Project Management Practices Impact on Building Collapse in Nairobi

This research project investigates the effects of project management practices on mitigating building collapses in Nairobi County. The study aims to determine the extent to which planning, resource scheduling, project communication, and monitoring and evaluation impact the success of residential construction projects, thereby preventing building collapses. Utilizing a descriptive survey study approach with simple random and purposive sampling, data was collected from project managers, supervisors, and contractors across seventy-nine residential construction projects. The findings indicate a strong correlation between project performance and the aforementioned project management practices, emphasizing the importance of proper planning, communication, resource allocation, and monitoring for successful project completion and the prevention of building collapses in Nairobi County. The study suggests that stakeholders in the building construction industry should prioritize fundamental project management strategies to enhance project performance and reduce the risk of building collapses.

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EFFECTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS TO MITIGATE COLLAPSE OF BUILDINGS IN NAIROBI COUNTY
BY
JOSPHINE WAITHERA
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DIPLOMA
PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
2022

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DECLARATION
I declare that this research project is my own original work and has not been presented in
this University or any other institution for the award of Diploma.
Signature: ……………………………… Date: ……………………………….
Josephine waithera
REG
This research project has been presented for examination with my approval as the
University
Supervisor.
Signature: ……………………………….. Date: …………………………

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DEDICATION
I dedicate this research project to my family for their continued support during the period of
study

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
From the inception of my study idea through the completion of this research project, I would like
to express my gratitude to Mr, who served as my supervisor. I am indebted to him for his
encouragement, supervision, and direction. Without his encouragement and insightful feedback, I
would not have been able to accomplish as much as I have.
In addition, I would like to recognize the efforts of all of the lecturers at the for the assistance
and training that I have received, both of which have had an effect on the information that I
possess.
I would want to express my gratitude to my coworkers for their encouragement and for making it
possible for me to devote the necessary amount of time to finishing this research project. I pray
that the All-Powerful God would shower each and every one of you with his plentiful blessings.

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ABSTRACT
The building construction business is an important and intricate sector that contributes
significantly to the overall economy of the country. Building policies are always established in a
relevant legal authority in order to govern various training institutions, skilled construction
workers, site supervisors, and registration of the contractors. This is done in order to protect the
public. The building construction business in Kenya has been having a lot of issues as a result of
buildings collapsing in major cities, the bulk of which have occurred in Nairobi. As a result of
these collapses, many people have been killed and injured. There is a correlation between the
quality control that is now in place in Kenyan building construction and the rising number of
structures that have collapsed.This study is aimed at investigating the effects of project
management practices on construction projects to mitigate collapse of buildings in Nairobi
County. The results should assist all stakeholders in the building construction industry to
ascertain whether project management practices can mitigate the increased rate of collapse of
buildings in Nairobi County. The precise goals of the study were to determine the extent to which
planning, resource scheduling, project communication, as well as monitoring and evaluation,
have an impact on the success of residential construction projects in Nairobi City County thereby
preventing collapse of buildings. The primary research hypotheses that were investigated were
construction management theory, resource-based view theory, cybernetics theory, and realistic
assessment theory. A descriptive survey study approach was utilized, and both simple random
sampling and purposive sampling were used to collect data. The target demographic consisted of
the project managers, project supervisors, and contractors from each selected gated community
residential construction project. There was a total of seventy-nine residential construction
projects chosen. The use of questionnaires allowed for the collection of data. For the purpose of
determining the validity and reliability of the research questionnaires, a pilot study was carried

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out. The content validity of the instrument was evaluated by both peer review and research expert
verification. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to undertake an analysis of the
data presented in tables. Project managers, project supervisors, contractors, and clients of
residential construction projects in gated communities will find the findings useful. According to
the study's findings, there is a strong correlation between project performance and planning,
resource scheduling, project communication, and project monitoring and assessment. According
to the conclusions of the study, successful project completion requires proper planning,
communication within the project, distribution of resources, and monitoring and evaluation.
According to the conclusions of the study, project managers, supervisors, and contractors should
consider fundamental project management strategies in order to improve the overall performance
of projects and prevent the increased collapse of buildings in Nairobi County.

