building defect case study in malaysia

Building Defects Assessment Framework for Malaysian Construction Projects

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• Siti Hafizan Hassan 21 ,
• Mohd Samsudin Abdul Hamid 21 ,
• Mohd Faisal Zaini 21 ,
• Syahrul Fithry Senin 21 ,
• Zulfairul Zakariah 21 &
• Mohamad Zain Hashim 21  

Part of the book series: Structural Integrity ((STIN,volume 23))

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• Symposium on Damage Mechanism in Materials and Structures

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The building industries of Malaysia have grown steadily, supported by ongoing infrastructure projects. However, some of the construction projects were poorly built in terms of quality. Building defects are not new in the Malaysian construction industry, and as a developed country that grows rapidly, therefore, this problem cannot be ignored, because it will generate a negative image toward the future construction industry. This study aimed to determine the most common types of defects that occurred in buildings, and the contributing factors to building defects in the construction project are also determined. In addition, the effects and solutions of building defects in the construction industry are examined. By identifying the objectives, the building defects framework can be implemented and practiced more effectively. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and the relative importance index. The result shows that cracks were produced. The highest-ranked type of building defects occurred with the relative importance index value of 77.3%, and poor workmanship is the most common factor that contributed to building defects in the construction industry with the relative importance index value of 81.3%. These defects also affect the appearance and safety of the building, which brings discomfort and dissatisfaction to the occupants living in the building. Therefore, the solutions are to overcome the defects with regular monitoring and supervision of workmanship, provide the workers with proper training, and ensure the usage of materials, especially the quality.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude and thanks to Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pulau Pinang for funding this research.

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Hassan, S.H., Hamid, M.S.A., Zaini, M.F., Senin, S.F., Zakariah, Z., Hashim, M.Z. (2022). Building Defects Assessment Framework for Malaysian Construction Projects. In: Abdullah, S., Karam Singh, S.S., Md Nor, N. (eds) Structural Integrity Cases in Mechanical and Civil Engineering. SDMMS 2020. Structural Integrity, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85646-5_22

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Practical building defect solutions; construction failures to be avoided- Real case studies selected from Malaysian buildings

Building defects affect society at large due to possible danger posed; they also result in direct and indirect cost in repairs, abnormally high maintenance, disputes and possible loss of building use. Defects are generally caused by inadequacies in design, poor workmanship, building usage not in accordance with design and lack of or incorrect maintenance. Normally, dampness and cracks are common manifestations of defects affecting the exterior and the interior space. Dampness can however often lead to cracks, making it difficult to determine root cause and appropriate repair. Not all manifestations may be considered defects and not all defects are serious to the extent that it will affect building stability and occupant safety. Materials are often blamed for defects when the cause lies in the choice of unsuitable materials and/or when their limitations are recognized and taken into account in design and design detailing. The paper however focusing more into the typical defects found within the construction industry in Malaysia with the highlight stressing more into the best potential technical solution to solve its problem as well as in economic term

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Building defect is one of the major components of building problems that significantly needed attention. When a building fails to function as it should, we must immediately seek for the determination. Is the problem taking place as the result of the worker's failure to assemble it properly? Is it involving the nature of it? Is the proper maintenance of the building not been performed as it should have been? The answers often depend upon a number of factors: the age of the affected building components, the exact nature of the problem, the presence or absence of human error, or some combination of all those three. This paper will review and discuss some of the major building defects happen throughout the world. It contains some of the main concepts and the definition of the terminological terms used. In addition, the causes, symptoms and remedial work of defect also been discussed in this paper.

