Abstract:
Achievement of utility at the earliest in building construction projects in Kenya has hitherto been an elusive aim. When resources are not sufficient to fully complete a building as designed, it is prudent to imaginatively do the construction with a view to making the building habitable at the earliest point in the construction. However, in practice, house developers employ unstructured and ineffective ways to address this.
In this study, the researcher set out to remedy this by developing framework for achievement of utility at the earliest point in a building construction project by investigatingthe implementation methods of 30no house building projects undertaken by public servants under the Civil Service Housing Scheme in Kenya.
Review of literature on building construction delay, house construction process, utility, project success criteria and project success factors revealed the lack of a house building implementation framework in Kenya that guarantees early achievement of utility in the building process.
Survey research was employed with 30 no. projects being selected from the accessible population through non-probability quota system sampling technique combined with snowball sampling technique. Data analysis showed that 59% of prospective house owners in Kenya are pushed by high rents and social status to start construction on insufficient funds. These factors influence the completion plan one is likely to adopt as well as the level of completion (Sig. 003) and hence satisfaction that will be achieved. Further, project success factors that would most influence achievement of utility at the earliest in house construction are: project planning (0.9034), cost reduction measures (0.8897), project brief (0.8414), project scheduling (0.8345) and setting project success criteria (0.8345). These are the factors that have informed development of the house building framework by the researcher.
The model guarantees achievement of early utility thus giving financial relief to the house owner as well as alleviating costs associated with incomplete structures left in that state for long.
As prospective house owners who commence construction on insufficient funds aim at occupying their houses before completion because of the pushing factors, adoption of the thirteen-step house building framework model developed in this study is therefore recommended.
