Challenges and Insights from Remote Construction Administration in a Developing African Country: The Case of Malawi

10 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Abstract

Through a case study utilizing qualitative data, this paper investigates the challenges of remote construction administration and the communication barriers between the EWB-KSU student chapter, local contractors, and community stakeholders that led to structural non-conformance in a Malawi, Africa two-classroom school building project. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the specific technical failures, such as improper soil compaction, incorrect steel reinforcement placement, and faulty truss splicing, while demonstrating how navigating these setbacks provides essential professional and technical growth for future architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) practitioners. The results of the case study indicate that these setbacks served as a critical source of lessons learned to improve the management of not only future EWB-KSU projects but also any international project in a developing country.

Keyphrases: developing country construction, engineers without borders, remote construction administration

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 245-254.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/3fRn
	https://doi.org/10.29007/lhp4

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Challenges_Insights_from_Remote,
  author    = {Kyle Larson and Dalton Rizzo},
  title     = {Challenges and Insights from Remote Construction Administration in a Developing African Country: The Case of Malawi},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/3fRn},
  doi       = {10.29007/lhp4},
  pages     = {245-254},
  year      = {2026}}

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