Construction Industry Development Board Research Articles

IMPLEMENTING INDUSTRIALISED BUILDING SYSTEM (IBS) IN MALAYSIA: ACCEPTANCE AND AWARENESS LEVEL, PROBLEMS AND STRATEGIES

Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has been actively promoting the use of Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysian Construction Industry since 1998. Unfortunately, previous study was shown the use of IBS for building project in Malaysia only stands at 10% out of 50% as forecasted by CIDB in 2006. This research project explored the acceptance level of the current IBS implementation and existing problems faced by construction industry practitioners. It also identified suggestions to improve IBS implementation in Malaysia. The methods adopted for this study included interview and questionnaire survey. The study determined the level of IBS acceptance and awareness among Malaysian construction industry and analyzed root and frequent problems faced by the practitioners while implementing IBS. Based on the information gained, strategies to improve IBS implementation was suggested.

Innovative Procurement Adoption for Industrialised Building System (IBS) Projects

Industrialised Building System [IBS] is a new method that used prefabrication components in building construction as an alternative towards enhancing construction performance. The Construction Industry Development Board [CIDB] embraced the IBS method to enhance productivity and building quality, reduce wastage on site, increase occupational safety and health, and reduce overall cost of construction. Currently, most of the IBS project developments in Malaysia are still adopting traditional procurement system. However, traditional procurement system has been criticised for its fragmented procedure to project delivery in terms of integration and collaboration of the project team. As a result of that problem, a number of issues have recently arisen such as reworks, time delay, rising costs, lack of communication and coordination, and wastages. The purpose of this research is to identify challenges of the current procurement system and to investigate the possibilities of implementing innovative type of procurement method for IBS implementation. A deductive research approach was adopted. Reviewing relevant literature before embarking into any academic research project is one way of exploring a known theory in a holistic manner. It also appears to be one of an essential feature to create a firm foundation for the research. Based on extensive literature reviews; this paper describes what are initiatives that have been taken from developed nations which are known as earlier IBS adopters and through the findings these experiences may shed some light on the type of procurement that have been adopted. This study was conducted among Grade 7 IBS contractors in Malaysia to gain further clarification on the immensity of the issues as well as assessing the research instrument. The findings from this study reveal that financial matters, lack of early involvement, lack of integration and coordination, knowledge and understanding, role and responsibility, risk liability, communication and information, attitude and relationship matters are challenges embedded in the existing procurement approach in adopting IBS. Suggestion on how innovative type of procurement method such as Separation of IBS from Main Contract, Partnering and Integrated Project Delivery [IPD] will be able to minimise the fragmentation gaps will be concluded.

Perceptions of small business executives on determinants of performance in the construction industry in Gauteng, South Africa

Orientation: The South African (SA) government expects emerging contractors (ECs) to become the main players in economic transformation and growth, job creation and income generation. However, ECs fail to live up to the expectations as some are characterised by low performance levels and are at risk of business closure.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of small business executives (SBEs) on determinants of ECs’ performance so that a performance model that could guide ECs in the construction industry is developed.Motivation for the study: Despite the significance of ECs to the SA economy, researchers have constantly omitted to identify and examine the role played by the perceptions of SBEs on the determinants of performance and this gap in the body of knowledge would be closed by this study.Research design, approach and method: A mixed approach was used to examine the perceptions of SBEs on determinants of performance by applying both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Data were obtained from 433 urban based ECs registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in the construction industry in Gauteng Province. A structured questionnaire and an interview guide were administered as the data collection instruments. Content analysis, regression analysis and multiple linear regressions were performed.Main findings: The analysis of qualitative data demonstrated the perceptions of SBEs that financial factors, manpower, materials, machinery and equipment, project implementation, quality of work, legal and environmental factors and strategic planning were the determinants of ECs’ performance. Multiple linear regressions carried out based on the perceptions of SBEs identified strategic planning, project implementation and project performance as the most statistically significant factors in predicting the performance of ECs in Gauteng Province.Contribution and value add: Based on perceptual analysis of the ECs and multivariate results, a performance prediction model was developed. Furthermore, a new set of significant determinants of performance as perceived by SBEs in South Africa’s (Gauteng Province) construction industry was established.

