Delivery Of Building Projects Research Articles

Development and implementation of Building Site Information Management (BUSIM) for Nigeria Building Industry

Overtime, building project delivery failures have been blamed on other factors except poor site management. Site management is considered by most building experts as off work-plan activities and as such attention is less giving to its process thereby creating delays in project. Also some others taken it serious have been shrouded with the manual process which in turn complicates the entire system. To solve this menace, the core objective of this paper is the development and deployment of cloud custom based building site information management system with emphasis on real time safety tracking, equipment maintenance tracking and management, materials management, site risk analytics and project progress report. The system is collaborative one and can be updated real time. To achieve the outcome, investigation into existing system was first carried out, as such, system failure were detected to upgrade the new system. However, in building the new system , suitable programming language that can give desired results were examined and Python 3.8 was utilized with Django 2.0.3 framework and Microsoft Visual Studio (MS VS) for the smooth running of programming languages. Due to Django having an ORM, supporting multiple databases, SQLite3 database, a simple database for lightweight applications was used. It is lightweight, fast for simple to medium applications. Results showed that BUSIM prototype app when applied not only will help in assessment of risk and real time overview for building site management, but will additionally improve the industry when adopted and applied to replace current manual process.

Effects of Cultural Factors on Cost Performance of Multinational Construction Organizations

Purpose: This study examines the effects of cultural factors on cost performance of multinational construction project organisations with a view towards identifying the most effective cost performance variables affected by the influence of cultural practices. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in deterring the number of construction professionals identified in construction companies with international market experience involved in the delivery of building, civil, and heavy engineering construction projects within the south-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Outline: A well-structured questionnaire was used to sample respondent’s opinion. Data analysis was through frequencies, percentile, and Mean Item Score (MIS). Findings: Research findings proved that irrespective of the positive effects of educational culture which improves cost performance by ensuring that projects are executed at estimated cost and within client’s budget (Mean = 4.34) and the result of effective communication culture which ensures value for money and return of customer as project is designed to suite client’s budget while maintaining standard quality delivery (Mean = 4.16), political culture tends to have mixed effect on cost performance as project design cost, labour, material and equipment cost, profit and overhead cost, etc. (Mean = 4.30) is found to be responsible for cost overruns of construction projects. Research Implication: The study recommends among others that multinational construction organisations pay great attention to the political style practiced in the host community / country in which they operate.

Automation in Construction Industry it’s Application and Barriers to Implementation on Construction Site

Automation is transforming the construction sector, providing benefits such as better productivity, improved safety, and lower prices. Automation is used in a wide range of construction applications, from heavy equipment to off-site construction approaches such as prefabrication and modular construction. In front of this, the focus of this research is to determine the extent to which the use of automation, if entirely applied in construction sector, it also has a negative impact on the delivery of building projects. Modern equipment has helped the development of the construction industry. Several disadvantages of automated constructions are causing worker displacement, creating emotional stress for the workers, higher level of maintenance, high capital expenditures, causing geographical displacement of workers, lower degree of flexibility, employee dissatisfaction, decrease in productivity and the enslavement of labor by automated machinery

A framework for smart building technologies implementation in the Ghanaian construction industry: a PLS-SEM approach

ABSTRACT This study sought to identify the dimensions and the significant critical factors capable of enhancing Smart Building Technologies' (SBTs') implementation for smart building projects in developing countries. A desk literature review is first conducted to identify and categorize the potential factors. It is further analyzed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) based on 227 valid data from experts in Ghana. The study revealed four underlying dimensions (i.e., ‘processes and control'[PC], ‘people and skills'[PS], ‘methods and techniques'[MT], and ‘knowledge sharing'[KS]) consisting 14 significant critical factors capable of enhancing SBTs implementation for smart building projects, with the top three comprising ‘appropriate procedures/practices for managing smart building projects (MT3)', ‘appropriate tools/techniques to guide smart building projects to their delivery (MT2)', and ‘skills and experience required to pick project team members for smart building projects (PS1)’. Further analysis with PLS-SEM revealed a significant positive effect of the four underlying dimensions and their positive interrelationships toward framework development. Besides the unique contribution of this study to the knowledge body, it also provides project managers and a construction design team with a structured knowledge of the skills, expertise, attitudes, decision-making, processes, control mechanisms, and effective delivery of smart building projects in developing countries.

