this, the authorities have high security pendence, are described. Schedules, drawings, site
requirements. Major user influence during produc- meeting records and diary are appended. Costs and
tion. times for the whole project and for separate physical
Ø Project G is a conversion of several shops in a elements, activities and materials are stated.
large shopping centre. Quite a divided site with a Ø InterÕiews. In each project, the research group
great deal to be taken into consideration because the interviews 10–15 key persons. Each interview is
shops are open during production. approximately 1 h. The interviews are tape-recorded
and transcribed in full afterwards. During the inter-
3.2. Data collection
views, the characteristics of the building project are
One starting-point is to register and analyse all mainly discussed. This type of interview was not
defects occurring in the building projects during a made in our first study.
P.-E. Josephson, Y. Hammarlundr Automation in Construction 8 (1999) 681–687 685
Table 4
The origin of defects Ž% of total defect cost.
Project Client Design Site management Workmanship Subcontractors Materials Machines Other
A 9 13 27 8 30 8 5 0
B 4 47 5 14 17 12 1 0
C 7 38 6 5 30 13 1 0
D 0 21 20 27 5 22 4 1
E 10 18 2 5 7 51 1 6
F 2 33 23 14 8 13 5 2
G 13 18 14 5 37 3 2 8
Average 6 26 14 13 18 17 3 3
forgetfulness or carelessness. Only a few of the Ø Stability in the client organisation. Key per-
‘motivation defects’ were intentional. 29% of the sons were often changed. The project organisation
defect cost was caused by lack of knowledge, while lost time and knowledge through these changes.
a small part was ascribed to lack of communication, Ø Client’s project control. The client often used a
stress and risk. long time to come to decisions necessary for design-
ers and contractors. Their day-to-day plan was often
4.4. Causes per actor changed while waiting.
Ø User inÕolÕement. In some projects several
An analysis of causes for each actor has been groups of users visited the site in late stages and
made. Table 6 presents the average for the projects. consequently gave their points of view Žtoo. late.
For design defects, 44% of the defect cost was found Ø Time pressure. Designers and contractors
to be caused by lack of knowledge. For defects in worked under conditions of high time pressure.
site management, 50% of the cost was caused by Ø Composition of the project organisation. The
motivation. For defects in workmanship, motivation work in projects with people and groups of people
dominated but risk is also identified as a cause. For who had worked together before ran considerably
the subcontractors, 47% of the defect cost was found more smoothly than the work in other projects.
to be caused by motivation. Ø Cost pressure. Lowest bid is still a common
strategy in choosing suppliers. However, this cost
4.5. Root causes pressure spread through the organisation, from client
to contractor, from contractor to sub-contractor etc.
The root causes of the defects are now subject for Ø Support to the site organisation. The contrac-
analysis. However, some preliminary causes have tors’ management at the main office did not give
been identified. enough support to their site managers.
Ø To motiÕate people. Activities aimed at moti-
vating workers on site were lacking.
Table 5
The causes of defects Ž% of total defect cost.
Project Knowledge Information Motivation Stress Risk
Table 6
A 46 13 33 0 8 Causes of defects for each category of actors Ž% of defect cost per
B 27 15 36 5 17 actor respectively.
C 36 24 36 1 3
D 30 8 58 4 0 Actor Knowledge Information Motivation Stress Risk
E 8 21 49 10 12 Design 44 18 35 2 1
F 35 4 60 1 0 Site management 31 8 50 6 5
G 18 14 60 2 6 Workmanship 12 2 69 1 16
Average 29 12 50 3 6 Subcontractors 27 13 47 3 10
P.-E. Josephson, Y. Hammarlundr Automation in Construction 8 (1999) 681–687 687