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Defects in buildings are one of the major problems faced by the construction industry which affects the life of the structure the value of both the building and the company or the contractor that is constructing the building. The reason for the occurrence of the defects depends upon various factors the life period of the building, building components, human error or the combination of all the factors. These defects may also cause severe damage to the structure and the aesthetical view of the building. The common causes that lead to the defects include poor communication among the parties involved, lack of technical expertise and skills and inadequacy leading to recurring errors. This study is conducted to identify the pivotal factors that cause these defects in the buildings in Chennai. The study is carried out in two ways one by means of a questionnaire and other by a case study of two building with major factors causing defects. The factors are collected based on the direct observation and interaction and by literature review. The collected factors are used to prepare the questionnaire and it is circulated to various engineers, managers, and contractors to obtain the pivotal factors leading to defects using relative importance index. Major pivotal defects occurring in recent days were evaluated and remedial measures are suggested to overcome it in the future.

Transactions of the PACE-2021

sharmin khan , Mohammad Saquib

Defects have always been a matter of concern for stakeholders in construction industry, as they lead to additional running cost of project during the post occupancy stage. It is essential to identify the causes of these defects so that rectification measures can be expedited. For the purpose of research, the building life cycle is classified into three stages; design, construction and post occupancy. An investigation into the causes of defects is carried out through structured questionnaire survey based on Guttman’s scale, from architects working in Indian construction industry. Twelve causes of defects related to different stages of building were examined. The descriptive data analysis and cross-tabulation of data resulted in some interesting facts. The research concluded that major causes of defects in buildings are associated with construction and post occupancy stage of building, and can be listed as; dampness/seepage in buildings, poor workmanship, lack of quality control, improper installation of services and lack of maintenance.

Mehari Hailu

Defects in the building play pivot role in the performance of the building during post construction stages i.e. in the occupancy stage. There is no need to develop specified method to measure quality due to lack of quality measurement methods .It is noticed that there are a number of problems in the construction Industry caused by bad quality control, and the situation seems to getting worse. Projects are frequently late, over budget and suffer from poor workmanship and materials. Conflict is increasing, resulting in litigation and arbitration with depressing regularity. There may be failure of contracting firms happen due to poor buildings performance problems. Understand the aspects related to defects for the building construction projects and its impacting factors will make it possible to handle the quality problems much better. In this paper to work out remedial measures on causes of under consideration so as to minimize post-construction defects

Civil Engineering and Architecture

Horizon Research Publishing(HRPUB) Kevin Nelson

The problem of building defects is one of the common problems that occur throughout the lifecycle of the building. The construction stakeholders consider it a critical issue that led to costs and time implications of reworks. Mostly, repairing construction defects requires a cost approximately ranging from 2.4% to 3.15% of the total cost of building. Therefore, the current study looks forward to discovering and classifying the common factors contributing to construction defects. To achieve this objective, the researcher adopted a qualitative method to collect and analyze the needed data through deep review of several previous studies that focused on the causes of building defects. Accordingly, this study identified 57 common contributing factors of building defects, which are classified into five groups according to their sources. These groups are Factors related to design, Factors related to construction, Factors related to materials, Factors related to human and External factors. Understanding the contributing factors of the building defects can help construction stakeholders take and develop various strategies to reduce the existence of defects in newly constructed buildings. Positively, the findings of this study could upgrade the management efficiency of the building defects assessment process in the future, which will help to avoid them as much as possible.

WARSE The World Academy of Research in Science and Engineering

Building’s interior defects affect society at large due to possible danger posed; they also result in direct and indirect cost in repairs, abnormally high maintenance, disputes and possible loss of building use. Internal related defects are generally caused by inadequacies in design, poor workmanship, building usage not in accordance with design and lack of or incorrect maintenance. Dampness and cracks are common manifestations of defects. Interior dampness can however often lead to cracks; making it difficult to determine root cause and appropriate repair. Not all manifestations may be considered defects and not all defects are serious to the extent that it will affect building stability and occupant safety. Materials are often blamed for defects when the cause lies in the choice of unsuitable materials and/or when their limitations are recognized and taken into account in interior design and design detailing. A new Dutch standard NEN 2767, believed to be a world-first in Building Condition Assessment attempts to provide insight and uniformity in defect assessment and classification, translating the diagnosis in condition scores. The standard is expected to contribute towards improving communications for all involved including litigations relating to defects. This paper will give examples typically found during the building maintenance exercise. Also, the report focuses into the problem of the interior side of building defects which are having great impact to its occupant compare to the external one.

