<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>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.</p></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.

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

Organization, Technology and Management in Construction: an International Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Request for information (RFI) is a formal process used in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry to address design flaws that affect...

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

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Apr 22, 2020

Page range: 2083 - 2094

Received: Dec 02, 2019

Accepted: Feb 21, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2020-0005

Keywords
construction phase, design flaws, design phase, design quality, request for information, qualitative design, steel construction projects, summative qualitative content analysis

© 2020 Mathieu Fokwa Soh et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Apr 22, 2020

Page range: 2083 - 2094

Received: Dec 02, 2019

Accepted: Feb 21, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2020-0005

Keywordsconstruction phase, design flaws, design phase, design quality, request for information, qualitative design, steel construction projects, summative qualitative content analysis

© 2020 Mathieu Fokwa Soh et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
construction phase, design flaws, design phase, design quality, request for information, qualitative design, steel construction projects, summative qualitative content analysis