Private Construction Projects Research Articles

An Empirical Investigation of Risk Management Factors in Private Construction Projects in Benghazi City

An Empirical Investigation of Risk Management Factors in Private Construction Projects in Benghazi City

Barriers to risk management in small construction projects in Sri Lanka

PurposeThis study explores the current status of risk management (RM) in Sri Lanka and the obstacles in implementing RM in Sri Lankan small construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThe current research study adopted a quantitative research method. Using a purposeful sampling strategy, 100 construction companies engaged in small construction projects in Sri Lanka were selected and a questionnaire was distributed among top managerial employees of these companies. Employees belonging to 47 companies responded to the survey which provided information relating to 812 construction projects. The collected data were analyzed using the RM implementation index (RMII) and other quantitative measures such as mean, median and percentages.FindingsThe research findings indicated that RM incorporation was at a lower degree in small construction projects in Sri Lanka. The findings further indicated that RM incorporation was relatively high in the public construction projects compared to the private construction projects. The main obstacles identified through the survey for RM implementation were: “lack of funding”, “lack of time”, “low profit margin”, “not economical” and “lack of knowledge”.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to exploring RM implementation in small construction projects in Sri Lanka. The study was limited to the building construction companies under the 150-million-rupee (approx. below 450,000 USD) financial limit registered with the construction industry development authority in Sri Lanka.Originality/valueRM in small construction projects in developing countries is a relatively less explored domain. Sri Lankan construction industry is another relatively less explored domain in terms of new management technique implementation such as RM and value management. The quantitative approach used for the study revealed that RM implementation is at a lower degree in the small construction projects. Moreover, several obstacles pertaining to RM implementation were recognized through this study. These findings will be useful for the construction stakeholders to overcome the recognized barriers and effectively use RM in their respective construction projects.

Evaluation of Health and Safety Status of Public and Private Building Construction Projects in Pokhara

Health and safety (H&S) in the construction industry encompasses a set of principles, regulations, practices, and measures designed to safeguard the well-being and safety of construction teams within construction environments. Developing countries like Nepal lag in establishing and implementing robust H&S regulations, impacting overall project performance. This research assesses the H&S status in public and private building construction projects within Pokhara Valley, Nepal. One private and one public project were selected for the investigation. After conducting a thorough literature review and consulting key informants, a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire was developed for efficient data collection. Findings revealed that H&S aspects in privately and publicly owned building construction projects. Privately owned projects underscored effective ventilation, hard hats, and daily safety briefings are significant factors. Slip, trip, and fall incidents are major accident causes, highlighting the importance of proper lighting. Public projects emphasized ventilation, hard hats, and safety rules, with toolbox talks and qualified team members deemed critical. Slip, trip, and fall incidents remained the primary accidents, and safety signs played a pivotal role. These findings offer essential guidance for policymakers and construction managers to enhance H&S practices in diverse construction environments.

Psychological contract between contractors and owners in construction projects: the mediating role of inter-organisational teamwork

PurposeThe objectives of this paper are to examine the impact of psychological contract on project performance in private construction projects and to investigate if the positive effect of psychological contract on project performance can be mediated by inter-organisational teamwork.Design/methodology/approachMultiple regression analysis and mediation analysis were applied in this study to conduct the proposed hypotheses. Data were collected via questionnaire surveys from the construction professionals working for contractor firms on private construction projects.FindingsThe result of the multiple regression analysis indicated that psychological contract between contractors and owners is significantly related with project performance in construction projects. This study examined five psychological contract components, but the most important element was found as trust which can influence every aspect of project performance. Fairness is another key factor that can improve project performance in terms of budget and quality. Further, the findings of the mediation analysis revealed that inter-organisational teamwork has a mediating effect on the relationship between psychological contract and project performance.Originality/valueThis paper presents the important role of psychological contract between contractor and owner organizations in construction projects that can affect project performance. The study also highlights the significance of inter-organisational teamwork as a mediator to the relationship between psychological contract and project performance.

