%0 Thesis %9 Doctoral %A Atkinson, A.R. %B Bartlett School %D 1999 %F discovery:1318056 %I University of London %P 463 %T The management of error in construction projects %U https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1318056/ %X The 'defects problem' has demanded considerable attention in recent years, with much emphasis given to the technical causes of failure. This research project examines the problem from a different point of view - that of human error. Taking as a starting point, technical publications in the construction industry, the research reviews human error literature from a variety of industries and perspectives and synthesises a model of error causation covering organisations in a construction project context. This model is then progressively tested in four studies, a general preliminary survey and three more detailed studies of house-building. Conclusions support the view that errors leading to failure in complex socio-technical systems often exhibit systems characteristics and involve the whole managerial structure. An improved model is proposed, which emphasises the importance of both project and general management errors. %Z Thesis digitised by British Library EThOS