Owners satisfaction with consultancy practices in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This research deals with the professional relationship between the public owners and the local Architectural Engineering A/E firms in Saudi Arabia. It explores the current practices of the local A/E firms. It assesses the degree in which these practices are capable of fulfilling the public owners needs in building construction projects. The data was obtained from a sample of local A/E firms in Dammam, Riyadh, and Jeddah and from the entire population of the public owners via two questionnaires. Indexes were used extensively to measure the A/Es and public owner characteristics and satisfaction level of the A/E design services in terms of function, aesthetics, cost effectiveness, buildability, and overall satisfaction. In conclusion, the public owners satisfaction level of the local design services is moderate mainly due to: high percentage of change orders originating from design errors, owners demanding less than the needed scope of services, and the A/Es delay in completing design as declared by public owners. The A/Es attribute Dis-Satisfaction to the low level of owners involvement in the design, their perception of the A/E role, and their readiness to pay a reasonable fee and demand the right scope of services.