Abstract
The construction industry faces a significant issue regarding project performance. Project
deliverables such as on-time completion and client satisfaction are frequently used as success
indicators. The capacity of the construction project manager to perform his job functions
efficiently and with the intended efficacy is crucial to the success of a construction project.
Because of the enormous number of parties involved, such as clients, contractors, consultants,
stakeholders, , regulators, and others, the industry is complex. Many problems and challenging
issues plague construction projects in South Africa, including cost, schedule, and safety. As a
result, this study examined the elements that affect construction project performance in order
to help owners, consultants, and contractors solve performance issues and improve the
performance of their projects. Secondly, the study sought to identify the types of constraints
related to construction projects in South Africa, the factors that cause constraints in
construction projects performance in South Africa, the strategies used in reducing the
constraints in construction projects performance in South Africa and lastly, the role of
construction professionals in reducing constraints in construction projects in South Africa. The
data used in this research was derived from both primary and secondary sources. The secondary
data was collected through a detailed review of extant literature while the primary data was
collected through a questionnaire which was distributed to construction professionals who are
active in the construction sites in the Free State Province. One hundred and fifty (150)
questionnaires were received from one hundred and fifty (150) sent out, representing a 100 per
cent response rate this was achieve using appropriate data collection tools using Google form
distributed to the respondents and their wiliness to respond to the questionnaires. In ensuring
the reliability of the research questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient reliability test was
conducted on the scaled research questions. Findings from the research were analysed using
descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). From the descriptive analysis,
workforce constraints, resources constraints, time constraints as the major constraints affecting
the construction projects in the South Africa construction industry. In addition, the findings
also revealed that the construction industry professionals ranked the following constraints as
not being attended to in the early stages of projects, namely the preparation and presenting of
correct construction documents, ensuring all the subcontractors are paid on time to avoid delays
and strikes, advising on the maintenance costs of specific buildings, developing accurate project
specifications and tracking, and measuring the progress on site, the lack of which results in
construction projects being delayed. Furthermore, industry professionals mentioned that the use
of BIM has been proven to improve the construction performance and can therefore be
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implemented in the South African construction industry. Finally, the study recommended that
the government, clients, construction professional bodies and stakeholders embrace and motivate
the implementation of the theory of constraints and the last planner system practices through
alertness, education, and training in order to improve project performance in the South African
construction industry.
Keywords: Construction industry, Constraints, Theory of constraints, Last planner system,
Critical path method, Project performance.