Factors influencing sub-contractors selection in construction projects

Selection of the best sub-contractor is a vital process in construction projects. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when selecting sub-contractors. Improper selection of sub-contractors might lead to many problems during work progress. These include bad quality of work, and delay in project duration. This process is controlled by many factors. Forty six factors are collected from previous studies that influence sub-contractor selection. This paper identifies the most important factors that influence the selection of sub-contractors. A questionnaire was distributed to experts in the construction domain to determine the importance of factors that are taken into consideration by the main contractor to select the most suitable sub-contractor. A survey was carried out which was conducted with 29 experts in the construction field to determine the score of each factor. Statistical analysis is carried out on the feedback of the respondents of the survey. By using SPSS software, the frequency of the results of the questionnaire was determined. Examples of crosstabs between some of the most important factors are presented to provide a comparison between two factors. The mean score of each factor was determined and the p-value was calculated using the SPSS software, the significance of each factor used in the questionnaire is determined. Any factor that has a p-value less than 0.05 is considered a significant one.