Assessment Of Frequent Design-Error Causing Change Order On Building Construction Projects: In Case Of Hawassa City

Abstract

The building project phases are a set of complex processes involving many uncertainties. Since the nature of the industries and the uniqueness of projects, and the disintegration of the design and construction process increases the probability of changes. The design error that led change order is observed as one of the most frequently occurring issues in Ethiopia's building projects. Like other cities of the country, the building projects in Hawassa city are suffering from frequent design error. Thus, this study aims to assess the frequent design error that led change order on building projects in Hawassa city. This study's research design was descriptive analysis and relied on both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. As a sample population, 18 building projects were selected through the non-probability purposive sampling technique. A total of 45 questionnaries from contractors and 22 questionnaries from consultants were collected and interviews were conducted. The collected data were presented using the relevant tables and figures and, analyzed based on the Relative Importance Index (RII) by using Microsoft excel. The study revealed that the major types of frequent design error that led to change order was wrong/inadequate descriptions in specifications, discrepancies between drawing and site condition, errors in structural design calculations,and absence/omission of detail. The results indicated that the design phase's poor collaboration, owner changing design criteria late in the design process, designer rushes out drawings before a proper review, and lack of strong communication during design phases are the major causal factors. The cost and time-related claim, disputes among participants, additional work with a parallel increase in cost, and the completion time delay and disruption were the major impacts of frequent design error induced change order. Finally, the involvement of professionals at initial stages, comprehensive planning, thorough identification of client needs with detailed site-visitation before embarking on any design, and developing a quality control plan as a check and balance system was identified as the best antidote. Thus,effectively managing the frequent design error in building project phases is very important. It is recommended that all the design firms and the concerned bodies play their role, as per the expected disciplinary requirements, from the building project commencement to its execution. And also, they should establish quality control departments to verify all designs.