PERCEPTION OF CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS ON THE EVALUATION OF CONTRACTORS’ SELECTION CRITERIA ON BUILDING PROJECTS IN NORTH CENTRAL, NIGERIA
Zubair Ahmed
Department of Quantity Surveying,
Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi state. Nigeria
Email: zubairahmed6295@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Underlying the selection of contractors is the use of contractor pre-qualification data in order to identify the most qualified contractor. This research was aimed at evaluating the criteria for selecting contractors for construction projects on the basis of their order of importance and ease of usage respectively. Primary data was elicited from a sample size of 77 clients, 83 consultants and 65 contractors spread across the six states of North-Central Nigeria. Frequency distribution tables, percentiles, mean item score, and analysis of variance constitute the tools for data analysis. The study revealed that the major rationale for stakeholders’ adoption of contractor selection criteria is to meet clients’ objectives. While technical competence constitutes a major driver for contractor selection, the study unveiled that only financial reputation exhibits statistical significance with respect to ease of use towards selecting competent contractors in the study area. It was recommended that stakeholders should pay serious attention to technical competence and the quality of past performance which are essential determinants for contractor pre-qualification; reason being that a technically competent contractor with track record of quality project delivery will automatically pass the assessments tests with respect to indices of financial reputation and managerial capacity.
Keywords: Objectives of contractor selection, Criteria for contractor selection, Multi-criteria evaluation
