Buildability Attributes at Design Phase in Malaysian Building Construction

In Malaysian construction industry, construction problem is a common occurrence that hinders the project to run smoothly, notably in traditional contracting system where the design and construction process are separated. Previous research revealed that buildability is able to minimise these problems as it link the design and construction. This study outlines the buildability attributes in building design. Extensive reviews have been carried out on previous researches on buildability concepts, attributes, principles and other areas related to, and contributing to buildability mainly in the design phase. The term ‘buildability attribute’ has been selected in this study to describe those characteristics which directly or indirectly optimize integration of construction knowledge in the building process and balancing the various project and environment constraints to maximize project goals and building performance. Close examinations of available references revealed that altogether there are 19 buildability attributes that can be implemented during the design phase. The results of survey conducted in the study show that Malaysian construction industry practitioners rate the attributes Provide Clear and Complete Design Information and Less Work Below Ground as the most important and least important buildability attributes respectively. The client, consultant and contractor share the same opinion regarding the level of importance of the identified buildability attributes. Out of 19 attributes, 11 attributes have significantly high mean values indicating that these buildability attributes have to be considered in future building design. This study has successfully measured the level of importance of design buildability attributes for building construction in Malaysia