IOSR Journals

Construction defects are very common and frequently arising in construction project, especially in the project which has poor workmanship, poor project management in the construction site. Construction defect can be known as major problem in the construction industry that could cause the value of building decreases. As the defect impact on time and cost overrun, identification of defect at early stage of construction makes easy to complete project in stipulated timing. This helps to avoid or minimize defect in future work. Numerous analytical or statistical methods are available for analyzing impacts and selection of proper method depends upon: statistical data, time limitation of method. This information further helps to fix responsibilities, penalties on various parties involved in construction. This data is also required for suggesting different selection of remedial measures for improving useful life of structure. The purpose of this study is to review various symptoms & causes of construction defects occurring in construction project.

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ANALYSIS OF BUILDING DEFECTS AT RESIDENTIAL COLLEGES: A CASE STUDY AT HIGHER EDUCATION FACILITIES

• Nur'afini Dzulkifli Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
• Noor Nabilah Sarbini Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
• Nur IzieAdiana Abidin Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
• Izni Syahrizal Ibrahim Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Residential colleges are where students spend a significant amount of time at university. The university’s maintenance team must keep the building facilities in good condition to ensure the safety and comfort of the students and staff as well as to protect the university’s reputation. However, with today’s economic challenges, management frequently encounters difficulties in maintaining the buildings, resulting in the high number of complaints from building users. As a result, early detection of complaint trends is critical in reducing issues. Based on user complaints and the ‘learning from failure’ philosophy, the main aim of this study is to identify the most common complaint of building defects in residential colleges. The scope of the study is limited to 9 residential colleges from one (1) Malaysian public university. Complaints from 2012 to 2017 due to defects were categorized into 3 main areas of civil, electrical and mechanical. From here, the most frequent complaints from these categories were then identified. From the findings of this study, defects under civil received the highest number of complaints (62%), followed by defects under electrical (35%) and mechanical (3%). Under the category of civil, most defects were reported due to damage component, leaking and clogging. The solutions emphasize the importance of quality control, on improving workmanship, increasing building occupants’ awareness level, and improving complaints management. Overall, this study is significant when constructing new buildings because it provides information to the operation team as early as the design stage to consider the possibility of future maintenance activities, and planning improvement.

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Ali, A. S., Kamaruzzaman, S. N., Sulaiman, R., and Peng Y. C. 2010. Factors affecting housing maintenance cost in Malaysia. Journal of facilities management.

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Building defect : case study at Taman Seri Indah , Pulau Pinang

• Nur Diyana , M. Kasim
• Published 1 November 2009
• Engineering, Business

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Published in 2009

Nur Diyana M. Kasim

The Malaysian Lawyer

Latest updates on malaysian law, top 5 construction cases in malaysia for 2020.

Our guest author, Kevin Wong , writes on the top 5 construction cases in Malaysia for 2020. The areas covered include when does time run for the calculation of liquidated damages, the Controller of Housing, and cases on the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 (CIPAA).

#1: Sri Damansara – Court of Appeal Answers When Does LAD Start to Run?

( Sri Damansara Sdn Bhd v Voon Kuan Chien & Anor [2020] 4 MLJ 265; [2020] 5 CLJ 619, COA with the grounds of judgment dated 5 March 2020 )

Judges: Hasnah Mohammed Hashim JCA, Kamaludin Md Said JCA, and Lee Swee Seng JCA (delivering the judgment of the court)

Why is this case important?

This case concerns homebuyers as to whether the calculation of liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) on late delivery of vacant possession should be calculated from the date of payment of booking fee or the date of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA).

In this case, the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims (Tribunal) originally decided in favour of the homebuyer. LAD was calculated from the date of payment of the booking fee to the date of delivery of vacant possession. The developer had argued that the calculation should have been from the date of the SPA.

Dissatisfied, the developer applied for judicial review against the Tribunal’s decision. The High Court also agreed with the homebuyer’s basis of calculation from the date of booking fee. The developer then appealed to the Court of Appeal.

