Tracking architectural defects in the Malaysian hospital projects

Building defects are always the key concern in the construction projects. Defects represent not only a loss to the project but also hamper the smooth running of the building when in operation when completed. Recognising the need to resolve the continuing problem of defects in their projects, the clients of public hospital projects in Malaysia piloted a scheme to manage defects in public hospital projects during the Defects Liability Period (DLP). This paper presents part of the research which investigates what can be drawn from the analysis of architectural defects in these projects. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted. The findings suggest that with a proper methodology in place, there is much that can be learnt from the studying the cause of the defect. This can provide very useful insights to their root cause and how this can avoided in future projects.