- Title
- Consequences of unforeseen rework on Australian construction projects - a case study approach
- Creator
- Smolders, John
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Masters Research - Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
- Description
- Rework is a phenomenon that has crept into the building construction industry and gained the interest of many academics. Rework is typically a product of faulty construction outcomes arising from a number of causes including shortcomings in professional management, design documentation and job site cultural environment resulting from ethnic differences and / or trades union involvement. The opportunity for this study arose after two similar projects were deemed distressed by their financiers and both required substantial rebuilding. These projects had a common thread of being constructed by Chinese builders, one from Hong Kong (CS1), the other (CS2) from the Peoples Republic of China. Both came under pressure from the Construction Forestry Mining Engineers Union (CFMEU), the union representing construction workers. It was initially thought that cultural ethnic differences combined with the CFMEU’s influence on both projects were the catalysts for rework. However, subsequent investigation indicated that the regulatory environment allowed construction to continue unabated. The intention of this study was to unpack possible causations, collect them into themes and then gather data to answer the primary research question of why the two buildings were seemingly allowed to be constructed unchecked. A mixed method research methodology (MMR) was adopted for the data collection and triangulation principles for the data analysis. MMR was suited for this study as the quantitative results provided an overview of rework causation whilst the qualitative findings swayed the pendulum away from cultural causation to regulatory causation. Triangulation provided a threefold perspective from literature, external consultants and those physically working on the projects. This study is unique as it examined two straightforward high-rise buildings with similar attributes that were allowed to progress to a stage of distress. The study identified questionable construction methods, particularly on one project, whilst both projects underwent major removal and replacement of services. The initial premise of this study was the belief that both projects became distressed due to the ethnological cultural differences of both builders’ management practices compared to the local ‘home grown’ methods of construction commonly adopted by the remainder of the workforce. It became evident that culture did play a minor role contributing to rework but the central pillar was something quite different as detailed in this study. Reluctance by Government to adopt regulatory changes suggested by Royal Commissions and Inquiries have created gaps within the regulatory environment allowing non-compliant works to be carried out unchecked and thus creating rework.
- Subject
- rework; industrial relations; quality; certification; skilling; construction
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1317481
- Identifier
- uon:23429
- Rights
- Copyright 2016 John Smolders
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 162 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |