Causes of discrepancies between design and construction in the Pakistan construction industry

In building construction, discrepancies frequently occur between design and construction in relation to architectural details, structural details, materials, and quality of construction. The objective of this paper is to identify the major causes of discrepancies in building construction. A questionnaire was utilised that contained 65 potential causes of discrepancies classified into 4 categories: design, tendering, construction, and overall project. The data was from Pakistan and the response rate was excellent (80.6%). The collected data was analysed and important causes of discrepancies were identified. The results indicate that the provision of incomplete data to designers, lack of interest by approving authorities to carefully check the design, and owner-proposed changes due to financial problems are the top three causes of discrepancies. Insights and discussion are included in the paper. This work provides a basis to minimise discrepancies in the construction industry and help reduce rework, delays, and defects in construction.