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Contents
DECLARATION.............................................................................................................................................. 2
DEDICATION................................................................................................................................................. 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT................................................................................................................................. 4
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................... 8
Background of the study..........................................................................................................................8
Statement of the Problem.....................................................................................................................10
Purpose of the Study.............................................................................................................................12
Hypotheses of the Study........................................................................................................................13
Delimitations of the study.....................................................................................................................14
Limitations of the Study.........................................................................................................................15
Organization of the Study......................................................................................................................15
CHAPTER TWO...........................................................................................................................................16
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................................16
2.2 Reasons For collapse of Buildings in Nairobi County........................................................................21
2.21 Substandard Materials...............................................................................................................21
2.22 Poor Workmanship....................................................................................................................21
2.23 Quack Contractors.....................................................................................................................22
2.24 Incompetence of construction workers.....................................................................................22
2.25 Conceptual Framework..................................................................................................................23
CHAPTER THREE........................................................................................................................................24
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................................24
Research Design.....................................................................................................................................24
Target population..................................................................................................................................25
Sample size and Sampling Method........................................................................................................25
Data collection procedures....................................................................................................................25
Data analysis and procedures................................................................................................................26
CHAPTER FOUR..........................................................................................................................................27
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS.......................................................................................................................27
Table 1: Agreement with the Various Statements on Contribution of Project Planning to Collapse of
Storey Buildings.................................................................................................................................27
Collapse of storey buildings in Nairobi County..................................................................................29

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Table 2: Statements on Collapse of Storey Buildings in Kiambu County............................................29
Regression Analysis............................................................................................................................30
CHAPTER FIVE............................................................................................................................................32
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................32
Conclusions............................................................................................................................................ 32
Recommendations................................................................................................................................. 32
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Buildings, as well as the supply of people with secure and inexpensive places to live, are
fundamental contributions to sustainable development, which is an essential component of a
civilized society. This has been demonstrated throughout the course of human history. In this
regard, the construction process in any building project should be carried out in the most efficient
and ethical manner possible to ensure that construction projects are finished according to the
standards of quality that were defined by the project owner or designer. Additionally, projects
continue to grow in size and complexity, necessitating the recruitment of more specialist
employees, higher-tech equipment, and improved control systems. The leaders of an organization
are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of quality management. To

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be able to successfully complete their construction projects, future project leaders will need to
possess both ethical and leadership skills. Failure of a project is typically the result when such
talents are missing or are insufficient. It is imperative that concerted efforts be made to guarantee
that quality is not sacrificed and that those who will benefit from the project receive the very best
in terms of a dependable, comprehensive, and environmentally friendly endeavor. The level of
quality ought to be the primary concern.
The ever-increasing population of city dwellers in Nairobi, the capital city, has witnessed the
mushrooming of residential constructions all throughout the city. As a result of the poor quality
of many of these constructions, building collapses have become all too common in Nairobi in
recent times, resulting in both fatalities and injuries. Since 2006, multiple instances of buildings
collapse have been reported in the city of Nairobi on a variety of dates. These incidents have
resulted in a number of people losing their lives as well as dozens more being hurt, crippled, or
permanently deformed.
According to a report that was given by the National Building Inspectorate in 2015, audits were
conducted in 2015 to determine the status of buildings in Nairobi. The National Building
Inspectorate is responsible for auditing buildings to ensure that they conform to land registration,
planning, zoning, building standards, and structural soundness. An inspection of 2,601 buildings
in Nairobi was carried out by the NBI, in collaboration with the County Government and the
NCA, and was finished in May of 2015. As a result of this activity, fifty-five problematic
buildings in the Huruma/Kiamaiko area were found. Following this, in December of 2015, it
proceeded to identify additional defective buildings in the areas of Umoja (28), Dagoretti (16),
Zimmerman (29), Thome Estate and Marurui (9), Githurai 44 (16), Garden Estate, Mirema (1),