Corporate Governance, Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Firm’s Performance: Evidence from Construction Business, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia

Utilising agency theory, this research used primary data to identify the depth of the underlying structure and test the relationship between the variables. In addressing these issues, the study applied logistic regression to data collected from questionnaires, the study identifies the underlying structure of 9 items via factor analysis. The relationships between board committee size, board composition, remuneration committee, gender diversity, risk management committee, ownership concentration, audit committee, duality and firm’s performance measured by return on assets (ROA) were analysed by using logistic regression with the application of SAS(9.4) on data collected from 380 small and medium enterprises under the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. It was found that board size, board composition, remuneration committee, risk management committee and gender diversity has no significant impact on firm’s performance. While duality and audit committee have a significant positive relationship with firm’s performance. Meanwhile, ownership concentration has a significant negative relationship with firm’s performance. As a conclusion, the corporate governance mechanism has a significant impact on firm’s performance in the CIDB construction industry in Malaysia. The contribution of this study is deemed significant as this is the first study applied on CIDB registered enterprises in the Klang Valley, using a quantitative research design.

Construction project management through building contracts, a South African perspective

This article reviews construction project management and building contracts in South Africa. It introduces general information and findings on the topic, forming part of a broader in-depth study, which proves difficult to encapsulate in one single article. The novice might perceive contract management, project management, and construction management to be the same concept. To clarify these concepts, the evolution of construction contracts and project management was studied to identify possible similarities between these concepts. This article commences with a brief history prior to a schematic analysis of the general characteristics of construction contracts and project management. It investigates the application of these concepts within South Africa and compares the general structure of the main contracts used within South Africa. This general investigation clearly shows that the standard conditions of contracts used in South Africa have similar structures to the main construction project management knowledge areas recognised by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The article also reviews the four general conditions of contracts endorsed by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in South Africa and investigates the general clauses and themes of these contracts. The Construction Contract should consider all the Project Life-Cycle (PLC) stages. The Construction Contract should further be regarded as the Project Implementation Plan (PIP), on which the control procedures during construction are based. With the understanding of the evolution of the two streams (contracts and management), their relevance, goal, dependencies and responsibilities may be understood better. This may enhance the professional manner in which the management of the entire Project Life-Cycle (PLC) is implemented and approached. Keywords: Agreement, construction, contract(s), general conditions, project management, project life cycle

Critical success factors of contractor's performance appraisal system in malaysian construction industry

Performance appraisal system is applied in many organisationsto appraise performance of employee. In construction industry, performance appraisal system is applied to appraise contractor’s performance with the works done and basically, their performance is appraised based on quality, time and cost performance. In Malaysian construction industry, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has established Contractor’s Capability and Capacity (SCORE), Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) and Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction (SHASSIC) in 2012. Unfortunately, incompliance in construction projectsstill presents. This paper is therefore undertaken with the aim to propose critical success factors(CSFs) towards the efficiency of these performance appraisal systems via literature review, questionnaire survey and expert focus group. A set of questionnaires is designed, undergone the pilot study on 15 respondents for reliability purpose and eventually distributed to 157 contractors from G1 to G7 class upon the confirmation of the questionnaire reliability status. Seven main criteria are found: quality performance; time performance; cost performance; environmental performance; health and safety performance; productivity performance; and human resources performance.Although contractor’s performance appraisal system is applied in Malaysian construction industry and benefiting construction players,yet it should be improved. The efficiency of contractor’s performance appraisal will be fulfilled byconsidering these seven CSFs into the current contractor’s performance appraisal system in Malaysia.

The implementation of lean construction tools: Findings from a qualitative study

Lean construction (LC) is a continuous improvement mechanism that is proficient in reducing construction waste. This LC mechanism is suggested in resolving the issue of construction waste to the industry. LC is proficient in increasing the contractor’s project performance. LC can help an organisation in sustaining its growth and profit. This survey was conducted to identify the LC tools that can reduce the construction waste and its implications towards a contractor’s project performance. A qualitative study was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with four key personnel from the selected G7 contractors in Malaysia. The contractors, which are registered with the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB), were identified from the CIDB directory. It was found that repair work, equipment breakdown, and damaged material were the most types of construction waste being created on the construction site. Clarification needs and work interruptions were among the wastes generated on the site too. The findings revealed that daily hurdles meetings, teamwork, and 5S are the LC tools being applied the most by the contractor in reducing the construction waste. Most of the projects that implemented these LC tools had produced a higher quality project and maintained the safety and health environment throughout the construction processes. An organisation had also achieved zero accidents and gained 12 % of cost reduction for their project. The findings outlined in this paper could be essential for the future framework of LC tools that can handle construction waste in an environmentally sustainable way. The framework could also increase the contractor’s project performance towards a greener environment.

