Project Contract Research Articles

Contract Governance, Uncertainty, and Project Performance: Evidence from Water Environment Public–Private Partnerships of China

Contract Governance, Uncertainty, and Project Performance: Evidence from Water Environment Public–Private Partnerships of China

Effect of risk management practices on project performance: A case of the Mafuru-Kimambira Water Supply Project in Mvomero District.

The study examined the effect of risk management practices on project performance using a case of Mafuru-Kimambira Water Supply Project. This study used quantitative research approach together with non-proportional stratified simple random sampling technique to obtain 98 project contractors. The data were collected using the questionnaire method and analyzed using both descriptive statistics and multiple regression model to analyze the effects of risk management practices on project performance. The findings revealed that risk prevention practice was found to be positive and significant, indicating that it has a direct effect on Mafuru-Kimambira water supply project performance, risk transfer was also found to be positive and significant, indicating that it has a direct impact on Mafuru-Kimambira water supply project performance and risk control was found to be positive and significant, indicating that it has a direct impact on project performance. The study emphasize how crucial risk management techniques are to improving the efficiency of water supply initiatives like the Mafuru-Kimambira Water Supply Project. The study recommends that policymakers should contemplate formulating and executing regulations that promote the application of risk prevention, risk transfer, and risk control techniques in project management. These policies might include directives requiring the application of these techniques in project planning and execution, incentives for projects that exhibit excellent risk management, and training courses for project managers on risk management techniques. By ensuring that water supply projects are carried out successfully, these policies may contribute to increased water security and socioeconomic growth.

Impact of green construction procurement practices on the success of circular economy in Ghana

PurposeThis paper investigates the impact of green construction procurement practices (GCPPs) on circular economy (CE) success by identifying environmentally sustainable procurement practices that can promote a CE in the construction industry. The goal was to promote circularity in construction through GCPPs.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research approach was adopted and purposively selected 100 respondents for a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Data from the questionnaire survey were analysed using mean score ranking, One-sample t-test and regression analysis.FindingsThe study found that using on-site systematic waste management, project stakeholder commitment and support for green practices and environmental requirements in technical specifications, significantly impact CE success in construction, with a 12.8% variance in CE when green procurement is practised. This implies that GCPPs have positive repercussions on CE success, where the CE success is expected to change as GCPPs levels increase.Practical implicationsThe study provides insights into green procurement, promoting its use in infrastructure development and aiding clients, particularly in the government sector with insights into the challenges and practices involved in green procurement. Practitioners can also benefit from better implementing CE strategies to draft and manage contracts for infrastructure projects that prioritize circularity.Originality/valueThe limited impact of GCPPs on advancing CE principles in construction suggests policy and practice must strengthen procurement requirements to fully leverage spending and drive the sector’s transition towards a circular model. Also, novel insight is provided into the most effective types of GCPPs for promoting CE success, aiding policymakers in optimizing construction procurement strategies.

Procurement contract design for distributed photovoltaic project considering output risk under asymmetric production effort information

PurposeDistributed photovoltaic (DPV) projects generally have output risks, and the production effort of the supplier is often private information, so the buyer needs to design the optimal procurement contract to maximise its procurement utility.Design/methodology/approachBased on the principal-agent theory, we design optimal procurement contracts for DPV projects with fixed payments and incentive factors under three situations, i.e. symmetry information, asymmetry information without monitoring and asymmetry information with monitoring. We obtain the optimal production effort and expected utility of the supplier, the expected output and expected utility of the buyer and analyse the value of the information and monitoring.FindingsThe results show that under asymmetric information without monitoring, risk-averse suppliers need to take some risk due to output risk, which reduces the optimal production effort of the supplier and the expected output and expected utility of the buyer. Therefore, when the monitoring cost is below a certain threshold value, the buyer can introduce a procurement contract with monitoring to address the asymmetry information. In addition, under asymmetric information without monitoring, the buyer should choose a supplier with a low-risk aversion.Originality/valueConsidering the output risk of DPV projects, we study the optimal procurement contract design for the buyer under asymmetric information. The results provide some theoretical basis and management insights for the buyer to design optimal procurement contracts in different situations.

