SHORTFALLS OF GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT AT UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTES PROJECTS OF IRAN

Universities and research institutes typically consider short-term and long-term construction projects according to their strategic plan to expand their education and research programs. Iranian general conditions of construction contracts should be attached to such construction projects' contracts. Conflict of interests among contracting parties may arise in projects which may put success of the project on risk. The contractor may act on its own interest instead of the owner interest. General conditions of construction contracts are central in mitigating such conflicts and in improving the success of the project. However, there may exist some shortfalls in general conditions of construction contracts. This research explores and addresses shortfalls in general conditions of construction contracts of Iran focusing on construction projects conducted at universities and research institutes. Two hypotheses are proposed to evaluate the importance of revising different chapters of the general conditions of contracts and to consider their possible shortfalls. A survey is made by the use of a questionnaire.Construction practitioners from seventy universities and research institutes are involved in the research. The practitioners are senior personnel coming from owners, consultants and contractors organizations. One way analysis of variance, non-parametric Kruskal Wallis and the least significant difference methods are adopted to analyze the survey data in SPSS. The results in most cases indicate no meaningful difference based on the importance of need for revising different chapters of general conditions of construction contracts. The results also in majority of cases show no meaningful difference among owners, consultants and contractors perceptions about the importance of need for revising different chapters of such general conditions of contracts. It can be concluded that the revision's committee should put the same priority in revising different chapters of general conditions of construction contracts. Based on the perception of the research participants recommendations for improvement of general conditions of construction contracts are provided. This research would be relevant to those interested in revising the general conditions of construction contracts by providing insights for further improvement.