Assessing the “clerk of works” role in delivering quality affordable housing: a UK case study

Abstract

PurposeA mixed philosophies epistemological design with inductive reasoning was adopted to develop new theoretical insights into the phenomena under investigation. First, interpretivism was employed to contextualise the prevailing body of knowledge and source questions (and prompts) to be posed to practitioners. Second, a case study strategy (augmented by participant action research) was adopted to measure construction industry professionals' perceptions of the clerk of work's role and their impact upon both quality and safety of construction.Design/methodology/approachThis research conducts a case study investigation of affordable and/or social home construction and examine industry's perception of the clerk of works (CoW) and their powers and responsibilities within existing legislation to impact quality of construction.FindingsThe findings illustrate that while the clerk of work's role positively impacts quality and safety of construction, it is hindered by cost and time constraints that are often prioritised. An analogy to “yield points” in materials science is then adapted to develop new theory to conceptualise the pivotal position that the CoW has in upholding quality construction. The research concludes with pragmatic recommendations (such as industry centric codes of practice) to mitigate quality and safety issues arising and signpost future academic research in this area.Originality/valueUK construction has been criticised for prioritising costs and profits vis-à-vis quality and safety issues, as exemplified by the Grenfell fire. This study demonstrates the need for reinstatement of the CoW role in mitigating residential housing quality decline.

Green construction and environmental performance: an assessment framework

“…This philosophical stance has been widely utilized within contemporary construction management literature. For example, to assess the clerk of works' role in delivering quality construction (Hughes et al. , 2021); to investigate the antecedents of construction project change (Smith et al.…”

“…This philosophical stance has been widely utilized within contemporary construction management literature. For example, to assess the clerk of works' role in delivering quality construction (Hughes et al, 2021); to investigate the antecedents of construction project change (Smith et al, 2021); and to assess the role of the quantity surveyor in value engineering (Spellacy et al, 2020). Hence, the positivist philosophical stance was deemed suitable for the study.…”

Delineating the Implications of Dispersing Teams and Teleworking in an Agile UK Construction Sector

“…The initial dataset of articles was extracted from Scopus (12 March 2021) using the pertinent keywords telework 'OR' teleworking 'OR' telecommute 'OR' telecommuting. Scopus was used because it is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and complete journal databases available [104,105] and provides user-friendly analytical tools that are helpful to visualise voluminous extant literature [106]. As the manual literature review alluded to a generational trend for the progression of teleworking, manipulation of the sample was avoided, instead allowing VOSviewer to examine all publications for prevalence within the prevailing body of knowledge.…”

Converting commercial and industrial property into rented residential accommodation: development of a decision support tool

“…A prevailing disparity between net housing required and produced continues to expand unabated each year (House of Commons Library, 2018). This production shortage has forced the UK Government to assess alternate means of increasing the net production of housing (Nazir et al , 2020; Hughes et al , 2021). For example, political strategies such as the enactment of permitted development (PD) rights, which derive from a general planning permission act granted by Parliament (House of Commons, 2019).…”