Challenges that Affect Quality Performance of Capital Construction Projects

Quality management (QM) is essential for the success of capital construction projects, yet insufficient attention has been paid to the identification of challenges that can negatively affect the overall QM performance. Capital construction projects are unique, fragmented, complex, and continuously evolving. As a result, most project tasks are not repetitive, which sets this industry apart from others (i.e., automotive and manufacturing industries). Previous studies have addressed issues pertaining to scheduling, estimating, productivity, and safety to enhance overall project performance. In addition, the application of QM techniques to construction projects continues to be identified as an area requiring further study. The primary objective of this paper is to identify the 25 common challenges that negatively affect the QM performance of capital projects throughout the various phases of a construction project, i.e., planning, executing, and operations and maintenance (O&M). The challenges were identified and assessed from a literature review and the industry survey with the relative frequency and impact on project performance. Examples of such challenges include a lack of industry-wide quality key metrics, a lack of understanding of the overall impact of quality, and insufficient resources for QM activities. This study will help industry practitioners understand the impact of common challenges on project performance, which will allocate resources to eliminate the challenges from the capital project execution.