A comparative study of risk assessment between prefabricated and traditional residential construction in Tanzania

Abstract

Residential buildings have been the most marketable sector in the construction industry in Tanzania. Considering the elevated risks in the traditional method of construction currently in Tanzania, a modern method of construction is required. In this study, two different methods of construction are analyzed; Prefabricated Construction (PFC) and Traditional Method of Construction (TMC). A comparative risk assessment between PFC and TMC in Tanzania is conducted by using Analytic Hierarchy Process. Moreover, in this study the most important risks are obtained in both construction methods showing how the PFC can have more manageable risks compared to the TMC. The findings resulted to most of the significant risk factors for the PFC’s investment in Tanzania being owner, economic and political related, whereas most of the significant risk factors for the TMC in Tanzania being owner and nature related. The analysis results suggest that in order for efficiently managing the significant risk factors for the PFC, a close relation between the government and the investing companies on the PFC is required. This contribution provides an insight to the construction industry in Tanzania and the investors around the world to consider the deployment of PFC in the residential building market in Tanzania. Furthermore, the management of significant risk factors in other similar East African countries is also discussed.