In this case, the Court of Appeal departed from two previous Court of Appeal decisions finding calculation was to run from the date of the SPA:

GJH Avenue Sdn Bhd v Tribunal Tuntutan Pembeli Rumah, Kementerian Kesejahteraan Bandar, Perumahan Dan Kerajaan Tempatan & Ors [2019] MLJU 861 and PJD Regency Sdn Bhd v Tribunal Tuntutan Pembeli Rumah & Ors [2019] MLJU 2067.

Instead, the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court’s decision that the calculation was to run from the booking fee. The Court of Appeal held that the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (HDA) is a social piece of legislation designed to protect the homebuyers who are in a more vulnerable position because of the inequality of bargaining power.

Further, the Court of Appeal did not appear to apply a consistent approach. In this case, the Court stated that the collection of any booking fee is strictly prohibited under the HDA. On the other hand, the Court allowed the date of the booking fee to be used for the computation of LAD. A decision from the Federal Court would be welcomed to put to rest the conflicting Court of Appeal decisions and the issues concerning the booking fee and the HDA.

#2: Alvin Leong Wai Kuan – High Court Decides that There is Retrospective Effect of Ang Ming Lee  Decision

( Alvin Leong Wai Kuan & Ors v Menteri Kesejahteraan Bandar, Perumahan Dan Kerajaan Tempatan & Ors And Other Applications [2020] 10 MLJ 689; [2020] 6 CLJ 55, HC with the grounds of judgment dated 20 March 2020 )

Judge : Wong Kian Kheong J

Why is the case important?

This case addressed to issue whether the Federal Court’s recent decision of Ang Ming Lee & Ors v. Menteri Kesejahteraan Bandar, Perumahan Dan Kerajaan Tempatan & Anor And Other Appeals [2020] 1 MLJ 281; [2020] 1 CLJ 162 ( Ang Ming Lee ) has retrospective effect.

In Ang Ming Lee , the Federal Court essentially decided that the Controller of Housing has no powers to grant any extension to a developer to complete the development.

In this case, the Controller of Housing granted the developer an extension of delivery of vacant possession to 54 months. The developer appealed to the Minister of Housing and Local Government (Minister). The Minister extended the period to 59 months (Decision).

Aggrieved by the Decision of the Minister, the purchasers filed judicial review applications to quash the Decision. Riding on Ang Ming Lee, the High Court allowed the purchasers’ judicial review applications.

The High Court made four points:

First , Regulation 12 of Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 1989 provides that the Minister’s decision “ shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court ”. This part of the regulation is invalid as it ousted the Court’s judicial power.

Second , even though these applications were filed before Ang Ming Lee , the judgment in Ang Ming Lee has retrospective effect and applies to the current applications. It is also in the interest of homebuyers for the judgment in Ang Ming Lee to be given retrospective effect.

Third , the Controller and the Minister cannot extend the time beyond the 36 months prescribed in Schedule H of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966.

Fourth , the homebuyers are entitled to claim for liquidated and ascertained damages based on the 36 months.

This case cements the rights of homebuyers to claim liquidated and ascertained damages for delivery beyond the statutory limit 24 or 36 months and potentially open the floodgates for more homebuyers to challenge to the Controller and Minister’s decisions to extend the time beyond the statutory limit.

#3: Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd – High Court Decides Whether an Adjudication Decision Can be a Disputed Debt

( Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd v Spring Energy Sdn Bhd [2020] MLJU 1196, HC with the grounds of judgment dated 21 August 2020 )

Judge : Ong Chee Kwan JC

Prior to this decision, the High Court in ASM Development (KL) Sdn Bhd v Econpile (M) Sdn Bhd [2020] MLJU 282 ( ASM ) held that an enforced adjudication decision can still be treated as a disputed debt. This is because an adjudication decision is only of temporary finality. The present case departed from ASM.

