Project Construction Phases, Legal Environment And Quality Of Residential Building Construction Projects In Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya has witnessed a surging number of constructed residential buildings whose quality dimension has been compromised. Despite the government of Kenya establishing the National Building Inspectorate, it is still perceived that the building construction industry is highly susceptible to ethical problems, resulting to collapse of buildings with disastrous consequences. The study investigated how project construction phases influence quality of residential building construction projects in Nairobi County. The study was guided by the following objectives: establish how feasibility assessment influences quality of residential building construction projects; examine how contract negotiation influences quality of residential building construction projects; assess how monitoring and evaluation influences quality of residential building construction projects; establish ways in which project closure influences quality of residential building construction projects; analyze how the combined project construction phases influence quality of residential building construction projects as well as analyse the influence of legal environment on the relationship between project construction phases and quality of residential building construction projects. The research design used was descriptive survey and correlational designs guided by the pragmatic paradigm. Contracting firms working on building construction projects in Nairobi County were considered through probability sampling while a census of engineering Consultants, NCA and NBI management teams was carried out. Questionnaires formed the data collection instruments. The data was analysed by use of both descriptive and inferential analysis using various descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, percentages, frequencies and the statistical tools of analysis that were used for inferential statistics are Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (r) and Stepwise Regression (R2). The Fisher (F) test was used to test the hypotheses in the study. The analysed data was presented in frequency tables and percentages. Findings from the study were hoped to make positive contribution in the building construction industry in Kenya. The findings depicted that feasibility assessment leads to an increase in quality of residential building by factor of 0.654 with P value of 0.000. At 5% level of significance and 95% level of confidence this is statistically significant as the P-Value is lower than 0.05. The study therefore rejected the null hypothesis. The findings revealed that contract negotiation influences quality of residential building construction projects. The findings depicted that contract negotiation leads to an increase in quality of residential building construction projects by factor of 0.442 with P value of 0.000. At 5% level of significance and 95% level of confidence this is statistically significant and the null hypothesis was rejected. The findings depicted that monitoring and evaluation leads to an increase in quality of residential building construction projects by factor of 0.242 with P value of 0.000. At 5% level of significance and 95% level of confidence this is statistically significant and the null hypothesis was rejected. The findings depicted that project closure would lead to an increase in quality of residential buildings construction projects by factor of 0.216 with P value of 0.000. At 5% level of significance and 95% level of confidence this is statistically significant and the null hypothesis was rejected. The study recommended that existing laws in the building construction industry should be enforced and measures taken against the culprits. This will ensure professionalism in all phases of the project cycle and in turn lead to the realization of quality in the building construction projects. Other scholars should investigate how professional ethics impacts construction quality in Kenya.