Critical Supply Chain Problems In Contractor - Subcontractor Interface Of Sri Lankan Building Construction Projects

Abstract

As a developing country, construction industry provides considerable contribution to the Socioeconomic growth of Sri Lanka. However, successful completion of a construction project is yet a challenging task. It requires coordination, collaboration and management of different stakeholders with different objectives. While achieving the objectives of a construction project, a proper management of supply chain is vital as improper management of the supply chain impacts negatively on the construction project delivery process. Prior studies have identified several interfaces which impact on the successful project delivery. The mechanism related to contractor-subcontractor interface highly impacts the ultimate project outcome as it is directly linked with the delivery of the project. This study set out to identify the critical supply chain problems in contractor-subcontractor interface in Sri Lankan building construction projects. The study was derived through a mix method approach. Semi structured interviews were carried out among the industry expertise to identify the supply chain related problems. Thereafter, to identify the critical problems of supply chain, a questionnaire survey was carried out among the industry practitioners in the building construction projects. The data was analyzed using Relative Important Index in order to rank and identify the severity of each identified problem in the contractor – subcontractor interface. The study indicates that, using verbal information, lack of reference to the main contract and nonresponsible responses as the critical problems in the Information flow. In terms of the Material flow: deliveries are not according to the plan, poor labour management and noncompliance with material and components are ranked as the critical problems. Delay in payments, back-to-back payments and payment interest charging as the critical problems under the Capital flow. These findings may assist the industry practitioners to identify the criticality and monitor supply chain problems in contractor- subcontractor interface and to minimize them in building construction projects. KEYWORDS: construction industry, construction supply chain, supply chain management, contractor subcontractor interface, interface problems.