Factors Constraining the Application of Lessons Learned on Construction Projects in Nigeria

Lessons learned is a new form of creating knowledge while also sharing information amongst practitioners in the built environment. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the factors constraining lessons learned application in the delivery of construction projects in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design technique with the aid of a snow balling sampling technique. A sample size of 111 respondents was determined from a population of 200 made up of practitioners from the built industry. These samples were drawn from some construction firms located in the study area. The questionnaire for the survey was modeled using the Likert scale. Retrieved data were later presented via charts and figures, while Cronbach’s alpha coefficient tests and factor analysis were deployed in analyzing the main issues underlying the study via the IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The findings from the study show that the constraints to lessons learned deployment could be grouped into six (6) constraints; the most important factor grouping being lack of comprehensive approach to lessons learned followed by lack of time, degeneration into blame sessions that becomes emotionally damaging, poor organizational culture, lack of willingness to share project faults caused by individual or group performance and finally lack of a lessons learned repository.