Abstract
Clients who plan to build their own homes are not fully aware of all the roles played by professional consultants during construction projects. The problem exists that many negative consequences with regard to cost, time and quality performance arise on self-build residential construction projects where a principal agent is not appointed by the client.
The purpose of this study is to determine the necessary roles of a quantity surveyor serving as principal agent on residential construction projects; and subsequently establishing the possible implications of only using a building contractor to execute and manage such projects.
The research design is based on a case study that involved three residential construction projects in Bloemfontein, Free State. The data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders involved in these projects, with a purposive sampling method applied.
The findings indicate that the public is uninformed of the important services that a quantity surveyor, serving as principal agent, fulfill with regard to achieving project success within time, cost and quality constraints. The primary reasons for not utilizing quantity surveyors as principal agents on self-build residential construction projects are that clients have a lack of knowledge of the services provided by construction consultants along with a perception that consultants’ fees are expensive. Clients further have the personal belief that they can successfully manage the building contractor, as well as monitor and control their projects, on their own.
The study concludes that future self-build homeowners (clients) should appoint a quantity surveyor as principal agent on their projects, which would assist with the management of time, cost and quality parameters.
This study would be valuable to the residential construction industry by increasing the awareness of the roles and duties fulfilled by professional construction consultants, especially those of the quantity surveyor serving the dual role of principal agent.
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Bremer, T., Deacon, H., Els, MM., Mare, I. (2020). The Implications of Not Utilizing a Quantity Surveyor as Principal Agent for Residential Construction Projects. In: Aigbavboa, C., Thwala, W. (eds) The Construction Industry in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. CIDB 2019. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26528-1_52
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