| Author: | Ng, Yee Yeung |
| Title: | A study of subcontractors appraisal criteria for subcontractors selection in the Hong Kong construction industry |
| Advisors: | Yam, C. H. Michael (BRE) Sing, C. P. Michael (BRE) |
| Degree: | DIREC |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Department: | Department of Building and Real Estate |
| Pages: | xvii, 215 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The Hong Kong construction sector has taken a traditional approach to subcontracting for many years. Multiple layers of subcontracting can be involved throughout the tendering process. Subcontractors account for nearly 80% of the total value of construction projects in Hong Kong, which can significantly affect the outcomes and performance of these projects. To address the common problems encountered in construction projects, such as a lack of skilled labour, safety issues and poor workmanship, the selected subcontractor is expected to have high standards of workmanship, good safety awareness, sufficient manpower resources and competitive prices. The subcontractor system also serves as a risk allocation function. Given the differences between the perspectives of contractors and clients, different weights can be assigned to the subcontractor selection criteria. Thus, the applicability of the current subcontractor system (including the selection criteria) for the different contractual parties in construction projects should be re-examined. In this study, the key factors of these criteria and the subcontractor selection practices in construction projects are examined. Qualitative and quantitative approaches are taken in the study, including a literature review (to identify the research gaps and develop questions for the structured interviews), pilot interviews (to test and refine the interview questions), structured interviews (to ask open-ended and quantitative questions), constant comparative and ranking analyses, Kendall’s Tau (to measure the correlation between the contractor- and client-side rankings of the 17 key factors of the subcontractor appraisal criteria), the Delphi–AHP method (to develop two prediction models) and case studies (to validate the models). A total of 17 key factors were identified from the structured interviews via constant comparative analyses. These factors were then classified into seven main themes. The factors of ‘pricing, costing, profit and dispute’ and ‘pre-qualification including financial, job reference, experience and reputation’ were ranked among the top three by both the contractor- and client-side participants. The ‘ability of subcontractors’ and ‘cost and resources’ ranked among the top three themes. From testing the correlation between the contractor- and client-side rankings based on Kendall’s Tau, a correlation coefficient of 0.54 was obtained, and a moderate relationship established. The Kendall’s Tau p-value was statistically significant at 0.002. For the Delphi–AHP surveys, a Delphi meeting was conducted amongst the participants to discuss the results obtained from the first round of the AHP questionnaire survey. A consensus was reached among these participants during the meeting. A second round of the AHP questionnaire survey was then conducted, and two AHP models were developed for strategic use in subcontractor selection. Two case studies were then conducted to validate these models. The AHP models produced the highest weighting for the ‘cost and resources’ criterion from the contractor side and the ‘quality’ criterion from the client side. The results showed that each party has its own concerns and assigns different weights to the appraisal criteria. The AHP models can help top management make informed decisions when selecting subcontractors. The results also provide impartial suggestions for subcontractor selection and can improve the current subcontractor system in Hong Kong. Given that the invited practitioners were limited to those working on residential building projects, the proposed AHP models can be recommended for such projects. Recommendations for future studies on subcontracting are also proposed to enrich the subcontractor system literature. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7626.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 2.91 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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