In this case, the Defendant commenced adjudication proceedings against the Plaintiff and was successful. Thereafter, the Defendant successfully applied to enforce the adjudication decision. The Defendant then issued a statutory notice of demand. The Plaintiff applied to restrain the Defendant from presenting a winding up petition.

First, the High Court allowed the Plaintiff’s application on the basis that the court was satisfied that the cross-claims by the Defendant is more than the statutory demand amount. Second, the High Court also held that an enforced adjudication decision is an undisputed debt. This decision is directly in conflict with ASM .

ASM is currently on appeal. A decision from the appellate courts is warranted to solidify the nature of an enforced adjudication decision registered pursuant to section 28 of CIPAA.

#4: Multazam Development Sdn Bhd – High Court Decision on the Nature of an Adjudication Order

( Multazam Development Sdn Bhd v Felda Global Ventures Plantations (M) Sdn Bhd [2020] 11 MLJU 606, HC with the grounds of judgment dated 15 May 2020 )

Judge : Lim Chong Fong J

This is the first decision to determine the nature of an order (not decision) made by an adjudicator in relation to costs awarded from the withdrawal of adjudication proceedings under CIPAA.

In this case, Multazam (Plaintiff) withdrew its adjudication proceedings against Felda (Defendant) when the proceedings were in progress. The parties could not agree on the quantum of the cost of withdrawal. The adjudicator determined the amount to be borne by the Plaintiff. Dissatisfied, the Plaintiff made an application to the High Court to, among others, set aside the order made by the adjudicator.

After hearing the application, the High Court remitted the issue on legal cost back to the adjudicator for reconsideration. Upon reconsideration, the adjudicator reaffirmed his previous order. The Plaintiff made another application to the High Court to set aside the revised order leading to the present case.

First , the High Court held that there is no provision in the CIPAA which permits an appeal or even the setting aside of a cost order made by an adjudicator.

Second , the High Court highlighted that the Plaintiff’s complaint was in substance an appeal against the adjudication order.

Third , the High Court could not entertain the Plaintiff’s complaint as the High Court has not been statutorily clothed with the jurisdiction power to do so.

This decision seals the finality of an order made by an adjudicator. Also, it serves as a timely reminder for a party who intends to initiate adjudication proceedings to bear in mind that an adjudication order (akin to a direction from the court) is not appealable and cannot be set aside.

#5: Spring Energy Sdn Bhd – Sessions Court Decides on Alternative Speedy Resolution for Contractors

( Spring Energy Sdn Bhd v Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd [2020] MLJU 902 , SESSC with the grounds of judgment dated 1 July 2020 )

Judges : Zulqarnain Bin Hassan

Since coming into effect in April 2014, CIPAA has been a salvation for the construction industry to resolve payment-related disputes. However, the adjudication lifeline came to a halt from March 2020 to November 2020. During that period, there was no director of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) to appoint adjudicators. This decision is useful in setting out an alternative to CIPAA as it has the effect of resolving payment disputes in the construction industry speedily.

In this case, Spring Energy (Plaintiff) commenced an action against Maju Holdings (Defendant) for sums due and owing pursuant to Payment Certificates No. 22 and No. 23. The Plaintiff successfully obtained a summary judgment. The Sessions Court held that, among others, the Plaintiff had proved a clear-cut case against the Defendant as the payment certificates issued contained the elements of clarity, finality and incontrovertibility. The issuance of payment certificates amounted to an admission by the Defendant and that the Plaintiff was entitled to the payments.

The adjudication process is back on track with the appointment the director of the AIAC on 1 December 2020. However, this decision opens up more options for contractors (where an arbitration clause does not govern their contracts) to resolve their payment disputes swiftly.

Kevin Wong is the partner in the Construction and Energy practice of Khong Partnership . He has experience in the entire range of dispute resolution processes including adjudication, litigation and arbitration.

Read the rest of the series:

• Top 5 Company Law Cases in Malaysia for 2020
• Top 5 Tax Cases in Malaysia for 2020
• Top 5 Restructuring and Insolvency Cases in Malaysia for 2020
• Top 5 Arbitration Cases in Malaysia for 2020

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