Unveiling Construction Quality Factors: Insights from Asian Economy's Building Projects

Economic growth of any country depends on the construction projects and industry in the region. Therefore, the construction industry in Pakistan is directly related to quality and continual improvements in construction projects. Quality is a sensitive and high-priority issue in global construction including in Pakistan. The prime objective of this research study was to investigate major factors influencing the quality of building construction projects in Pakistan. The intended of this research study was to provide guidelines and information to all stakeholders such as owners, project consultants, and project contractors during the construction site of projects so that they are completed on time and with quality. The descriptive survey method was utilized with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative approach was used to collect data through project documents and in-depth interviews. N-Vivo software were used at the preliminary stage for the analysis of qualitative data to identify these factors and the linked sub-factors. Analysis of this qualitative data identified 32 factors that influence building construction projects. Questionnaire design was based on qualitative data analysis. The quantitative approach was used to collect data from building construction projects in Pakistan through via questionnaires. The 150 questionnaires links were sent to Pakistan building construction companies in Google form, and 120 respondents filled out the questionnaire. In this way, the response rate is 80%, enough to get accurate results. The SPSS software was used for analysis of collective data. The important quality factors were resulted from a stepwise RFI, RSI, IRII on the quality factors resulted from the factor analysis approach. The correlation coefficient was used to find the relationship between consultants and contractors with the owner. On the basis of analysis, it is concluded that the most significant factors influencing the quality of a building construction project were identified. the Findings of this study were: the skill and interest of labor during construction are a significant impact on the quality in Pakistan, escalation of material prices had influenced the quality of construction projects, making decisions based on price rather than the value of work, Lack of implementation of quality standards of work has greatly influenced the quality of construction industry projects, lack of comprehensive and accurate bill of quantities (BOQ), excessive design changes during construction and shortage of resource materials. In Pakistan, all the stakeholders should consider and take action for these influencing quality factors before starting construction projects.

Procurement Methods and Practices in Municipality Projects -An Analysis from Mandandeupur, Nepal

Purpose: To analyze the procurement methods and practices adopted in Mandandeupur Municipality, newly formed municipality in Kavrepalanchowk district under Bagmati province of Nepal. Design/Methodology/Approach: A structured set of questionnaires were developed in order to assess the practice of contract administration functions in the contract project conducted by the Mandandeupur Municipality in the F/Y 2074/075 B.S, 2075/076 B.S, 2076/077 B.S, 2077/078 B.S & 2078/079 B.S. Findings/Result: The study also examined the bidding trends in the municipality, revealing that 56.25% of the total bids were low bids, indicating potential cost savings. Additionally, 68.75% of the bids were competitive, suggesting a healthy level of competition in the procurement process. However, 3.125% of the bids were found to be collusive, indicating the presence of unethical practices that need to be addressed. Originality/Value: The study is significant to control significant low bid by asking to provide a method of statement, work schedule, and clarification for low bidding to ensure effective implementation of contract projects. The method of statement from the contractor can also help resolve negotiation/variation of conflicts. Paper Type: Empirical Research

Effectiveness of Public-Private Partnership Projects During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of public-private partnership (PPP) projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account the specificities of the industry. The empirical research base included the main characteristics (contract price, federal district of the project, customer, general contractor, project start period, project start year, project deadlines, price reduction during project implementation, application security, contract security and type of activity) of 144 regional investment projects. The research methodology included mathematical modeling using the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) data convolution method, on the basis of which an efficiency index was assigned to each PPP project from 0 to 1. The study concluded that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, regional investment projects received more funding; after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation time of regional investment projects has increased, the contract value more often changes downwards during the project implementation; and the average support for a project application has increased. The efficiency of implementation of regional investment projects, calculated using the DEA method, was reduced. The results obtained will be useful to private investors and government authorities when implementing joint projects to improve their efficiency.

Belt and Road countries’ external debt and China’s new strategies

ABSTRACT Since the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative was put forward in 2013, China has signed cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations. The Chinese government and banks have lent a large amount to B&R countries for infrastructure development, and China’s foreign contracted projects and trade with these countries have increased significantly. However, many B&R countries face severe debt repayment problems, and China has actively engaged in debt relief. To avoid debt crises, China needs to adopt new B&R development strategies, including putting B&R development firmly on commercial principles, reducing government loans to B&R countries and restructuring debt, expanding trade with B&R countries, increasing imports from debtor countries, and encouraging private enterprises’ direct investment in these countries.

