The prevailing trends of defects and snagging in new homes in the UK

Over the last ten years there has been a constant call from both clients and the government for improvements in the quality achieved by the private house building sector of the UK construction industry. The Egan Report (1998) identified the need for a consistent reduction in the level of defects found within construction projects. This 20% annual reduction being perceived as a key indicator of sustained improvement: the goal of zero defects being heralded as a realistic achievement within 5 years. The reality of course is that little has been done to improve the industry's record with regard to the determination of the origins and causes of defects, nor their eradication. The aim of this research was to determine whether there are common sources, causes and prevailing trends of defects in new homes in the UK. The research was carried out using a hybrid system conducted under the positivist (quantitative paradigm) that uses a combination of quantitative techniques for analysing numerical data and also utilises numerical techniques for analysing qualitative (content analysis) data. Findings from analyses of the records of some 200,000 defects discovered on 3696 new homes shows that as the size of the house rises by the number of bedrooms, the average snagging figure rises with five-bedroom houses having on average 120 snagging items. The research also found that the 80/20 rule (Pareto principle) can be applied to this research as 20% of the terms used to search the main database accounted for around 80% of the actual snagging items observed; which basically means that 80% of the snagging items arise from 20% of the causes. Discussion is given to the impact of the continuing levels of defects found and the need for understanding of the typology of these defects and management of the causal agent. Recommendations for further research and examination of the indirect costs associated with the snagging process are made. These analyses would highlight the effect of snagging levels upon organisational and industry performance.