How do infrastructure owners build capabilities to reduce operational failure?

Limited studies focused on understanding the causes of operational quality failure. Clients recognised some project failed with assets not performing during operations that question the distribution of capabilities to better perform. This study consists of 4 preliminary reviews on the operational issues and 19 in-depth interviews with highly knowledgeable experts sample who involved with operational delivery of the asset. Empirical data were gathered using the card sorting and semi-structured interview in identifying and measuring quality cost failure in five projects within single client organisation case-study. The preliminary findings indicate limited maturity in understanding and capturing quality cost failure thus influence the capabilities in addressing operational failure. By identifying and measuring quality cost failure, owners are learning through project–operations failures to capture integrated capabilities in reducing failures. The findings suggest capabilities were better distributes through integrated hybrid arrangements that share the dynamic of advances project in promoting organisational learning. It provides agreements between parties to better identify and measure cost of quality to achieve project benefits.