Influence Of Contractors Management Practices On Performance Of Housing Construction Projects In Kisii County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Management practices that should ensure projects performance such as planning strategies, conformance to construction standards, design implementation, and effective financial management are normally not followed hence the reason why projects perform poorly especially in the housing industry. In the past, there have been increased cases of houses collapsing across the country and specifically in urban areas such as Kisii County leading to loss of properties and lives. Performance of housing projects is expected to be good if constructions are done in conformance with specific standards, being of good quality, completed in time, and meeting clients’ needs. However, the fact that houses are constructed through the use of improper time-frames from expected, poor materials, as well as inadequate planning affects overall quality of the projects. This study was to investigate how contractors’ management practices influence housing projects performance in Kisii County. The study’s specific objectives included investigating the influence of contractors’ planning strategies, compliance to industry standards, design implementation, and contractors’ financial management practices on housing construction projects performance in Kisii County. The study employed a descriptive study design. The target population was the 206 registered contractors in Kisii County from where a sample of 136 respondents was taken through simple random sampling approach. A questionnaire was used to collect data and the data obtained was cleaned, sorted and organized using SPSS application. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data for the study. Descriptive statistics used included percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviation. Reliability of data collection instrument was measured by Cronbach Alpha and researcher ensured the 0.7 threshold was achieved. Multiple regression analysis was applied to show the relationship between the variables guiding the study. The results obtained showed that housing construction projects are affected by contractors’ management practices which include planning practices, conformance to industry standards, implementation of designs, and financial management practices respectively which were found to have a positive influence on projects performance. Based on the findings, several recommendations were made. It was recommended that contractors in the county should ensure that planning strategies are strictly adhered to. It was also recommended that frequent monitoring should be done to ascertain if industry standards are followed in constructions. It was also recommended that design implementation be given much attention. Further, it was recommended that financial management practices be given much attention. Finally, the researcher recommends future studies to focus on the influence of government authorities in performance of construction projects. The possible beneficiaries of the study include academicians in the field project performance, contractors, as well as policy formulators.