Qualitative analysis of Request For Information to identify design flaws in steel construction projects

Fokwa Soh Mathieu (), Barbeau Daniel, Doré Sylvie and Forgues Daniel
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Fokwa Soh Mathieu: École de technologie supérieure, 1100 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montréal, QC H3C 1K3Québec, Canada, Tel : +1 (514) 396-8800
Barbeau Daniel: Groupe CANAM, 270, chemin Du Tremblay Boucherville, J4B 5X9Québec, Canada, Tel : +1 866-506-4000
Doré Sylvie: École de technologie supérieure, 1100 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montréal, QC H3C 1K3Québec, Canada, Tel : +1 (514) 396-8800
Forgues Daniel: École de technologie supérieure, 1100 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montréal, QC H3C 1K3Québec, Canada, Tel : +1 (514) 396-8800

Organization, Technology and Management in Construction, 2020, vol. 12, issue 1, 2083-2094

Abstract: Request for information (RFI) is a formal process used in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry to address design flaws that affect communication between designers and contractors. A large number of RFIs are a sign of a lack of precision or coordination in the design documents. However, RFIs produce rich, precise, and structured information. Analyzing their content can help to identify recurring problems between designers and construction teams and better tailor future projects to the working context of the contractors. This article presents a method for identifying recurring issues during the design phase of steel construction projects through the analysis of the contents of RFIs. It is original in using a qualitative content analysis tool that can analyze large quantities of RFIs rapidly. Identifying the recurrent problems of contractors will allow the establishment of rules to be taken into consideration during the design phase of future steel construction projects. A case study of 26 steel construction projects demonstrates the feasibility of this method. This case study shows that, given the same designers and construction teams, recurring problems shown in RFIs do not differ according to the scale of the projects. In this case, the main issue between designers and contractors is the lack and inadequate presentation of information related to the connection of steel components. Identifying these problems can pave the way for initiatives to improve the design phase and can be an essential step in making contractors’ knowledge available to designers early in the projects.

Keywords: construction phase; design flaws; design phase; design quality; request for information; qualitative design; steel construction projects; summative qualitative content analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:otamic:v:12:y:2020:i:1:p:2083-2094:n:5

DOI: 10.2478/otmcj-2020-0005

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