Non-conformance and Correction Costs in Construction: Insights from Actual Practice

The corrective actions applied to non-conforming products—commonly termed rework—can substantially erode a construction organization's performance, productivity, and profitability. Yet empirical knowledge of the actual cost of rework in the field remains sparse. This study quantifies rework costs across 12 completed transport-infrastructure projects (with a total contract value of AU$2 billion) delivered via an alliance-based program. We find that 61 % of all non-conformances (656 of 1,064) required rework, with an average rework cost equal to 0.34 % of each project's contract value. Notably, a single project accounted for 57% of the total rework expenditure and 31% of the issued non-conformances. This paper thus (1) offers new, data-driven insights into the actual costs of rework on major infrastructure works and (2) demonstrates that rework incidence and its financial impact vary widely across projects.