The implementation of lean construction tools in Malaysia

Lean construction (LC) tools are proposed to resolve the issues of construction waste. LC is a continuous improvement in the construction processes that can manage the construction waste efficiently. The implementation of LC also will secure a better health and safety environment and accomplish in sustaining growth and profitability of an organisation. This study was conducted to investigate the availability of LC tools and its implications towards the quality of a construction product via the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to the contractors that register with the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) underclass G7 categories in Malaysia. Based on the findings, the most LC tools implemented in the Malaysian construction industry are teamwork, daily hurdles meetings, and 5S. The implementation of LC tools can give a positive impact on the quality of the construction project. It shows that construction projects will produce a higher quality of the product by implementing LC. The findings outlined in this paper could be essential for the future framework of LC tools that can enhance the contractor’s quality of a product towards sustainable low carbon emission development.

The influence of government targeted procurement strategies on the growth performance of construction small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs) in South Africa

This paper examines government targeted procurement (TP) strategies in South Africa and whether these strategies have an influence on the growth performance of Small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs) in the construction industry. The rationale for this study stems from reports that while TP has been widely used as an instrument to improve the position of SMCs in the South African construction industry, three out of five SMCs do not become established firms. In addition, the nature of the influence of TP strategies on the growth performance of SMCs is not known. Following a review of existing literature, the study mainly adopted a quantitative research approach. Questionnaire surveys were administered to Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) Grades 3 to 6 contractors that have executed TP projects within the last 5 years. The collected data was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analyses –Spearman’s rank order correlationwas used as an index of association between the study variables. The study found that tendering equity is the most frequently used TP strategy, closely followed by preferencing and mandatory subcontracting. The study also found that positive significant associations exists among preferencing and turnover; third-party management and company assets; tendering equity, turnover and number of employees; as well as accelerated rotations, turnover and number of employees. The study concluded that government intervention through targeted procurement has the potential to achieve its intended results of improving the position of historically disadvantaged SMCs in the construction industry in South Africa if selected and implemented appropriately.

Development of OLI+S Entry Decision Model for Construction Firms in International Markets

The paper aims to provide a holistic approach to address how construction firms make decisions covering all three domains (location, timing and mode) across country, market, firm and project factors within the Ownership, Locational and Internalisation plus Specialty (OLI+S) paradigm. Questionnaires were administered to 62 project managers based on a sampling frame provided by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia. The findings provide empirical and theoretical insights on how the OLI+S model addresses firms’ entry decisions to penetrate international markets. It suggests that the ownership-entry decision factors focus on firms’ internal transferable advantages. The locational-entry decision factors emphasise attractiveness of certain locations where firms decided to invest and operate. The internalisation– entry decision factors emphasise the extent to which firms were able to manipulate their internal competitive assets (firm’s resources and capabilities). Finally, the specialty-entry decision factors emphasise on firms’ competency in project management and specialist expertise to handle complex projects based on their previous project experience. An example of construction firms’ unique characteristics, namely, specialty advantages based on the original Dunning’s OLI eclectic paradigm has been adopted. The established OLI+S entry decision model could be investigated to further refine other related internationalisation theory.

Green Township Index: Malaysia’s sustainable township rating tool

Relatively few tools have explored beyond the boundaries of buildings to consider also the sustainability of a township or its surrounding communities. This paper focuses on introducing the Green Township Index (GTI), developed by a leading Malaysian property development company. GTI is an amalgamation of a few other frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, Green Building Index, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Green Mark and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. GTI consists of a total of 86 indicators across three main dimensions: people, planet and prosperity. Based on the percentage scores obtained from the assessment of townships, three award levels are proposed: platinum, gold and silver. GTI was tested across three different townships and the findings from the results are documented through a case study approach. From the feedback obtained through the township managers, this index is a reliable tool for evaluating the sustainability of Malaysian townships. It is also well aligned with the requirements set out by the Construction Industry Development Board. Although the GTI has been developed to evaluate the sustainability of built townships, it can also be used to guide the design and planning stage of a township.

Development of Occupational Safety and Health Requirement Management System (OSHREMS) Software Using Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 for Building Construction Project

The construction industry sector is considered as being risky with frequent and high accident rate. According to Social Security Organization (SOCSO), the construction accidents has arisen from time to time. Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has developed the Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction (SHASSIC) for evaluating the performance of a contractor in construction project by setting out the safety and health management and practices, however the requirement checklist provided is not comprehensive. Therefore, this study aims to develop a software system for facilitating OSH in building construction project, namely OSH requirements management system (OSHREMS), using Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 and Sublime Text as PHP editor. The results from a preliminary study which was conducted through interviews showed that, the respondents were only implementing the basic requirements that comply with legislations, with the absence of appropriate and specific guideline in ensuring occupational safety and health (OSH) at the workplace. The tool will be benefits for contractors and other parties to effectively manage the OSH requirements for their projects based on project details.