Quantifying AEC professionals' cross-work culture productivity: comparison between Malaysian and UK projects during industrialized building project

PurposeThis paper discussed quantifying architect, engineer and contractor (AEC) professionals' cross-work culture productivity by comparing between Malaysian and United Kingdom (UK) projects during industrialized building project delivery. This study addressed the second part of a mixed method research design study.Design/methodology/approachThis study hypothesized that with understanding of cultural work knowledge between professionals during design phase coupled with competent technological support, productivity can be improved. It utilized Cognitive Organizational Theory (COT) protocols to test conceptual models in SimVision®. Organizational structure, project intensity, and statistical validations parameters were performed to obtain the reliability and generalization of the result.FindingsThis study found that with Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology intervention, the handling of exception, coordination and decision-making time could be improved, resulting in better project performances. The result also indicated that in choosing organizational fit, national culture factor needed to be considered; otherwise, organizational change would be unacceptable. By changing the operational process from intensive to reciprocal task intensity with BIM technology intervention, the effect on productivity would be similar to changing hierarchical organizational structure to flatter organizational structure.Research limitations/implicationsProject discrepancies issues are limitedly discussed due to companies' confidentiality. The paper only focuses on understanding the effects of human factors during the integrated project delivery phase.Practical implicationsThe findings could support developing countries' professionals to collaborate effectively with developed countries' professionals.Originality/valueThe development of the project's cultural knowledge experimentations will provide guidance to teams involved in international projects from developed and developing countries in pursuing joint ventures in project deliveries in either country successfully.

Sustainable Building Project Delivery in the Era of 4th Industrial Revolution

Sustainable Building Project Delivery in the Era of 4th Industrial Revolution

The coupling of project delivery methods and contract strategies for public building projects in Ethiopia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use Delphi technique to assess the applicability of coupling various project delivery methods (PDMs) and contract strategies (CSs) for delivery of public building projects (PBP) in Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objective of this research, an online Delphi study was designed, conducted and analyzed using various statistical procedures. Results were compared to CII’s project delivery and CS (PDCS) tool, a US-based PDM selection tool. Findings This study converged in the third round signifying a consensus on the importance of design–build and construction manager at risk as alternatives to design–bid–build. In addition, “controlling schedule growth” was deemed to be a major performance measure that needs to be considered for PBP in Ethiopia, a result consistent with the outcomes from CII’s PDCS tool. Originality/value Among existing studies, none to the best of the authors’ knowledge has focused on a holistic approach to identify the most appropriate pairings of PDMs and CSs for PBP which was critically needed due to the magnitude and high stakes of these projects. This research is a steppingstone toward gaining knowledge on how to approach these types of projects in fast-growing environments thirsty for new building projects such as in Ethiopia.

Critical Success Factors for Public Sector Projects in Lagos

This study aims to identify critical success factors for public sector construction projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research strategy through semi-structured questionnaires to collect data from Lagos State Ministry of Works construction experts. A total of 66 usable questionnaires were retrieved and used for the analysis based on their information. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.745, and the Spearman-rank's coefficient was 0.802, indicating the high internal consistency of the questionnaire items. A quick analysis reveals that the most critical aspects of public construction projects are political considerations, the project manager's leadership qualities, an appropriately allocated budget, and efficient team management. Effective procurement process and stakeholder involvement were found to significantly impact the success of public sector building project delivery, while the leadership skills of the project managers, effective communication management, effective coordination of project activities, and efficient project delivery did not. This study sheds light on the most common reasons these projects fail and offer a wide-ranging set of recommendations for fixing them.

Standardising the route to project handover to improve delivery of major building projects

Standardising the route to project handover to improve delivery of major building projects

Standardising the route to project handover to improve the delivery of major building projects

Standardising the route to project handover to improve the delivery of major building projects

Evaluation of compliance of concreting materials to standards in building projects in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract The incessant collapse of high-rise buildings has necessitated research into the compliance of materials — structural components and elements — to standards. This study evaluated compliance of concreting materials with standards in building project delivery. It examined the factors that influence compliance with standards of materials used for producing concrete elements. A quantitative approach was adopted in the study where structured questionnaires were administered to designers and constructors (such as architects, engineers/site supervisors and quantity surveyors) in consulting and contracting organisations in Lagos State, Nigeria. The data were analysed using frequency distribution, mean score, standard deviation, factor analysis and Kruskal Wallis test. Factors affecting compliance of materials with standards were categorised into construction site-based and procurement-based. These are technical, regulation, procurement, capacity, performance, and skill. The study provides implications for quality building production through improved compliance of concreting materials to standards. It also found the neglect of the use of structural engineers' services and limited standards observance on site. These lead to substandard components and elements production. It, therefore, recommends efficient regulatory policies, enforcement mechanisms, improved training and instilling ethical standards among project stakeholders. . Keywords – Building projects, Compliance, Concreting materials, National standards, Project delivery

