The role of human error in construction defects

Abstract This paper reports research on the human error causes of defects, which has important implications for design professions involved in supervising new and refurbished building work. Modern thinking on human factors related to failures is beginning to stress managerial forces influencing the event rather than concentrating on the individual actions of a single error perpetrator. The current work develops this thinking and applies it to the problem of avoiding defects in construction. Field research involving a survey of construction industry practitioners, a statistical study of 23 house‐building sites and a further series of unstructured interviews reveals that: managerial influences underlie many errors leading to defects; the "pathology" of error occurrence exhibits systemic characteristics, with errors high in the managerial chain having a noticeable influence on errors committed by operatives; and the emphasis placed by publications on correct technical solutions is misplaced and factors related to managers (such as better management training and education) should be given greater emphasis.