Abstract
The delivery of construction project is often affected by several risks factors which can threaten the achievement of project outcome in terms of time, cost, quality and health and safety (H&S). Regrettably, there is a paucity of empirical studies investigating the impact of these risks on project outcome in the South African construction industry (SACI), especially in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector. Hence, the current study sought to investigate the impact of these risk factors on project outcome of SMEs in the Gauteng province of South Africa. A structured questionnaire consisting of nineteen risk factors was used to collect data from SMEs who were conveniently sampled. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, computing descriptive statistics. Empirical findings revealed that time and cost were both impacted by variation by the client, design variation, incomplete approval and unsuitable construction program planning while incomplete or inaccurate cost estimates impacted highly on cost and quality objectives. Furthermore, accidents due to poor safety procedure, the absence of fire safety systems on site, equipment damage and labour injuries were deemed to have a high impact on project H&S outcome. The results of the study will boost the knowledge of industry practitioners on the risk factors affecting project outcome of SMEs.