Assessing the Level of Occurrence and Impact of Exogenous and Endogenous Risk Factors in the delivery of Educational Building Projects

Construction projects are greatly affected by endogenous and exogenous risk factors. The purpose of this study is to investigate risk factors with high levels of occurrence and their impacts on project goals. These will help in finding the most appropriate mitigating strategy used by contractors on educational building projects with a view to enhance performance and reduce cost. A convenience sampling method was used to select 3 professionals each from 44 contracting firms working in the Educational building construction projects in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Forty-eight risk factors were identified through a review of literature. Data was collected through a structured survey and the data was analysed using Mann-Whitney U-test, Mean item score and frequencies. The results showed that inadequate funding by the client, the financial instability of contractors and suppliers, fluctuations in market price and inflation (all finance related) are the most critical risk factors in terms of the level of occurrence and impact. These factors had a great effect on project success. The study highlights risk factors that are capable of causing negative effects on the success of educational building projects. It also helps to solve the problems associated with the handling of risk by contracting firms. The study will be of value to stakeholders in providing the information needed to devise response strategies to minimise the impact of a risk on projects.

Exploring the Sustainable Delivery of Building Projects in Developing Countries: A PLS-SEM Approach

Sustainable building approaches should be included at every level of the development process for maximum benefit without jeopardising the structure’s intended usage. However, researchers have paid less attention to how they may be applied to developing nations. This study aims to investigate the numerous determinants of sustainable delivery in the construction industries of developing nations. For this to happen, existing literature was used to inform the development of a closed-ended questionnaire. Consequently, 95 structured questionnaires by building professionals investigated the importance of these factors. As a result, the factor’s structure was determined and confirmed using the study’s partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach, which was utilised to investigate the connections between these factors. According to the PLS-SEM analysis, the factors most strongly influencing sustainable delivery are those associated with the preparation, followed by evaluation and use factors, respectively. As a result of this research, authorities in Egypt’s building sector will have a road map for implementing sustainability principles to reduce building costs, boost the local ecosystem, and strengthen social cohesion.

Vietnam general contractors’ perceptions on challenges to the delivery of green building projects

This study focuses mainly on investigating differences in Southern and Northern general contractors’ perception of challenges in executing green building projects. The questionnaire survey-based data analysis results show that there is a good consensus between general contractors (GCs) from these two regions on the top two most critical challenges in delivering green building projects. They are “lacking of legal regulations and technical codes on green building”, and “more difficult to early establish a competent, integrated, and multidisciplinary green building project team”. Additionally, the Mann-Whitney U-test reveals that there are a significant difference on perception of the GCs from Northern as compared with those from Southern on the five challenges, including “shortage of reliable green building materials, technologies, and equipment in the market”, “lack of reliable suppliers of green products, materials, equipment”, “lack of appropriate tools/laboratories specific for testing, assessing, measuring, and inspecting the green performance of construction products”, “difficulty in selecting and managing subcontractors”, and “difficult in comprehending the green specifications”. The study may be beneficial not only for the central policymakers but also for the local governments, industrial practitioners and project stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the major challenges in executing green building projects at local or regional level. As a result, the study proposed many solutions specific for each of these regions to promote the development of the local green building industry.

Evaluating Modular Healthcare Facilities for COVID-19 Emergency Response—A Case of Hong Kong

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, modular construction has been adopted for rapidly delivering healthcare facilities, but few have systematically explored the impacts of the pandemic and the contributions of modular construction. This paper aims to evaluate modular construction for delivering healthcare facilities in response to COVID-19, through the exploration of the challenges, strategies, and performance of using modular construction for emergency healthcare building project delivery. The study was conducted using 12 real-life healthcare building projects in Hong Kong with both within- and cross-case analyses. The results of the within-case study reveal critical challenges such as tight program but limited resources available and the corresponding strategies such as implementation of smart technologies. The results of the cross-case analysis indicate 106% improved time efficiency and 203% enhanced cost efficiency of using modular construction compared with conventional practices. Based on the multi-case studies, the paper develops an innovative framework which illustrates the roles of stakeholders, goals, engineering challenges, and management principles of using modular construction. Practically, the paper should assist both policymakers and industry stakeholders in addressing the critical challenges of delivering healthcare facilities under COVID-19 in an efficient and collaborative manner. Theoretically, it should set an exemplar of linking the building construction industry with emergency management and healthcare service systems to facilitate efficient response to pandemics.

