| dc.description.abstract | Building construction projects, globally, are planned to be executed at a given cost, to a
predetermined standard and within a specified time period. However it is not uncommon to see
such projects take longer than was originally envisaged, and, the duration of building
construction projects is increasingly becoming an issue of concern among the stakeholders in the
construction industry. This is because of the increasing rates of interests, commercial pressure,
inflation and the potential of a construction project to result in disputes and claims leading to
litigation or arbitration. The purpose of this study was to assess the determinants of delays in
public sector building construction projects in Kisumu City, within Kisumu County of the
Republic of Kenya. The objective of the study was to assess the extent to which project
management teams’, contractors’ capacities’, client related and force majeure factors, influenced
delays in public sector building construction projects in Kisumu City. Correlational research
design was adopted for the study to enable answering the research questions. The target
population for the study was 89 comprising of professional and technical staff of the directorate
of Public Works, contractors and public sector clients with building construction projects in
Kisumu City. Data was collected through census of the entire target population of 89 respondents
and, the study adopted purposive sampling to target specific groups who could provide the
desired information concerning delays in public sector building construction projects. The study
used self-administered questionnaires as the research instrument for data collection as it was
quick and could be easily e-mailed to respondents who were easily reachable. A pilot study was
conducted at Kakamega County. Data collection instruments were subjected to peer review,
scrutiny by research experts comprising of my supervisors and review of the pilot testing to
ascertain its validity. Reliability was tested by split-half method using the r-function of Spearman
brown prophecy. Quantitative approaches, using Microsoft Excel as well as Statistical Package
for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 20 was used to process, analyze and interpret data. On the
first objective the study established that the relationship between adequacy of project
management team members and project delays was significant (rho = .135, p = .299) and that
project teams had adequate number of members and therefore numbers could not have been the
reason for delays. On the second objective the study established that the relationship between
contractors who had clear organizational structures and delays was unrelated (rho = -.162, p =
.209) and that contractors did not have clear organizational structures that could help minimize
delays. On the third objective the study established that the relationship between regular payment
by clients and project delays was significant (rho = 711**, p =.000) and that clients did not make
payments on time, and this contributed to delays on building construction projects. The fourth
objective found out that the relationship between occurrence of poor weather conditions affecting
projects as a force majeure factor and project delays were un related (rho = -.102, p =.444) and
that poor weather conditions affecting projects did not occur frequently, thus not delaying
building construction projects. The studies major conclusion was that, there was need to regulate
the public sector building projects by registering experienced professionals. The major
recommendation was that effective ways must be designed to verify the list of staff produced by
contractors in support of their application and to ensure also that these key staff positions are
continually filled by technically competent individuals. These study findings may be useful to
Contractors, Clients, Project Managers and other building construction industry players in public
sector to achieve project objectives on time | en_US |
