A review of the performance of the Malaysian construction industry

The Malaysian construction industry developed the Construction Industry Master Plan 2006- 2015 to achieve world class status by 2015. Industry stakeholders identified seven strategic thrusts together with twenty one strategic recommendations, eighty two action plans and 453 activities to achieve this vision. Six years have elapsed since the launch of the master plan in 2006 and it is now prudent for the stakeholders to review the outcome of all its strategic thrusts and activities towards achieving the goals set earlier. A set of performance measures were developed previously resulting in a list of some 34 unique indicators. Tentative targets were set by benchmarking the performance of the local industry to other national initiatives and modified to suit local conditions. The objectives of this study are to determine the performance measures for the 2011, to compare the performance with the 2005 base year and to assess the achievements made in the last six years. Results of this study indicate that although construction demand has increased substantially, worker productivity remained sluggish, safety performance did not improve, export of construction services declined as many companies reduced their presence overseas. The only encouraging observation was a marked increase in construction quality. These results indicate that a thorough reassessment of the construction industry master plan in now necessary to ensure that the strategic actions produce the required outcomes.