Key Factors Employers Look for In Hiring Construction Managers for Public and Private Construction Projects

The construction industry is one of the world's most important economic activities, and research in this area has found a positive correlation between project management skills and construction project success. However, it is becoming more evident that success in the role of a construction manager cannot be attained with a technical skill set alone. Excellent soft skills are also necessary requisites for success. The aim of the paper is to discuss the benefits of project management skills and what skills employers of labour expected when hiring construction managers in the construction industries. In recent years, several construction projects have steadily failed due to engaging incompetent construction managers with no technical and soft skills. This failure has affected the rate of productivity in the construction industry. Several companies have closed due to the poor performance of their construction managers. Despite the construction industry's significant contribution to economic growth in developed and developing countries, there are still great hindrances in construction project productivity due to the poor performance of construction managers. However, this gap significantly delays much-needed productivity gains, as it is difficult to fully overcome the associated disruptions and choose the best remedy to minimize their impacts on every Nation's Economic Development. Therefore, this investigation is required to close these gaps. This study employed a qualitative research methodology. A combination of primary and secondary sources was used to achieve the main research objectives. Interviews were conducted with 8 vibrant employers in the construction industry. The interview question was made open to enable the employers to air their views on the skills they expected construction managers to possess before engaging them to manage a construction business. The interviews were done face-to-face. Each employer was interviewed separately to avoid copied responses. The outcomes of the interview were noted and listed. However, the benefits of possessing those skills demanded by employers were explained. These benefits were discovered through a systematic literature review. The findings from this study will not only benefit all employers of construction managers in the construction industry but will also be beneficial to all other employees in a company who seek career growth and better job opportunities in the future. It will help eliminate the issue of unnecessary company closure and disputes among the project team due to project failure. Both professionals and future college and university graduates, whose intentions are to proceed to the working field after graduation, will also benefit from the findings. The construction industry is still doomed unless it addresses the issues of construction managers’ attributes. The value of teamwork in the workplace is obvious, and it is frequently directly influenced by effective construction managers’ attributes. Effective construction managers help to save money and boost their company’s reputation. Using a technology-knowledgeable construction manager can greatly help improve the project delivery and a good team working environment saves money and time on projects.

ANALYSIS OF MATERIAL INVENTORY CONTROL THE METROSTATER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN DEPOK

In the last 10 years the construction sector boom has increased rapidly. The Government's Long-Term Plan and the leniency of government policies on investors wishing to invest in Indonesia have stimulated the growth of the construction sector in Indonesia. Increasingly adequate infrastructure encourages entrepreneurs or contractors to invest in public and private projects. One of the private construction projects being handled is the Depok Metrostater Project. This project is located in the city of Depok which has a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept. Currently the project is still in the construction stage of the foundation and in its implementation it requires concrete iron as raw material. To ensure material availability, the contractor will perform a scheduled recapitulation of materials according to usage needs. This material scheduling implements material stock inventory control that must be available in the warehouse, so as not to overstock. For this reason, an optimal inventory control analysis is needed through the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) method, Lot For Lot, Fixed Period Requirement (FPR), and the Wagner and Within algorithms. The comparative results of the inventory method analysis based on the Wagner and Within Algorithm methods provide the most economical results with the minimum total cost of Rp. 583,466,945, - among the other three methods. and Contractors can make efficiency by 35%

Subcontractor trust issues on payment and valuation practices in UK private projects

PurposeConstruction project delivery is hinged on the performance of the contractor and subcontractors. In many private construction projects in the UK, there are trust issues between the subcontractor and contractor, especially when there are no collateral warranties to protect the rights of the subcontractors. The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the causations of distrust between subcontractors and contractors and proffered panaceas.Design/methodology/approachQualitative open-ended questions were used. Twenty respondents, mainly supervisors, tradesmen, subcontractors and main contractors in the UK, were interviewed. The thematic analysis approach was used to identify the dominant themes.FindingsThe interview findings were presented descriptively, and the frequency approach identified more occurring themes from the interviewees’ responses. The six themes contributing to distrust between subcontractor and contractor are financial pressures, partnering approach, payment and trust, nature of trust, internal influence and unfair payment.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study revealed that many subcontractors have limited knowledge of the clauses in contracts they are entering into. Thus, in addition to obtaining collateral warranties, subcontractors must carefully understand their contractual obligations and payment arrangements before agreeing to be part of a construction project.Originality/valueAlthough this study aimed to shed light on the distrust between subcontractors and contractors in private UK construction projects, improvements in contract administration, subcontractors continued professional development and improved valuation processes can reduce distrust between subcontractors and contractors.