Predicting construction project compliance with machine learning model: case study using Portuguese procurement data

PurposeFactors like bid price, submission time, and number of bidders influence the procurement process in public projects. These factors and the award criteria may impact the project’s financial compliance. Predicting budget compliance in construction projects has been traditionally challenging, but Machine Learning (ML) techniques have revolutionised estimations.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, Portuguese Public Procurement Data (PPPData) was utilised as the model’s input. Notably, this dataset exhibited a substantial imbalance in the target feature. To address this issue, the study evaluated three distinct data balancing techniques: oversampling, undersampling, and the SMOTE method. Next, a comprehensive feature selection process was conducted, leading to the testing of five different algorithms for forecasting budget compliance. Finally, a secondary test was conducted, refining the features to include only those elements that procurement technicians can modify while also considering the two most accurate predictors identified in the previous test.FindingsThe findings indicate that employing the SMOTE method on the scraped data can achieve a balanced dataset. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the Adam ANN algorithm outperformed others, boasting a precision rate of 68.1%.Practical implicationsThe model can aid procurement technicians during the tendering phase by using historical data and analogous projects to predict performance.Social implicationsAlthough the study reveals that ML algorithms cannot accurately predict budget compliance using procurement data, they can still provide project owners with insights into the most suitable criteria, aiding decision-making. Further research should assess the model’s impact and capacity within the procurement workflow.Originality/valuePrevious research predominantly focused on forecasting budgets by leveraging data from the private construction execution phase. While some investigations incorporated procurement data, this study distinguishes itself by using an imbalanced dataset and anticipating compliance rather than predicting budgetary figures. The model predicts budget compliance by analysing qualitative and quantitative characteristics of public project contracts. The research paper explores various model architectures and data treatment techniques to develop a model to assist the Client in tender definition.

Project Delay Factor Analysis Using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) Method and Rescheduling with Critical Path Method (CPM) in Ducting Manufacturing Projects at PT. FRA

Ducting manufacturing project at PT. The FRA was planned to be completed in 14 days, but was implemented in 19 days and 5 days late. The method to find the cause of project delays is Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), then analyze rescheduling with the Critical Path Method (CPM). The purpose of this study is to identify factors of work delay, determine new steps for project contractors and reschedule with alternative working hours and labor additions. The results of the analysis using the FTA method obtained the main cause of delay in drawing engineering work of 0.0002592 and obtained 4 new steps for project contractors. The results of rescheduling using the CPM method obtained a percentage increase in productivity with the alternative of adding working for 4 hours with a duration of 25% or 6 days faster than the normal duration of 19 days to 13 days and an additional cost of 91.96%, which is Rp. 21,500,000. While the percentage of productivity increase with alternative labor additions with a duration of 38.75% or 5 days faster than the normal duration of 19 days to 14 days and additional costs of 178.57%, namely Rp. 31,200,000. So it can be concluded by using the FTA method the main cause is drawing engineering work and 4 new steps are obtained and using the CPM method alternative scheduling is obtained to increase overtime work hours more effectively and additional costs are not too large, so that the company does not experience delays for future ducting projects.

TIME AND COST ANALYSIS OF DHOHO KEDIRI AIRPORT ACCESS ROAD PROJECT USING EARNED VALUE METHOD

Delays in project completion are something that any project contractor must avoid. Because apart from having a negative effect on the credibility of the project contractor, delays in project completion also cause penalty costs to be borne by the contractor, so that the profits to be obtained are reduced.Earned Value Method. This method is used to determine project performance in terms of costs at one time, determine project performance in terms of schedule/time at one time, predict costs to complete the project after the evaluation time and predict the time to complete the project after the evaluation.By using this method in the Kediri airport access road construction project, it was found that the project was delayed from the plan. The ETC (estimate to complete) value obtained was the estimated budget value required for completion was IDR 17,470,510,292.77, while the EAC (estimate at complete) value obtained was the final total cost estimate. project is IDR 32,509,153,464.05. TE Value Results (Time Estimate) to complete the project to completion in 89 calendar days or 5 days later than the contract time of 84 calendar days.

Construction Management in the Amazon: Analysis of Performance Indicators and Impacts of COVID-19

Management failures in public construction projects result in significant resource wastage and delays in social development goals. This research aims to evaluate the management of contracts for public school construction projects using cost, schedule, and scope performance indicators, as well as investigate the influence of the characteristics of the Amazon region and the COVID-19 pandemic on project execution. The methodology involved document analysis of selected samples, describing the projects, geographical locations, contractual changes, and statistical correlation tests. Subsequently, the study surveyed the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the analyzed projects, along with an analysis of performance indicators. The results revealed that all projects experienced cost increases, with an average percentage of 24.36%. Regarding schedule extensions, 92.30% of the projects underwent contractual changes, with an average increase in time of 142.19%. Scope changes were present in all projects, with an average modification percentage of 61.84%. It is believed that this study contributes to a critical analysis of the management of public engineering projects, enabling the identification of problems and improvement opportunities.

