Factors influencing completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos county, Kenya

Abstract

This research study sought to establish the factors influencing the completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County, Kenya. The research objectives were; to determine the extent to which payment processes influences completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County, to understand the influences of contractors‟ technical capacity on completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County and to determine to what extend communication influences completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County. The research sought to answer the questions; to what extend does payment processes influence completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County?, to what extend does project communication influence the completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County?, and to what extend does contractors technical capacity influence the completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County. The research design for this study was descriptive survey which aimed to provide a description for the state of affairs of the problem under investigation through questions designed to solicit the required information. The study was a census of 56 composed of all 30 contractors, all14professionals and all 12 project liaison officers representing clients for30 major public buildings construction projects undertaken within Machakos Sub County of Machakos County since the inception of County governments in 2013.Theresearch instrument used for data collection was a self-administered questionnaire comprising of both closed and open- ended questions. A pilot study was conducted on selected but similar respondents to pre-test the research instrument for accuracy and validity. This was achieved through the assistance of the supervisor and other experienced experts in research field. Data was analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Scientists) version 22 software and results presented in form of tables.All the factors suggested in the objectives of the study vide: payment processes, project communication and contractors technical capacity were found toinfluence completion of public buildings construction projects in Machakos County. The study revealed delay of payments in payment processes objective at the 87.5% yes response and 2.51 agree score on the likert as the most significant among the factors followed by technical qualification of staff in contractors‟ technical capacity objective at 75.0% yes response and 2.54 agree score on the likert. Lastly, effective communication and regular site meetings in project communication objective attracted72.9%) yes response and 2.35 agree score on the likert. On relationship between the factors, it was found that there exists a very weak (r = 0.017) correlation between payment processes and completion of projects, a fairly weak correlation (r= 0.113) between project communication and completion of public building construction project but the study showed fairly strong (r = 0.429) association between contractors‟ technical capacity and completion of projects. The common believe that projects fail because of inadequate financing was disapproved by the findings that even well-funded projects can fail due to poor the payment processes. The researcher recommended integrated training approach for all parties involved in public buildings construction projects to synchronize their understanding on key construction project implementation issues, particularly payment processes.