Rework represents on average 11% of the total cost of a construction project

This study highlights the need for construction companies to improve their quality control by adopting effective project management strategies and processes to reduce the risk of rework.

Meeting deadlines remains one of the priorities of construction companies. In this, contingencies related to recovery work not only have economic consequences, but also repercussions on the project and the company as a whole. In this very complex market, companies therefore have no choice but to improve their quality control. By focusing on digital to reduce the risk of take-backs, they could save several million euros each year. Sander Van de Rijdt, co-founder and CEO of PlanRadar

Lack of communication: the main cause of rework

In the construction industry, reworks represent additional repair work to be done on a project due to defects, deficiencies, or changes that occur during the construction process. If the causes are varied (human errors, poor quality of materials, etc.), in the majority of the countries studied (12 countries out of 15) the multiplication of rework is mainly due to poor communication between stakeholders and teams. For 61% of French companies, these shortcomings are even the main cause of repair work. A statement shared by Italian (62,5%) and Polish (61,5%) companies.

Lack of organization and poor management of site documents are mentioned in second place. The companies surveyed point out in particular the difficulties in sorting and organizing documents on a construction site. A situation that impacts the teams and can lead to delays and misunderstandings about the tasks to be carried out.

What's more, the inadequacy of quality controls is cited as the third factor favoring the risk of takeover. For 57% of Hungarian, Czech and Slovak companies and 55,5% of Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian companies, quality control even has a decisive influence. Conversely, Italy, Poland and Romania consider that quality control errors only have a moderate impact on rework.

Economic, reputational and environmental consequences

All the countries studied attribute a significant economic cost to recovery work. French companies, for example, estimate that this type of work is equivalent to 5 to 10% of their turnover, while in Czech Republic and Slovakia, this cost can reach up to 30% of the total project costs. Depending on their severity, repossessions can also lead to delivery delays and a deterioration of relations between construction companies and their customers for 8 out of 12 countries.

The United Kingdom, France and Spain also consider that the wastage of materials resulting from rework is another major consequence. Thus, on the UK market, approximately 13% of all solid materials delivered to construction sites remain unused, which represents some 10 million tonnes of mostly non-recyclable materials.

Accelerate digitalization to limit the risks of takeover

The majority of companies surveyed admit that on-site recovery costs could be reduced through better communication between all stakeholders and accurate and realistic task planning. Out of 11 countries analyzed on this question, 8 believe that effective, precise and detailed planning would effectively reduce monitoring work.

In addition, other factors would limit the risk of takeover, such as the use of digital tools that facilitate document management, quality control and traceability of compliance with standards and regulations. Other countries like the UK are showing interest in automating and standardizing tasks using digital twins or AI to improve construction techniques.

*Study conducted by PlanRadar in February 2023 on the causes and consequences of recovery work in the construction sector, conducted among 2551 European companies in 15 countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Romania, Slovenia. Other sources come mainly from public data from experts, independent institutes and professional and government bodies.