Criteria for measuring Sustainable Construction Project Performance in Nigeria

Abstract

Construction Project (CP) in Nigeria is currently still at a rear end as far as sustainable construction is concerned. Consequently, the objective of this study is to identify criteria necessary for measuring sustainable construction project performance and to elicit perceptions of their relative importance. Thorough review of related studies were deployed to generate a set of factors that makes construction project habitable, attractive and liveable, and also, factors for measuring construction project performance. A total of 87 questionnaires were distributed to seven (7) main groups of project participants namely; client, project manager, architect, quantity surveyor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and builder/civil/structural engineer who participated on nine (9) case study projects. The survey findings indicate that quality performance and productivity both with 81.6% of importance, innovation with 80.4% of importance, health and safety with 80.2% of importance and client's satisfaction with 80% of importance are the most important factors to consider while measuring sustainable construction project performance. For a construction project to be habitable, safety and incident risk, acoustic comfort and visual comfort are the most important factors to consider. When considering how attractive construction project should be, art in architecture, unique style, terrain choice and harmonious surrounding are the most important factors to consider. Also, when considering the liveability of a construction project, space efficiency, ventilation and public accessibility are the most important factors to consider. Finally, this research recommended that the factors listed above, are key factors to consider at the design stage of any construction project for both the designer and the regulatory agencies, and these factors are to be monitored throughout the construction process since they are vital in measuring the performance of any sustainable construction project to infer a more desirable and satisfactory sustainable building.