Determining Critical Contributory Factors of Payment Default in Residential Construction Projects

Issues in relation to payment is not new and it has always been debated widely in construction contracts research discipline. Payment default is one of a crucial issue that refers to the situation whereby the claimant claims the amount of payment, but they are not being paid in a whole or in part within a specific time (including under payment, delayed payment, and non-payment). In this case, majority of the contractor would be the direct and enormously affected party, however, this area is still under discovered empirically. This research aims to identify factors significantly contributing to the payment default, specifically in private construction projects. Survey was used in this research through questionnaire surveys. The targeted respondents were G7 contractors who have been involved in private projects, mainly in residential projects. The findings address that factor of delay in certification or poor documentation rated the highest average mean value. Meanwhile, the CIDB Standard Form of Contract for Building Works 2000 Edition was determined as the highest average mean value out of five remedies. The outcomes of the study could be useful for the key parties in project to enhancing their understanding and commitment in mitigating payment default issues in private construction projects

From the ostensible objectives of public policies to the reality of changes: Local orders of densification in the urban regions of Paris and Rome

Densification has become a general battlecry of “post-suburban policies”. Yet the reality of densification processes does not necessarily correspond to the objectives of those policies. Through a comparative analysis of Paris (France) and Rome (Italy), our contribution shows that the densification of the urban fabric takes place, at least in part, outside the areas specified in planning documents, and on the margins of development projects driven by local authorities. Densification therefore represents an aggregation of private construction projects, within a single territory, projects that the authorities try as far as possible to manage through more or less formal negotiations. Local governments are also faced with problematic induced effects – which they have subsequently to handle – on public spaces, public infrastructures, or indeed the environment. Our study ultimately highlight the existence of 'local orders' of densification beyond planning documents at a submetropolitan scale, and explores the capacity of the public actors to control the changes to suburban areas by means of urban planning and project instruments.

Comparison of BIM Adoption Models between Public and Private Sectors through Empirical Investigation

In recent years, the integration of new technology-aided processes and methods, such as BIM in complex infrastructure projects, is becoming popular in the construction sector. Despite the growing popularity of BIM in the built environment, there is still a dearth of studies that focus on the intersectorial comparison of BIM adoption drivers in construction projects. Thus, the study aims to examine the project-specific BIM adoption drivers across the public and private construction sectors. Initially, a hypothetical BIM adoption model was developed based on a systematic literature review and desk study. Then, a structured questionnaire survey was employed to collect data from experts working across the Ethiopian construction industry. The empirical data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling and validated through confirmatory factor analysis. The result reveals that Relative Advantage, Financial Competency, Top Management Support, and Customer Pressure are common BIM adoption drivers amongst the public and private construction sectors. Similarly, a few distinct drivers were identified within both sectors. These include Government Pressure and Social/Cultural Factors in public, whereas Competitor Pressure and Communication Behavior in the private construction sector. The paper provides key intersectorial BIM adoption drivers within different adoption stages to reinforce the effort across the public and private construction projects. In addition, practical implications and key recommendations were forwarded to enhance the current BIM uptake in the Ethiopian construction sector.

Safety management in private construction project in Iraq

The construction industry consider one of the most dynamic industries due to the unique features such as the change in the project site and condition. These features make the application of specifications and codes more difficult. Occupational Safety requirements in project is also difficult to be implemented and monitored due to the unique features of this industry. The aim of the study is to propose a new method that will determine the performance and management of the occupational safety in the construction site, in order to increase the safety at work in the private construction sector in Iraq. Another purpose of this evaluation is to establish a fundamental point that can be graded according to the safety index for the Iraqi construction industry. The information has been collected through a checklist and a questionnaire; the study focused on data collection paradigm and framework based on a fuzzy logic approach, which is especially able to evaluate the efficiency and monitoring of management defects of private contractors in the fields of occupational safety management. The results show a high security management performance in the private construction sector in Iraq, and the survey results show that there is a great deficiency in training on job security, also study found out that the top three elements of occupational safety management in Iraq are: First Aid-medical needs, Safety committees, Hazard prevention and control.

