Evaluating satisfaction with PCM services for school construction: A case study of primary school projects

Abstract

The lack of school construction professionals in Taiwan typically leads to poor construction scheduling and quality. Professional construction management (PCM) is thus introduced to minimize defects in school construction projects. However, satisfaction with PCM services remains unknown because there is no evaluation for such services. This study presents a satisfaction evaluation model for PCM services based on client needs. Based on the five phases of a project life cycle (PLC), the proposed model was used to measure satisfaction with PCM services provided to 19 school construction projects in central Taiwan. It was found that the clients of school construction projects were seeking greater PCM assistance during the planning and construction phases than during any other PLC phase. Compared with other phases, the bid and tender phase received the least demand for PCM assistance. Furthermore, the PCM consultant failed to provide consistent service quality, especially for services during the planning and design phases. Applying PCM to school construction projects is believed to be a feasible approach for improving the quality of Taiwanese school construction.