An assessment of the critical success factor for the reduction of cost of poor quality in construction projects in Swaziland

Abstract: Cost of poor quality (COPQ) in the construction industry is a serious problem that the industry is faced with, due to failure in preventing wastage and defects during construction work. The cost of poor quality remains hidden and eats up to 40% revenues of the construction enterprise. Hence, the study investigated the critical success factors that reduce poor quality in construction projects according to the perceptive of construction professionals in the Swaziland construction industry. This research adopted quantitative research and 50 useable questionnaires were used as an instrument tool for the study. Random sampling method was used to select the respondents in various construction companies. Cost of poor quality impact the construction industry of Swaziland’s and construction companies have to reserve funds for such occurrences, since poor quality cannot be tolerated and contractor have to rectify at own cost. Another challenge would be under-pricing the construction project and rectifying construction mistake it becomes a big problem for the contractor. Findings revealed that are a lot of success factors that can be used, it’s just a matter of the implementation of the success factors in the project. The role of the managers in construction projects is still under looked and therefore, this can be a problem if it is not attained to. The study revealed that are a lot of success factors such as the use of quality management system and the critical success factors can actually help eliminate poor quality in most construction projects of Swaziland. The implementation of quality management systems at the beginning of the project and encouraging team work in the project could assist construction projects