A Qualitative Comparison on Guidelines for Construction Workers Accommodation and Facility

Construction industry in Malaysia covers almost 1.3 million workers. Thus, realizing the importance of human-centred trait, a long-term plan that is led by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) has been designed to improve accommodation and facilities of workers at construction site. In conjunction to that, the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards Malaysia (SIRIM) has developed Malaysia Standard (MS 2593:2015) as the guideline for improvement of accommodation and facilities for workers which is able to contribute to the achievement of the target in the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP). However, a phenomenon that is centred on the level of itscorroboration compared with other similar guidelines has been voiced by some practitioners of construction, especially when the guideline are likely to be the basis of a new related act. Therefore, based on MS 2593:2015, this introductory research is conducted to qualitatively analyse the corroborative level of the guideline compared to its counterpart guidelines. By using a comprehensive document analysis method which anchored to frequency approach and assisted by NVivo v.8 software, the report found out that the Malaysia-based guideline is on par to the restwith some introduction of new variables (especially towards leisure and social aspects). Thus, further research on gauging industry’s willingness and existing compliance rates is deemed appropriate in order to inculcate positive impacts towards the objectives of MS 2593:2015, and subsequently contributes to the formation of the forthcoming corresponding act.

FIDIC Conditions of Subcontract as a Model for General Conditions of Subcontract in Pakistan

© 2016 Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems.All rights reserved. Fair allocation of risks in conditions of contract is pivotal for coordination, unhindered execution, dispute resolution and maintenance of positive relationship among the parties executing the contract. Pakistani construction industry despite subcontracting a large percentage of construction projects lacks standard conditions of subcontract and they are primarily based on the will of the prime contractor that is onerous for the subcontractor. Therefore in order to develop a model for the general conditions of subcontract in Pakistan the conditions proposed by Associated General Contractors of California, FIDIC in 1994 and 2011, Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia, American Institute of Architects and by the Government of Hong Kong were compared to determine the similarities and differences among them. Afterwards a questionnaire based on the significant provisions of these subcontracts was conducted in the construction industry of Pakistan to determine the appropriate conditions for model subcontract. The results of the survey were further subjected to discussions with the legal experts. Out of 35 suggestions made for the general conditions of subcontract 23 originated from FIDIC in which 20 are recommended by its 2011's version. It can therefore be implemented in Pakistan with certain amendments and additions as proposed in light of conditions of other subcontracts and the results of the survey and discussions with legal experts.

ASSESSING THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF THE GHANAIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Ghana as a developing nation located in the sub-Saharan Africa is characterised by its favourable political atmosphere and stable economy to do business. The country needs infrastructure development in order to satisfy both the economic and social development requirements of its economy. The construction industry, however, is a vital sector of the economy that addresses the socio-economic development needs of every country. This paper, therefore, seeks to assess the strength and weakness of the industry. The study as solely qualitative supported by an extensive review of literature via a desk-top study was embarked which captured the use of existing journal publications, government white papers, and gazette among others. The study revealed that the construction industry in Ghana is an important sector which creates employment which tends to reduce poverty to a larger extent. Also, the collaboration of the construction industry with other sectors do as well increases the gross domestic product of the economy and brings about entire growth in the economy. Similarly, the study revealed that the industry is posed with constraints which are categorised as weakness. These include access to credit facilities, a long span of control, employee management and corruption among others. The study, therefore, recommends the establishment of a construction industry development board that in Ghana to supersede all the activities of the industry in order to promote, maintain a high standard construction industry to the Ghanaian economy and society.

Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC2015)

