Investigation of defects during Defect Liability Period and Retention Payment in Public Building Construction projects in Jimma Town

Abstract

After practical completion of the whole works, the contractor requests the Engineer for the provisional acceptance, and during provisional acceptance the engineer to notice the unfinished works or not commissioned according to contract document. Then the contractor is obliged to rectify the defects that occurred before and after the practical completion during 12 months of defect liability period that occurred due to poor workmanship, quality material deficiency and carelessness of the contractor. This study aimed at the investigation of defects during defect liability period and retention payment in public building construction projects in Jimma town. It identified and analyzed the type and cause of defects that occurred during defect liability period and evaluated the adequate amount of retention payment to rectify defects during Defect Liability Period, its impact on the projects on time close-out on public building construction of in Jimma town. After pertinent literatures were reviewed both primary and secondary data collected through questionnaire, interview and disk study. The sample was selected from Jimma Town by purposively sampling targeting in public building constructions. 58 structured questionnaires were distributed to personnel in the offices of contractors, consultants, and clients to obtain the desired data for analysis. 52 questionnaires representing a response rate of 89.65% were returned and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the assist of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The results are analyzed according to the study; the types of defects are Leakage of roof, Damp/leakages in ceilings, peeling off paint, Short circuit in Breaker and Seepage from defective pipe works or sanitary fixture. The causes of defects in public buildings are Poor Workmanship, poor project management, Defective construction material, Faulty Design, and Poor supervision of site workers. The amount of 5% retention payment (2.5% during defect liability period) enough to rectify defects the whole problem that happens on the building construction then agree by 48.08% of the respondents. It can be concluded that improper construction management, uneven measurement, the use of lowquality materials standards, and poor workmanship end with more defective results. Hence, the study recommended that proper construction management is required so that careful measurement, quality materials, and efficient and skilled workers could be implemented during the construction stages of the project and during the Defect Liability Period. Moreover, strict supervision of public building projects must be provided especially the material quality standard ensured by approval and strict follow-up there must be each individual works during construction stage.