A Study on Multilayer Sub-contracting in Construction Industry of Hong Kong

Multilayer sub-contracting is a significant practice among the world, including Hong Kong. When a principal contractor secured a project from a developer, the specific jobs will usually be breaking down and sub-contractors with the lowest bid [1]. The adoption of multilayer sub-contracting has been a controversy issue which is considered as a two-side blade. While certain studies have been carried out to examine both the contributions, damages and improvements for multi-layer subcontracting, the construction industry and researchers are still waiting for a solid measure to enhance the system. Hence, this research attempts to study the advantages, disadvantages, conducts a comparison between single and multilayer sub-contracting and measures of current Hong Kong construction industry based on literature review, questionnaire and in-depth interviews. To achieve the objectives, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and total weighted score methods are adopted to examine and rank the criterion. The findings of this study provide a good basis for understanding the major reasons and problems caused by the adoption of multilayer sub-contracting. Besides, the identified safety perspective explores a new perspective regarding to issues of multi-layer subcontracting, which will serve as a solid foundation for further research to enhance safety performance. Finally, the findings of measurements towards improvement of multilayer sub-contracting will also provide a solidsolution for construction industry.