Safety management in private construction project in Iraq

The construction industry consider one of the most dynamic industries due to the unique features such as the change in the project site and condition. These features make the application of specifications and codes more difficult. Occupational Safety requirements in project is also difficult to be implemented and monitored due to the unique features of this industry. The aim of the study is to propose a new method that will determine the performance and management of the occupational safety in the construction site, in order to increase the safety at work in the private construction sector in Iraq. Another purpose of this evaluation is to establish a fundamental point that can be graded according to the safety index for the Iraqi construction industry. The information has been collected through a checklist and a questionnaire; the study focused on data collection paradigm and framework based on a fuzzy logic approach, which is especially able to evaluate the efficiency and monitoring of management defects of private contractors in the fields of occupational safety management. The results show a high security management performance in the private construction sector in Iraq, and the survey results show that there is a great deficiency in training on job security, also study found out that the top three elements of occupational safety management in Iraq are: First Aid-medical needs, Safety committees, Hazard prevention and control.

Exploring the significant factors that influence delays in construction projects in Hargeisa

Over the past decades, construction delays have been perceived as a global challenge that hinders the time delivery, budget, and quality of construction projects. It is the most common, expensive, and risky problem associated with both private and public construction projects. Within this context, the aim of this study is to investigate the significant factors that influence delays in construction projects in Hargeisa, using the road and building projects as a baseline. Through a questionnaire survey with 51 critical delay factors that are categorized into seven major groups, data were collected from 51 construction stakeholders selected based on simple random sampling from the different construction companies. Feedback from the respondents was analyzed using Relative Importance Index (RII) for ranking purposes. Results showed that delay in honoring payment progressively, underestimation or overestimation of the project cost, and delay in the approval of major changes in the work scope were ranked as the three major causes of delays in construction projects in Hargeisa. The implications of these results are vital to future projects as they clearly demonstrate how less attention is given to the application of project management tools such as robust cost, scope and risk management in construction projects. As such, construction stakeholders are recommended to make efforts to use the appropriate project management practices needed to manage the 16 identified critical delay factors, when executing future construction projects. Although, the current study focused on Somaliland construction projects, it expands and improves the understanding of delay factors in the global context, and as such can be applied to other countries and future studies.

Implications of COVID–19 Outbreak on the Construction and Property Development Sector in the South-East Nigeria

Pandemic like Covid-19 usually affects the productivity of man, let alone when there is a consequent total lock-down effect in the society. Construction and property development sector among others therefore is bound to suffer enormously since it involves the services of variety of labour force. The study therefore explores the implication and consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak on the construction and property development sector in the south eastern region of Nigeria. Data were collected electronically using field survey method of research design from the sampled respondents of building professionals in the area. Tau-b correlation method was adopted in the statistical analyses to determine the most commonly observed Covid-19 measures, most common vulnerable factors leading to spread and contraction of the pandemic in the study. Findings reveal that majority of the establishment in the area shutdown their operations according to the directive of the government; while about the three quarter of these establishments who were in active operations are observed as public owned corporations or projects. It is also discovered that hand washing, wearing of face mask and social distancing were mostly complied with. On the other hand, economic hardship, inflation, and difficulty in accessibility to fund noticeably affect the flow and progress of work projects. Despite the considerable compliance with the preventive measures, there is no significant relationship between conformity to social distancing and shut-down policy, and the volume of construction works in progress during the shut-down in the study area. In conclusion therefore, it is recommended that shut-down of economic activities should not be total but, in part and alternate form among the various sections of the economic activities within the society. Attention to the operations of the private construction and property development projects like in the and the public structure is also recommended for a more holistic arrangement, towards cushioning the effect of similar economic crisis occasioned by any pandemic like Covid-19 in general.

Critical success factors for implementing design-build: analysing Malaysian public projects

PurposeThe success rate of design-build (D-B) implementation in Malaysia’s private construction projects is low compared to the nation’s public projects. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical success factors (CSFs) for D-B implementation in Malaysian public construction projects.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research objectives, 111 questionnaire survey responses from construction-related professionals were collected and analysed using multivariate analysis, including t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and factor analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that while the client’s briefing effectiveness remained the top CSF among many nations, the other top CSFs in Malaysia D-B construction projects vastly differed compared to those countries. Moreover, the underlying components for successful D-B projects in Malaysia include the project management team, leader competency and “stakeholder” management.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies that identify the CSFs for D-B implementation in the Malaysian construction industry. The outcomes provide a valuable reference and resource for academic scholars and construction practitioners to increase D-B implementation in the Malaysian private sector.

