The effect of faulty design on building maintenance

Outlines the defects and faults during the design stage that affect building maintenance in Saudi Arabia and their relative degree of importance. Performed a survey of a randomly selected sample of 90 contractors, 30 architectural/engineering firms (A/Es), and 20 owners from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The survey included 35 defects and the respondents were asked to indicate their degree of importance. The defects were grouped into six groups. The level of importance of the defects and the groups were measured and ranked by their severity index for contractors, owners and A/Es. The following results were obtained: contractors, A/Es and owners generally agree on the ranking of the individual defects; contractors and A/Es agree on the ranking of the defect groups whereas contractors and owners, A/Es and owners do not agree; the construction drawings group of defects was ranked highly by all three parties whereas the architectural design group of defects received a low ranking.