The Standard Forms of Contract and the contractual behaviour on the performance of refurbishment projects / Nurulhudaya Abdul Hadi

It has been argued that the uncertainty of refurbishment projects the main factor that affects the project performance. It has also been argued that due to a higher degree of uncertainty, the existing Standard Forms of Contract which were designed for new build are not appropriate far refurbishment projects. The performance of refurbishment projects could be improved by having a dedicated Standard Form of Contract for refurbishment. However, the performance of refurbishment projects is not only determined by the quality of Standard Forms of Contract, but also by the contractual behaviour of the key participants. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to measure, to what extent the characteristics of refurbishment projects, the quality of Standard Forms of Contract and the contractual behaviour of the key participants influence the performance of refurbishment projects. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of obtaining data were used in the present study. A Preliminary Questionnaire Survey was conducted initially, followed by semi—structured interview with four contractors and five architects to get better insight view. Final postal questionnaire was distributed to 43 architects and contractors. From the figure, 17 architects and 21 contractors replied. The data from Final Questionnaire Survey was analysed using The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The study found that the existing Standard Forms of Contact are complete, clear, fair and produced high level of trust and therefore, appropriate for refurbishment projects. The quality of Standard Forms of Contract affects the quality of workmanship and the satisfaction of the client when the building was handed over to them. The contractual behaviour of the key participants affects the satisfaction of the client when the building was handed over to them. Furthermore, it was found that the quality of Standard Forms of Contract and contractual behaviour of the key participants are influenced by the project characteristics. Therefore, it was concluded that in order to improve the performance of refurbishment projects, the Standard Forms of Contract needs to be modified to suite the refurbishment projects characteristics and more emphasis should be placed on managing contractual behaviour of the key participants.