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Roysambu (11), Ngei Estate (2), Kahawa west (3), Riruta, Dagoretti, Waithaka and Ruthimitu
and Uthiru (16)
Reportedly, these collapses can be traced back to a variety of factors, including inadequate
planning and monitoring, low-quality materials, and shoddy craftsmanship. The failure of
columns as a result of bending, the failure of concrete to meet the minimum strength
requirements for structural elements, a lack of proper and regular supervision, a lack of
maintenance, poor quality materials, non-approval of works, and a lack of professional input
during supervision are some other causes. The list is endless, but it does point to inadequate or a
lack of documented policies, systems, processes, and procedures that can assist county
governments and other construction sector regulators in managing the way in which they operate,
making compliance assessments, making decisions, and managing risk. The list is endless, but it
does point to inadequate or a lack of documented policies, systems, processes, and procedures.
Inadequate geotechnical and materials investigations, use of inappropriate specifications,
incompetent design, poor workmanship, lack of ethics, poor supervision, misunderstanding
between parties to the contract, use of inappropriate materials, and unskilled workers are some of
the possible causes of collapsing building structures, as stated by the Kenya Accreditation
Service (2015-2016). Other potential causes include the use of unskilled workers.
Statement of the Problem
In developing countries, spontaneous building collapses have been the cause of catastrophic
catastrophes due to the low quality of the construction. Although dependable building codes
are frequently employed in the planning process, construction companies in developing
countries frequently fall short of meeting acceptable requirements. Structural flaws are
sometimes detected too late, frequently after terrible events such as the one that just took

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place in Kenya, show that this problem is not specific to any one country or region. The
expansion of the construction industry in Kenya has led to the establishment of a number of
unethical business practices in the country. behaviors that go against established standards of
conduct. when financial aspects of construction procedures are not handled in a competent
and timely manner. If the process is not carried out in an ethical manner, then the parties
participating in it may be able to engage in unethical and unprofessional behavior, which is
detrimental to their career and, most significantly, reduces the overall quality of the project.
In recent years, Kenya has seen an increase in the number of newly constructed residential
buildings. There has been a reduction in quality across all dimensions. It is widely believed,
despite the fact that the government of Kenya established the National Building Inspectorate,
that the building construction business is very prone to ethical difficulties, which ultimately
results in the collapse of buildings with disastrous consequences.
The political, the economic, and the social are the three pillars that support Vision 2030. A
social pillar with the goal of bettering the overall standard of living for all Kenyans. As part
of the social pillar, the government's objective is to appropriately and decently house the
country's population in an environment that is environmentally sustainable. Housing and
urbanization One of the ways in which this can be accomplished is by ensuring the
construction of reasonably priced housing of a high standard. This can be accomplished by
employing appropriate project management techniques during the building construction
process and implementing quality control procedures at each stage. it has been proven that
there is an issue with inadequate quality being achieved in the construction of buildings all
over the world. warned of the danger of building collapse in Kenya due to the construction of
thousands of buildings that were dangerously weak, and recommended that unless better

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project management practices were implemented towards quality control, millions of people
would likely be exposed to unnecessary higher risks for generations to come. Improving
construction project management methods in order to create cities that are both safer and
more sustainable should be a major priority for both the government of Kenya and the many
stakeholders in the building construction industry. The purpose of this study is to determine
the effect that project management practices have to mitigate collapse of buildings in Nairobi
County and to explain how those practices affect the industry in terms of the provision of
safe and high-quality housing that brings both social and economic benefits to the nation.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to determine both the impact of project management practices on
mitigating the collapse of buildings in Nairobi County.
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The study was guided by the following specific objectives:
i. To investigate the effect of project regulatory framework on mitigating the collapse of
Nairobi County
ii. To establish the effect of project planning practices on mitigating collapse of
buildings in Nairobi County.
iii. To determine the effect of project team competencyon mitigating collapse of
buildings Nairobi County.
iv. To evaluate the effect of project cost management mitigating collapse of buildings in
Nairobi County
v. To assess how monitoring and evaluation mitigates the collapse of buildings in
Nairobi County