Abstract
The uniqueness of Construction products, such as social infrastructures can be defined as “a project”. Therefore the concept of Project Management can lead managers to the effective situation at any time.
The Quality of the final product may be directly affected, or influenced, by many factors apart from the Contract requirements and specifications which are often strongly interrelated, including; design and technical inputs, interfacing projects and developments, culture and environmental factors that can all lead to some trade-offs or compromises. Due to this structural complexity, it is very difficult to identify specific factors to focus on that would ensure and guarantee that customer satisfaction is achieved.
In this paper we utilize the results of a survey carried out amongst construction site managers in Japan and overseas to develop a spatial network, where we define that the interaction of management factors as a weighted graphical model. This is then analyzed using the minimum circulation distance and Warshall-Floyd algorism methodology to find the key factor and most direct mechanism for maintaining/influencing construction quality. Based on the results of our analysis, and the latest procurement policies adopted by the “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism” in Japan, we conclude with some suggestions for increasing accountability within the civil engineering industry.