Substance Evaluation Study of Construction Safety Plan Implementation and It's Implementation

Padang State University has experienced rapid student enrollment growth, driving the need for new infrastructure. Most of the buildings have more than 3 floors, and one of the ongoing projects reaches a height of 32.05 meters with 6 floors, contributing to higher construction risks. This research was conducted to evaluate the implementation of Construction Safety Plans (CSP) on projects over the past two years in accordance with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing Regulation No. 10 of 2021 and the Circular Letter of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing No. 10 of 2022. Data collection methods for this study involved two approaches: compliance audits and performance audits. Compliance audits involved document-based inspections of CSP, while performance audits included on-site observations and project work evaluations. The research results revealed that the construction of the central information and library building achieved the highest CSP implementation rate, with compliance rates of 93.33% in compliance audits and 91.42% in performance audits. In contrast, the rehabilitation project for the Faculty of Sports Sciences and the Dean's office showed lower compliance rates, scoring 37.14% in compliance audits and 35.34% in performance audits. The study also found that project contract values correlated with CSP compliance levels. Higher contract values were associated with higher CSP compliance. Contractor qualifications also played a crucial role in ensuring compliance with safety regulations. Based on these findings, it is recommended that UNP exercise greater selectivity in contractor selection processes. This study highlights the importance of construction safety in construction projects.

2-positive contractive projections on noncommutative Lp-spaces

We prove the first theorem on projections on general noncommutative Lp-spaces associated with non-type I von Neumann algebras where 1⩽p<∞. This is the first progress on this topic since the seminal work of Arazy and Friedman (1992) [6] where the problem of the description of contractively complemented subspaces of noncommutative Lp-spaces is explicitly raised. We show that the range of a 2-positive contractive projection on an arbitrary noncommutative Lp-space is completely order isometrically isomorphic to some noncommutative Lp-space. This result is sharp and is even new for Schatten spaces Sp. Our approach relies on non-tracial Haagerup's noncommutative Lp-spaces in an essential way, even in the case of a projection acting on a Schatten space and is unrelated to the methods of Arazy and Friedman.

Project Contract Management and Performance of Water Project in Baringo County, Kenya

Project Contract Management and Performance of Water Project in Baringo County, Kenya

The Contribution of Applied Folklore to Urban Tourism: The Case of Mardin

Cultural tourism has become one of the most preferred forms of tourism globally, along side summer, sea, and winter tourism. Keyelements in cultural tourism in clude places of cultural heritage, museums, markets reflecting the city's spirit, restaurants, baths, fountains, natural formations, and agricultural areas. Inaddition to cultural spaces, folklore materials such as rituals based on beliefs, dances, festivities, and culinary culture have gained prominence in recent years among cultural tourism venuesand activities. It is crucial for urban folklore to maintain its connection with the past while adapting to contemporary conditions and sometimes leveraging them for self-realization. Only through this process can tradition be carried forward to the present and future. Since the acceptance of the intangible cultural heritage Project contract in Turkey, significant steps have been taken nation wide to preserve an cestral traditions, customs, places, and practices. The positive developments in the intangible cultural heritage process in Mardin since 2002 are important for the preservation and subsequent promotion of the city's historical and cultural fabric. Public institutions continue the iron going efforts on thesubject. In this study, practical folklore examples from recent years are introduced, and existing orpartially inadequate practices are addressed. Recommendations have been proffered to facilitate there location of urban tourism to a distinctive paradigm by addressing non-existent practical folklore examples. This initiative aims to transcend the prevalent pursuits of silver and coppercommerce, as well as constrained historical site excursions. The arrangement of cultural spaces suitable for outdoor activities is also proposed among there commendations, in conjunction with the existing "living museum" where numerous activities are centralized in a single center within the city.

A Proposed Model for Variation Order Management in Construction Projects

This study aims to identify the causes of excessive change orders and their impact on public construction projects in Saudi Arabia. This should support the organizations working in the construction industry to improve variation order management (VOM) as a preventive action by dealing proactively with variation order causes. Therefore, a new methodology was proposed to minimize change orders and their impact on the successful completion of projects as well as cost during the project lifecycle. The methodology involved ten selected turnkey building projects at King Faisal University (KFU) campus, Saudi Arabia. Statistical analyses were conducted to predict the cost overrun in project size and contract value. The findings showed the most significant causes leading to variation order in public construction projects. These include the combined effect of the designer and owner technical committee, designer document, and owner stakeholder committee. Hence, a new model for VOM was developed as a best practice approach, including three stages. The first stage is the initiation process, which includes seven procedures, seven tools, and key responsibilities. The second stage deals with the course of change orders based on a certain number of procedures and weight for each parameter assigned to this phase. It supports decision processes based on a certain average ratio of weights calculation. The third stage is the decision to support decision makers in proceeding or not proceeding with the variation order. Although the present study was conducted in Saudi Arabia’s public building construction project, it is envisaged that these research results are widely applicable to other developing countries. The paper presents a direction for further research to enhance the impact of cost overrun in public sector construction projects in developing countries, i.e., Saudi Arabia.

