Critical Success Factors Influencing Industrialised Building System Performance in the Nigerian Mass Housing Development

In its effort to overcome decades of continuous poor performance in mass housing development, the Nigerian government in 2011 adopted the Industrialised Building System (IBS). The four (4) adopted IBSs are the: Light gauge steel; Plasswall/Plassmolite; Interlocking mortar-less masonry, and Burnt Bricks. Empirical observation revealed a low uptake of the technique by stakeholders. A variety of factors were advanced for the lag. The focus of this study, therefore, is to identify those factors and their relative importance towards IBS successful performance. Literature and structured interview revealed (64) potential factors from which 27 (90%) of 30 construction experts in a two-phased Delphi exercise identified forty-two (42) as critical. These Critical Success Factors (CSFs) based on affinity yielded six groups; project factors; supply chain factors; interactive factors; infrastructure factors; stakeholders' factors and external factors. 210 (70%) stakeholders (client, consultant, and contractor) responded to the 300 copies of administered questionnaire anchored on a five-point Likert scale of 1-5 (highly insignificant-highly significant). Descriptive statistics and relative importance index (RII) approach based on SPSS version 20 was used to process the data. This study reveals that most of the factors are important to IBS implementation, with the leading CSFs within the groups being stakeholders (RII = 0.812), interactive (RII = 0.788), while the least is supply chain (RII = 0.702). A framework to assist decision makers on processes to successful IBS implementation in a country like Nigeria is generated. This study outcome is recommended as a guide for stakeholders in decision-making with regard to factors inhibiting IBSs adoption. The study shall be extended to identify and evaluate project performance (project criteria) and also, on CSFs impact on such project criteria.