External factors and completion of construction projects In Kenya

Abstract

Construction projects face a myriad of challenges in progress. External factors in the study included political factors, socio-economic factors and technological factors. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of external factors on completion of construction projects at the department of health, Makueni County, Kenya. The specific objectives were the effect of political, socio-economic and technological factors on the completion of construction projects in the department of health, Makueni County, Kenya. The theoretical framework included the theory of constraints, the resource dependency theory and the social-technology theory. The target population was the 238 projects in health facilities in Makueni county initiated between financial year 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. The respondents were the facility managers who are also the Health Facility Project Management Committee secretaries. Cross sectional Analytic study approach was utilized in this study. A stratified sampling approach was used. The sample size was 150 projects. Primary data was gathered using a structured questionnaire. The pilot study was conducted at Wote-Nziu Ward in Makueni Sub-County. Comparison was done between independent and dependent variables. Continuous variables included the ages of respondents and the years of service. Categorical variables were expressed as frequencies and proportions. Chi-square test was used to determine association between variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of significant external factors on completion of construction projects. Statistical significance was assumed at P<0.05. Majority of the study participants were aged between 31.0 and 40.0 years old (56.0%), were nurses (77.3%), had managed their facility for over 5 years (74.7%) and were working in a Dispensary (77.3%). The male and female participant ratio was 1:1. There was less likelihood of the projects being completed in the presence of political involvement, transition in leadership, and contract payment (OR 0.1, 0.7 and 0.3 respectively). Political involvement and contract payment were found to be statistically significant when it came to project not being completed (p 0.001 and p 0.004 respectively). Projects were 2.7 times more likely to be completed with the availability of raw materials. Raw material availability was significantly associated with completion of projects (p 0.03). Multivariate analysis showed increased odds of completing construction projects from 2.7 to 5.3 times when raw materials were available. The study concluded that political factors and socio-economic factors significantly affect completion of construction projects. The study recommends that key stakeholders involved in the construction management process such as politicians be taken through monitoring and evaluation training to ensure that projects are well management and all risks averted. The researcher recommends a comparative study on the effect of technological factors on completion of construction projects.