Assessment of factors inhibiting engagement of quantity surveyors on private residential building projects in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Purpose The study examined the factors inhibiting the engagement of Quantity Surveyors (QS) on private residential building projects in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria with a view to enhance the performance of such projects. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative research approach with the use of interview protocol for data collection. A Convenient sampling method was used to select 20 on-going residential building construction projects for the study in the Government Reserved Area, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. The client and the architect of the selected projects were the population of research for interview. For data analysis, 28 successful interviews were used, while frequency, percentile and content analysis were the method of data analysis used. Findings The result indicated that the most important factor inhibiting the engagement of QSs on private residential building projects is lack of awareness of the benefit inherent in engagement of QS on residential projects. Other important factors are; the perception that engagement of QS will increase the construction cost, absence of legislation that mandate engagement of QS, usurpation of Quantity Surveyor’s roles by other professionals and the perception that engagement of QS is essential only in big projects. Practical implications It was recommended that every state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) should start a series of awareness campaign program within their State to enlighten the populace on the services that a professional QS can offer them with emphasis on the benefits of engaging QS on the small scale projects such as residential building projects. More recommendation has it that as a matter of policy and requirement for building approval criteria, deliverables from QS should be made compulsory. This measure will help every potential residential building client to see QS as an important professional that must be engaged before their project can be successfully delivered. Originality/value The study attempted to investigate the factors inhibiting the engagement of QS on private residential building construction projects. This was motivated by the perceived prevalent of non-engagement of QS in the study area with the attendant poor project performance.