Effect of Bid Shopping on Public Building Project Delivery in Bauchi Metropolis

Effect of Bid Shopping on Public Building Project Delivery in Bauchi Metropolis

Unearthing direct and indirect material waste-related factors underpinning cost overruns in construction projects

Despite the roles of construction projects in socio-economic development, expanding number of projects suffer chronic problems of cost overruns. However, approaches to unravelling the antecedents of this problem remain vastly nonspecific and lack a pertinent characterisation of issues with direct and indirect linkages between material waste factors and cost overruns. This study modelled the direct and indirect effects of six dimensions of material waste-related factors contributing to construction projects’ cost overrun: unanticipated site conditions, material management, site management, workforce factors, material theft, design and contract documentations. The hypothesised recursive model of direct and indirect effects was validated using data from 200 valid responses of experts in the Nigerian construction industry. The results showed that the total effects of direct and indirect contributions of materials waste-related factors paths to project cost overrun are 55.38% and 44.62% respectively. Among the six dimensions of materials waste-related factors modelled, site management-related issues emerged as the most significant, contributing 9.23% of the total effect. Based on these results, effective cost performance in building project delivery is achievable by curbing materials waste-related concerns. Developing pertinent strategies to curb identified construction material waste, is necessary for achieving direct and indirect reductions in projects’ cost overruns.

A Framework of Critical Success Factors and Success Criteria for Structural Works of a Mixed-Use Building Construction Project

The need to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) and success criteria (SC) would serve as keys to an effective and efficient project delivery and performance to achieve project success. This paper analyzed the CSFs and SC through the application of Pareto Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process using a validated questionnaire as a basis in developing a framework for structural works of a mixed-use building construction project through the determination of priority CSFs and most recognized SC. Based on the results, the study found twenty-six CSFs associated with structural works of building project delivery using meta-analysis. The top six CSFs were established as the vital few or the 20 percent after performing Pareto Analysis. Utilizing a validated questionnaire, experts evaluated CSFs through the fundamental scale of the Analytic Hierarchy Process which revealed the ranking of most prioritized CSFs such as Teamwork and Communication, Training and Education, Personnel, Project Mission, Top Management Commitment, and Client Focus, respectively. Furthermore, the study determined the five most recognized SC with the highest frequency on existing literature such as Client/Customer Satisfaction, Cost – Budget, Time – Schedule, Quality – Performance, and Other Stakeholder's Satisfaction. With this, a framework has been developed based on priority CSFs and recognized SC that can be used by construction project participants during the structural phase and may serve as a guide to achieve the utmost objective of all construction projects which is success.

Evaluation on the Use of Plants and Equipment in Building Project Delivery in Imo State, Nigeria

Modern construction is characterized with complex designs, new and innovative materials that are sensitive with high precision. In addressing the accompanying challenges, mechanization of construction process is said to be the guarantee especially in this era of crash programmes and advancement in technology to reduce poor workmanship and eliminate avoidable holdup in construction processes in the industry. Amidst this belief, attributes of construction industry in Imo state still reflect ineffectiveness in the use of plant and equipment. Hence, the study assesses the involvement of plants and equipment in building delivery for improved project performance. Field survey and work measurement methods were adopted to gather both non-parametric and parametric data respectively. The survey design targeted the sampled building professionals while work measurement focused on selected earth and concrete works in the area of the study. Inferential and descriptive statistical tools of Chi-square on likert scale and Comparative measurements on work activities respectively were used to analyze the respective non-parametric and parametric data. Findings show that selection of various plants are dependent on their rates of use for increased site work productivity; while the socio-economic and political issues as militating factors against effective use of plants are determined by their levels of acceptance. It was also discovered comparatively that mechanization of construction processes is more time and cost effective in building project than manual approach at work. The study therefore recommends that a systematic and holistic awareness be created by the stakeholders on the usefulness of mechanization of construction process in physical development. Besides, government should enforce construction methodology plan as a mandatory document for approval of any building plans; while frantic effort should be targeted at reviving the abandoned steel manufacturing industry at Ajeokuta, Ogun state to revolutionize the construction methodology of construction industry in Nigeria.

An Empirical Analysis of Project Performance Outcomes for Best-Value Procurement in Design–Bid–Build Projects

AbstractThe best-value (BV) procurement method has been increasingly used by owners in the context of design–bid–build (DBB) project delivery. The objective of this study was to determine whether a...