An Investigation into Factors Affecting Workmanship On Reinforced Concrete Columns in Building Construction Within Kampala District

Abstract

While the traditional emphasis of construction quality has mainly been on unsuitability of materials, workmanship has not been the subject of as much investigation, despite the relevant research done about it. Need is still required to establish critical areas of focus and identify the backbone of the most workmanship problems encountered in construction. This study investigates the major factors that affect workmanship on building projects in Kampala with a view to proposing possible remedies. Particular emphasis was put on columns because they are critical in transferring loads of the buildings to the ground. Data were collected using well designed questionnaires and data collection forms to capture the defects and real-time measurements from 200 respondents and 180 unfinished reinforced concrete columns where the mean score, frequency, correlation, relative importance index, and factor analysis was obtained. The factors responsible for poor workmanship were reduced to four clear patterns which include; inefficient allocation of resources, limited skills and expertise, poor workforce management, and inadequate control of works. The research further deduced the solutions for poor workmanship by factor analysis and three main patterns were identified which included; Favourable working environment, sufficient monitoring of works and allocating sufficient finances for work. The most critical areas to focus on were strict supervision and equipping works with skills. Column positioning and honeycombing should be investigated in-depth because little attention is paid to location of structural columns and during compaction of concrete, the workers employed in construction have to be thoroughly inducted about the best practices and the concept of good workmanship, and setting up a strict and favorable working environment