Quality assurance of low cost building construction

Abstract

Construction industry is complex in nature, therefore quality assurance is paramount important and it is absolutely interconnected with cost. Quality is essentially a state of mind; it varies from individual to individual. In the concept of low cost building onstruction, the achievement of an acceptable standard in buildings is a combination of quality of design and construction and quality of maintenance. With this perspective the research problem addressed here is related to the gap in knowledge to be filled in the area of quality assurance in low cost building construction in Sri Lanka which has not much of attention have been paid. This study therefore has been conducted to answer the issues of quality assurance in the low cost constructions which is having a critical comparative importance. The research methodology adoptedfor this study is both quantitative and qualitative, within which a survey and few case studies were used to investigate the research question. The primary data collection techniques used in the case studies was questionnaires, interviews and observations. Content analysis and statistical tools were used to analyze primary data. The study has identified that even though ICTAD is required to maintain the ISO 9000 quality standards for the construction works, majority of the low cost constructions are not adhered to the standards in an effective manner and end up with quite a lot of quality issues as well. Further, researchers suggest some good practices to be maintained for better quality assurance in low cost buildings which are practically achievable but unfortunately not in the current construction practice.