Discovering hidden patterns in Turkish construction projects delays related to project characteristic

There are delays in delivering construction projects, which have great affects in all countries' economies, due to many factors and reasons and these delays bring many negative consequences. Checking the source of these consequences or minimizing their effects is very important in terms of time and cost savings in the construction sector, especially for countries which have a continuous improvement such as Turkey. Determination of project factors that will cause delay, analysis of their impacts and taking protective measures will help to reduce losses. Hereby in this study, the project factors that may cause to delays are identified and some important association rules between these factors and delay are extracted by collecting the data from Turkish Public and private construction projects. Also, some recommendations were presented for reducing delays by using the extracted rules.

The Mithraeum at Kempraten (CH) – Preliminary Results from a New Discovery in 2015/16

Summary During rescue excavations carried out near the vicus at Kempraten (municipality of Rapperswil-Jona, St. Gallen, Switzerland) in advance of a private construction project, a Mithraeum measuring approximately 8 by 10 m was unexpectedly discovered in the summer of 2015 and subsequently excavated and investigated in detail. This paper presents the preliminary results of the excavation, which was completed less than a year ago, and pays particular attention to the interdisciplinary approach used in the excavation. These included intense sampling of the features for the purposes of micromorphology and archaeobiology. Three construction phases with intermittent conflagrations were identified. The question as to whether there was an ante-chamber remains unanswered. The external areas are also quite difficult to interpret, at least for the time being. The rich assemblage of finds, which included numerous coins, pottery, animal bones and a range of religious artefacts (e.g. altars and a half relief), will only be dealt with in a cursory manner here. According to the range of coins, the Mithraeum undoubtedly dated from the late 3rd to the late 4th or early 5th centuries. The site will be analysed by an interdisciplinary team and preliminary work is already underway.

On the delay factors of the private construction projects in Medan city

The delay in construction projects undertaken by contractors is impeding the economic growth of a region. Medan city which is one of the big cities in Indonesia is suffering from it. This study aims to identify the dominant factors causing delays in construction projects conducted by private contractors. The interview method with questionnaires is used to involve 20 contractors, 10 consultants, and 10 owner representatives in the study. From the 45 identified factors causing delays, the highest ranking is the change of work demand by the project owners with 71.84% importance index.

PREDICTING PERFORMANCE IN DESIGN-BID-BUILD PROJECTS

Design-bid-build (DBB) is the most common delivery method for public and private construction projects in Spain, and is also widely used in the United States (U.S.). While the execution of DBB projects in Spain and the U.S. is similar in many ways, owners in Spain approach the procurement of the general contractor and subcontractors differently. There is a greater emphasis on selecting firms that provide the “best value” of cost, quality and expertise. Comparatively, U.S. owners leading a DBB delivery are more concerned with achieving the lowest first cost. Using data from 67 completed DBB projects in Spain and the U.S., a best subsets regression analysis was performed to develop five models, each predicting a key performance outcome of DBB projects: cost growth, schedule growth, unit cost, delivery speed and intensity. These models separated the effects of the country of origin from other explanatory variables that effect performance. These other explanatory variables include differences in the procurement process, payment terms, the initial unit cost, size of the project, and measures of the project team’s integration and cohesion. The findings of this study show that, while owners in Spain opt for a more robust procurement process, DBB projects in the U.S. have comparable unit cost and are delivered faster and with a greater intensity when all other variables are held constant. This suggests that factors unique to the country of origin, not directly related to the execution of DBB projects, have a distinct effect on their performance.

Evaluating construction projects of hotels based on environmental sustainability with MCDM framework

Environmental issues have got incredible attention among daily life activities. Sustainability penetrated in all society practices specially construction industry due to its substantial impact on the environment. Monitoring and controlling architectural project contains a decision problem with multi-varieties analysis. This study aimed to evaluate construction projects of hotels regarding environmental sustainability. To this end, a hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model is proposed. Step‐wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) compose a unified framework. A private construction project is supposed as a case study. The project is based on establishing a five star hotel in Tehran, Iran. In this research SWARA produces criteria weights and COPRAS will rank decision alternatives. This study can be a strategic route for other similar researches in other fields.