ADVANTAGES AND BARRIERS FOR USE OF EXCAVATED SEDIMENTS

Soil excavation, including extraction from rivers, lakes, and marine sediments, can lead to a large surplus of clean or slightly contaminated excavated soil. All excavated soil is treated as waste until it is reused. Therefore, the reuse of excavated soil is an important part of sustainable construction, which also helps reduce carbon emissions and lower the cost of earthworks. The reuse of excavated soil is generally viewed positively, but there is a lack of uniform definition of construction waste and a lack of guidance and understanding of reuse. This article discusses the use of excavated soil and provides advice for good practice in the future, considering regulatory, economic, environmental, and implementation aspects. Regulatory aspects refer to the complex legislation and the lack of guidelines for reusing excavated soil. Economic aspects relate to integrated planning, including contracts for construction projects, and the interest of those involved in construction. The environmental aspect includes the impact of reused material on the soil. Logistical obstacles are discussed, which include both spatial and temporal problems due to difficulties in moving excavated soil, storing it, and coordinating supply and demand. Barriers to performing the work are related to the lack of standardization of tests to demonstrate that the geochemical and geotechnical quality of the excavated soil is suitable for reuse. Examples of the reuse of surface, river, lake, and marine soils and possible solutions to overcome the barriers to their use contributed to a proposal for increased use of excavated soils and sediments.

Integrated project delivery (IPD) capabilities on reducing claims in urban underground projects: A hybrid FAHP-FTOPSIS approach

Participatory planning practices - associated with integrated project delivery (IPD) can influence the cost and time claims of construction projects. However, there is a lack of research providing a quantitative holistic assessment of implementing IPD practices for reducing claims. In order to fill this knowledge gap, the present study aims to present a hybrid prioritization model to assess and mitigate the impact of claims on urban underground projects using IPD capabilities. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) methods are combined to prioritize traditional project delivery systems claims and rank IPD capabilities to reduce critical claims. FAHP identifies eight critical claims, including incorrect selection of the project contract system, lack of use of legal experts in setting contracts, exchange rate fluctuations and changes in currency conditions, lack of manpower skilled personnel in the region, ambiguities and shortcomings in the contract, restrictions on the supply of materials, machinery and equipment, delays in payments and financial obligations of the employer and lack of equipment and machinery appropriate to the type of work in the region. FTOPSIS ranks organizational and leadership, planning enhancement, and appropriate technology as the most effective capabilities in reducing claims. These capabilities should be implemented according to the obtained ranking to accept IPD in reducing the conventional claims future projects. The main innovation lies in the development of a hybrid prioritization framework to evaluate conventional contractual claims and rank IPD capabilities. The framework proposed in the study provides a valuable tool for construction managers to make informed decisions and mitigate the impact of contractual claims during the project delivery phase.

Assessing user satisfaction in construction services: Analyzing contractor performance in central Kalimantan’s power projects

Background: User satisfaction is an essential indicator in assessing the quality of construction services. A deep understanding of the factors contributing to user satisfaction is crucial, especially in the context of electrical projects. Objective: This study aims to examine the satisfaction level of PT PLN (Persero) UIP West Kalimantan towards the performance of electrical project contractors and to develop strategies for improving contractor performance based on the findings. Methods: This research adopts an observational approach using Descriptive Analysis. A survey employing questionnaires was designed and distributed to employees of PT PLN (Persero) UIP West Kalimantan. Data analysis was conducted using the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) to identify key performance indicators. Results: The study indicates a high level of satisfaction from PT PLN (Persero) UIP West Kalimantan towards the contractor's performance, with a CSI value of 70% within a 95% confidence interval (66%-81%). The IPA analysis revealed 12 performance indicators within the 'concentrate here' quadrant, indicating priority areas for improvement. Conclusion: These findings affirm the effectiveness of the strategies and management implemented by contractors in achieving user satisfaction. This study provides valuable insights for other contractors in the construction sector to enhance service quality, especially through improvements in project managerial recruitment strategies, support for work equipment, and collaborative strategies with banking institutions for project financing.