Development of a Performance Index for Building Construction Projects in Kenya

Abstract

Building construction projects in Kenya suffer from cost and time overruns as well as the frequent collapse of buildings. One of the major reasons why the construction industry is failing is the lack of measurement of the construction project performance. There is usually a disparity of judgement among the stakeholders when it comes to the perception of failure and success of building construction projects. The general objective of the study was to identify and rank the key performance indicators in their relative importance to assist in building construction performance assessment. The specific objectives were to determine key performance indicators and to develop a key performance index for the building construction industry in Kenya. The study was anchored on various scholarly articles which informed the formation of the study variables and the identification of the subconstructs. The study adopted descriptive research methodologies. A sample of 100 stakeholders was identified using the Glenn Israel Table. Random and stratified sampling techniques were used to reach the respondents in the study. A questionnaire was used as the main study instrument coupled with oral interviews where the questionnaire proved inadmissible to collect data. Data was analyzed using the Analytical Hierarchical Process and Pairwise Comparison Models. Data was presented in tables. The findings of the study revealed that there are 10 key performance indicators with the highest-ranked being safety and the least being environmental performance. The weighted priority index ranged from 0.154 for the safety key indicator to 0.069 for environmental performance. The study concluded that the top-ranked building construction performance measurement indicators were safety, time effective, client satisfaction, and quality taking positions one to five respectively. The study recommends that building construction stakeholders should adopt standardized and acceptable measurement indices for the delivery of quality building and construction projects in Kenya. The study also recommends that further research should be carried out on adoption mechanisms of key performance index as a tool for performance measurement across building construction industry projects in Kenya.