EFFECTS OF PLANNING ON THE PERFORMANCE BY LOCAL CONTRACTORS IN THE NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Contractors’ performance has been associated with the high cost of construction in Kenya. Given that localcontractors’ undertake construction of many types, this paper assessed the factors that affect planning bylocal contractors. A study to highlight the factors affecting the planning of local contractors on constructionprojects within Nairobi County was set out. This will assist clients in the choice of right contractors to select forrealising their projects. Simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. In the study, out of sixtyquestionnaires administered to local contractors forty, representing 66.7%, were filled and returned. From theresults obtained, it was found that the most suitable performance yardstick to ascertain whether a contractorhas planned for execution of the works are the quality of work (48%), delivery of the project on time (29%), theproductivity rate of the contractor (12%), and the project completion within estimated budget (11%). It wasconcluded that planning affects the quality of work resulting into majority of local contractors’ not beingawarded construction projects, while clients are not being influenced much by the budgetary estimate whenconsidering effectiveness of contractor. It is therefore recommended that there is need to train localcontractors on elementary construction planning techniques. It was further recommended that there is needto carry out more research on the same since the scenario covers a small portion of contractors’ population.