: INVESIGATION INTO THE DESIGN ERRORS AND ITS IMPACT ON INITIAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT CASE STUDY: KANOMBE SECTOR IN KICUKIRO DISTRICT

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate how design errors can affect the initial cost of construction project. The specific objectives were to identify the causes of design errors in construction Project, to examine the impacts of design errors in construction Project and to examine the impacts of design errors on initial cost of construction Project. The questionnaire survey conducted in the 100 respondents from the active construction companies in Kanombe sector. Collected data were analyzed by tables and ranked using SPSS software. Based on the findings, it is concluded that the causes of design errors in construction project were the Speedy construction, Lack of detailed drawings, Engaging unqualified designers, Increase complexity in project, Poor supervision/coordination, Poor workmanship, Lack of systemic knowledge, Errors in calculations and the use of newly introduced materials, Unclear overview of the designs, Lack of coordination process, and Human mistakes, Insufficient fund to create quality documents, Insufficient time to create review quality documents, Low budgets for design, Project managers not understanding the scope of the project, Miss-coordination between lead designer and consultants, Confusion created by owner decisions or indecision's, and in turn, client not coordinating as to what is required, Designer rushes out drawings before proper review, Budget and time pressure on the designer, Lack of construction knowledge and experience of designers, Inadequate training, Engaging unqualified designers, Lack of knowledge about material performance, Unrealistic scheduling of design task functions and the use of time boxing, Underestimating the resources required for designing tasks, Poor bid or no bid responses. Based on the impacts of design errors in construction Project, The findings show that the impacts of design errors in construction Project were construction project cost overruns, Schedule delays, Unsafe environments which affect project performance, Failures occurring in civil engineering projects, Cause pressure on the schedule and also affect the quality of the work, Design error makes the amount spent on rework at design face to be more than the one at construction stage and design errors influence the quality of design. The findings shown that the impacts of design errors on initial cost of construction Project were Design errors contributes to accident on site, the cost of rectifying errors and omission increases a project cost, design errors contributes to project failures accidents and loss of life, design error result in time and cost overrun and design errors can adversely influence project performance