The construction industry has witnessed the failure of many contractors for various
reasons such as financial problems, poor performance, or accidents arising from
the lack of adequate safety consideration at worksites. Such incidents have led
to the impression that the current system of awarding contracts is inefficient in
selecting the contractor most capable of meeting the demands and challenges of the
industry today. Introduction of a wide-spread performance measurement and
benchmarking initiative would be an ideal solution, enabling the construction
industry to remain internationally competitive. In this regard, the study aimed to
determine the implementation status of performance measurement and benchmarking
in the Singapore construction industry; and to provide some suggestions to increase
the scale of implementation in these two areas.
The survey questionnaire was a key tool in achieving the objective. The results
from the survey revealed that approximately half of the surveyed companies and
projects implemented performance measurement and benchmarking on their projects,
calling for a need to actively promote the use of the management strategy that is
globally accepted as a tool that brings value to the capital project delivery process. It is
important to first increase implementation of performance measurement. Despite the
fact that most of the survey respondents were aware of the benefits of performance
measurement, it is not widely practiced in Singapore due to the lack of trained
personnel, time constraints, and high implementation costs.
Benchmarking is not yet widely applied in the Singapore construction industry
with only 19 per cent of companies implementing it even though many do adopt
performance measurement. Several reasons such as the competitive nature of the
industry and sensitivity issues that surface with sharing of project data and
performance among companies were found. Unless these obstacles are overcome
the Singapore construction industry can neither appreciate the benefits nor even
have a complete understanding of their own performance, which is the most
fundamental aspect of assessment. It is crucial challenge that must be addressed
in order for the Singapore construction environment to transform itself into a
sustainable industry.