An assessment of performance of construction projects in South Africa

Abstract: The South African construction industry, like most construction industries worldwide, is facing several problems and challenges that directly affect the performance of construction projects undertaken in the country. Project performance can be measured and evaluated using a large number of performance indicators that could be related to various dimensions (groups) such as time cost, quality, client satisfaction, client changes, business performance, health and safety. However the abovementioned factors are not the only factors that affect the performance of construction projects; therefore this paper aims to establish the most critical factors affecting the performance of construction projects in South Africa, a case study of the Gauteng Province. The data for this paper was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was acquired through the administration of structured questionnaires. The questionnaire was distributed to construction professionals. The questionnaire was designed based on information emanating from an extant review of literature. Out of the 160 distributed questionnaires, 131 were received back which represented 82% response rate. Findings from the questionnaire analysis revealed that the key factors affecting the performance of construction projects in Gauteng are: cash flow, dispute management (Client and professionals), leadership skills of project manager, speedy and reliability of service to client, dispute management (labour and supervisor), learning from best practice and experience of others, review of failures and solving them and Availability of personnel with high experience and qualification. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the subject of factors affecting the performance of construction projects in Gauteng, South Africa