Design Error Costs in Construction Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138, Issue 5
Abstract
Design errors can adversely influence project performance and can contribute to failures, accidents, and loss of life. Although there has been a considerable amount of research that has examined design error causation, little is known about design error costs. With increasing emphasis placed on the use of nontraditional forms of procurement methods as a result of various government reports and the advent of Building Information Modelling there is a general perception that design error costs will be significantly less than those projects procured by traditional means. By using a questionnaire survey, estimates for design error costs were obtained from 139 projects. The mean direct and indirect costs for design errors were revealed to be 6.85 and 7.36% of contract value, respectively. Design error costs were found not to significantly vary with procurement method and project type used. Although the research provides invaluable insights into practitioners’ perceptions of design errors costs, their actual costs remain relatively unexplored.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which have helped improve the quality of this manuscript.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138 • Issue 5 • May 2012
Pages: 585 - 593
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 19, 2011
Accepted: Jul 28, 2011
Published online: Jul 30, 2011
Published in print: May 1, 2012
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