An Analysis of Rework in the Context of Whole Life Costing

Title: An Analysis of Rework in the Context of Whole Life Costing
Authors: J. M. Kakitahi, A. Landin, H. Alinaitwe
Keywords: Rework, Whole life costing, Public Construction
Issue Date: April 2011
Abstract: Deficient construction work in the public sector attributed to substandard building materials, inadequately trained labour and minimal supervision by building contractors has adversely affected perception of quality attainment in public building construction. Without sufficient evaluation of this situation, the Government, through the National Development Plan (NDP) 2010/11 – 2014/15 has planned investment priorities through increasing the stock and improving the quality of public building infrastructure. Being cognisant of demand for improved social services, limited national financial resources and global economic impacts, the government is likely to be more inclined towards increasing quantity than improving quality. Consequently, the impact of quality failure attributes through the design, construction, operation and deconstruction stages of the building infrastructure could negate the anticipated benefits of the development programmes. Research shows that during construction of public buildings in Uganda, contractors are often required to rework portions of the works due to unacceptable quality. Rework, a quality failure attribute, seems to not only be evident in the design and construction stages, but exists in the operation and deconstruction stages as well. An understanding of what rework is and when it occurs is necessary in order to provide a platform for measurement of quality, related costs and determination of the whole life value of public building facilities. Since construction-related rework alone is presumed to range from 2% to 25% of the construction contract sum in most developed countries, rework requires examination, especially in Uganda where limited documentation of its causality exists. This paper reviews some of the literature regarding quality in public building construction in Uganda and selected studies on rework conducted in developed countries. It further proposes that analysis of the causality of rework be done in the context of whole life costing. Research by the authors on the causality, factors and magnitude of construction-related rework is to be conducted on selected public building projects in Uganda.
Presented at: The first Conference on Advances in Geomatics Research

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