The Soft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC’15) is jointly organized by the Research Centre for Soft Soil Malaysia (RECESS), Dept. of Infrastructure and Geomatic Eng., Faculty of Civil and Environmental Eng. (FKAAS), Office of Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Consultancy (ORICC), Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (UNPAR) Indonesia, Institute Technology Brunei (ITB), Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Public Works Department Malaysia (JKR), Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) and Pertubuhan IGS Malaysia (MyIGS). The SEIC’15 invites submissions of lull papers describing innovative work and state of the art sustainable developments in soft soil engineering and geotechnical engineering.SEIC’15 will bring together leading geotechnical professionals, engineers, academics and researchers working in this domain of interest from around the world. The organising committee invites prospective authors to submit original work on innovations and new developments in the fields of soft soil engineering and geotechnical engineering. The topics of the conference are Soft Soil Properties, Geotechnical Modelling, Soft Soil Improvement, Construction on Soft Ground, Peat Technology, Geo-environmental Engineering and Geotechnical Instrumentation. SEIC’13 was a huge success with over 200 participants from various institutions and industries.With Wisdom, We Explore.Sincerely,Prof. Dato’ Dr. Ismail Hj. BakarChairmanDr. Aziman MadunCo-ChairmanSoft Soil Engineering International Conference 2015 (SEIC’15) Theme : Geotechnology of Problem TIC & Soft Soil Engineering 27, 28 & 29 October 2015, Resort World Langkawi, Malaysia.

ISSUES OF PAYMENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR INDUSTRIALISED BUILDING SYSTEM (IBS) PROJECT

This research paper intends to investigate the issues of payment procurement process for Industrialised Building System (IBS) Project. There are many differences of payment procurement process between conventional and IBS project. The IBS project requires upfront payment as compared with conventional project. Up to this moment, there is no single solution to this issue. Very often, the IBS contractor faces financial difficulty leading to the bankruptcy and delaying in the project completion. Thus, a preliminary study was undertaken with 21 samples of respondents that have a variety of background occupational. The findings from the study revealed that the issue of payment for IBS contractors comprises of five (5) main factors which are high initial cost, difficulty in securing timely and adequate financing, lack of integration at design stage, difficulty to get loans from financial institution and increment of material prices. Findings from this study may help the decision makers including the government or Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to formulate a new procurement process especially for the IBS contractor. The findings will be used for the financial model framework for the IBS contractor in the future.

Environment, competitive strategy, and organizational characteristics: A path analytic model of construction organizations’ performance in South Africa

AbstractWhile mainstream strategic management researchers have paid attention to the causes of performance differential among organizations, there is a dearth of empirical research within the construction industry on the subject. We examine the relationship between environment, organizational characteristics, competitive strategies, and performance of construction organizations in the South African construction industry. In order to develop a model for improving organizations’ performance, partial least squares was employed using quantitative data collected from a sample of 72 large construction firms listed on the Construction Industry Development Board contractors’ register in South Africa. The results reveal that organizational characteristics have a direct influence on organizational performance, while the relationship between the business environment and organizational performance is mediated by competitive strategies. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The impacts of the waterfront development in Iskandar Malaysia

The increasing number of waterfront projects shows that the concept of waterfront development has contributed to the advancement of the Malaysian construction industry. This study seeks to assess the impacts of the implementation of waterfront development in Iskandar Malaysia eliciting the perceived relative importance of these impacts. A comprehensive literature review has been conducted to collate the potential impacts of the waterfront development. A total of 363 sets of questionnaires were distributed to the contractors and developers registered under G7 category of the Construction Industry Development Board in Malaysia. Results show that the most significant influence of the waterfront development is related to economic benefits, while environmental impacts are not considered as a priority for this category of stakeholders. In addition, this study also indicates that the implementation of the waterfront projects has generated numerous job opportunities within the developed region. Moreover, exchanging knowledge in the planning and managing of the waterfront development is imperative to the development of the waterfront projects. Nevertheless, the shortcomings of these developments, such as the negative environmental impact on natural beaches and the coastline (i.e. pollution) as well as human-related issues (i.e. excessive human settlement), should not be taken lightly. This research confirms that the reclamation of land for waterfront development is closely correlated with the destruction of these natural structures.

The magnitude of barriers facing the development of the construction and building materials industries in developing countries, with special reference to Sudan in Africa

The aim of this paper is to examine, comprehensively, the factors which affect the performance and development of the construction industry (CI) and the building materials industry (BMI) in developing countries (DCs) with special focus on Sudan. This paper investigates the perception of the Sudanese construction industry (SCI) and the Sudanese building materials industry (SBMI) stakeholders towards the importance of factors which negatively influence the performance of both industries. It examines the interrelationship between factors influencing the performance of the SCI and the SBMI. The collected data is derived from a questionnaire which was circulated to different stakeholders of the SCI including consultants, contractors, real estate investors, clients, researchers, academicians, materials manufacturers and suppliers, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).The results indicate that the socio-economic and political factors are of great importance to the performance of both industries. Therefore, the paper recommends that the government should lay the ground for the development of the construction sector through strategic planning and policy formulation. It also recommends establishing a central agency (Construction Industry Development Board) to be responsible for the development of the industry.