ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION The concept of buildability was seen within the construction industry as a tool for eradicating problems such as poor on-site performance, late completion and poor product quality. Such problems were generally seen to result from an incomplete understanding, by both constructors and designers, of the increasingly complex process of construction. Buildability was suggested as being a discipline which would enable the process to be understood, thereby eliminating problems. In practice, however, the utility of buildability was compromised. One compromising factor was the differences in the content of the definitions of buildability being put forward. Such differences were almost inevitable given the complexity of the problem being analysed. A second factor was the subjective nature of many aspects of buildability.