What is the stationary cause of rework in the Egyptian construction projects?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to: (1) determine the top causes of rework in the Egyptian construction projects, (2) explore the stationary cause of rework in construction projects, (3) identify the positions of the other developing economies in this respect and (4) help construction practitioners in overcoming the issue of construction rework. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey comprises 32 causes of rework obtained from previous literature has been sent to the Egyptian engineers for appraising their importance degrees. Then, Ginni's mean difference measure of dispersion has been utilized to pinpoint the stationary cause of rework. Subsequently, a comparison with six developing countries has been conducted to identify the most common cause of rework. Findings The top causes of rework are “compress and reduce schedule and multi-task for early completion,” “use of poor-quality materials by the contractor to increase profits,” “poor site conditions,” “lack of plans for training programs,” “low skilled workers” and “policy of choosing the lowest financial offer without considering the technical bid.” More importantly, “lack of skilled supervisors” has been identified as the stationary cause of rework, affecting 83.33% of the surveyed developing countries. Originality/value The paper fills a significant knowledge gap by determining the stationary cause of rework in Egypt, representing the most frequent cause of this issue in 83.33% of the investigated developing countries. This assists construction experts in determining the corresponding management measures of this stationary cause, leading to controlling its consequences and improving the performance of their construction industries in developing economies.