Evaluation of contractor’s quality control practices on construction sites in Nigeria

Quality is linked to and affects many areas of human endeavour. This study evaluates the quality control practices on construction sites in Nigeria, by establishing if contractors have a quality control plan, the basis for the quality control plan and the manner in which the quality control plan is implemented on site. The study also identified the areas of difficulty experienced by contractors in the implementation of their quality control plan on the construction site. Relevant literature on quality systems and standards in use that highlights what a quality control plan should contain was reviewed, based on which a 20-point contractor evaluation questionnaire was developed. A total of 46 recently completed building projects were examined and analysed. Using the statistical data obtained and analysed with the use of descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson product moment correlation test, the survey carried out indicates that most contractors in Nigeria; especially in Lagos possess quality control plans and for which a good level of compliance on site was reported by respondents. The research findings also indicated that there is a significant relationship between the implementation of a quality control plan and delivering a high quality project; where there were no quality control plans the quality of the delivered project was adjudged low. It was concluded that without adequate quality control plans and effective implementation on construction sites the Contractor would not achieve a significant quality delivery. The study recommends that project managers and other team members should view the possession of an effective quality control plan as essential in pre-selecting contractors, and its implementation on site as essential to improving the quality of projects delivered in the Industry.