Public Road Construction Research Articles

Contractors' Perception of Success Factors for Implementing Public Road Construction Projects

The Construction industry faces challenges and is increasingly failing to meet organizational objectives. This is evidenced by unsuccessful project implementation. Project failure oscillates between cost and schedule overruns and low-quality work, with construction organizations continuously failing to meet targets and losing significant funds annually. The public road construction subsector, which is currently in the spotlight for procurement irregularities, is equally challenged by the failures. Reports show that public road construction projects are not completed on time and within estimated budgets because of shoddy work and contract variations that negatively affect the government's goal attainment. This has resulted in several administrative reviews and investigations aimed at restoring sanity to successfully implement construction projects and meet government objectives. Studies are sprouting in the construction industry to determine successful project implementation factors that motivated this study's contribution. Based on the contractors' perception, this study aims to establish success factors for implementing public road construction projects. A cross-sectional research design using a structured self-administered questionnaire was adopted, and data was analysed in SPSS version 24 software. Findings reveal that monitoring activities and sanctions on staff are significant success factors in enhancing public road construction project implementation. At the same time, compliance with the public procurement regulatory framework, familiarity with this regulatory framework, professionalism among staff and perceived inefficiency of the regulatory framework are insignificant.

Demand Side Perception on Success Factors for Implementing Public Road Construction Projects

Cost and schedule overruns, as well as substandard works, are common factors that fail organisations’ objectives within the construction industry. Particularly, these factors affect public road construction projects and cost taxpayers. Researchers continue scanning the environment to establish why construction projects are ever behind schedule and over budget with substandard works and contract variations to identify significant factors for successful project implementation. This study expands the debate by looking at demand side perception in establishing success factors for implementing public road construction projects motivated by governments’ high expenditure on construction projects without meeting objectives. A cross-sectional research design with a structured self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain views from three public entities representing the demand side. Results were analysed following partial least square structural modelling (PLS-SEM) in Smart-PLS3. The research design enabled statistical tests to be conducted on validity, reliability, normality, multicollinearity, correlations and regression. The PLS algorithm and bootstrapping resampling approach were employed to determine the relationship between variables by estimating path coefficients and significance. Path coefficients helped to determine strength, direction and significance, and examine the variance of dependent variables explained by combined independent variables. Results revealed that the professionalism of the staff, compliance with the public procurement regulatory framework, monitoring activities and contractors’ resistance to non-compliance are significant success factors in enhancing public road implementation. Hence, adopting these factors would be a game changer in implementing complex road construction projects. In addition, complex construction projects in a dynamic construction industry require continuous scanning to establish more factors and cope with industry dynamics.

Data driven planning and approval processes of public road construction projects

AbstractPlanning and approval processes in Germany still take many years in some cases. According to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport digitalization must be used to pick up the pace and achieve progress. In this context, digital methods and applications such as a Common Data Environment (CDE) promise to accelerate and increase the efficiency of road construction projects. This paper first provides an illustration of the main purposes and functions of a CDE. This includes an in‐depth study of current national and international regulations. Subsequently, challenges and optimization opportunities related to the planning and approval process are identified. To this purpose, a quantitative research approach questioning employees from state and federal road construction administrations is carried out. This study identifies improvement potentials through a CDE application especially regarding tracing and transparency. According to the study, the planning and approval process needs to get digitalized, simplified and shorten. Therefore, future research needs to address the question of how to implement a cross‐country CDE for planning and approval processes that interfaces with various state and federal systems without displacing them.

Success factors of pre-construction stages of Ghanaian public road construction project life cycle

The research article aims to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) of the pre-construction stages of the public road construction project life cycle in Ghana. Data on 26 CSFs and 16 success criteria were collected from key stakeholders across Ghana through a questionnaire survey. The data was then analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The study showed that external environmental factors and project management factors directly influence success across the pre-construction phases of the Ghanaian public road construction project life cycle whereas procurement-related factors only influence the success of the works procurement phase. The research outcome would inspire construction industry stakeholders to be dynamic and pay utmost attention to the application of the CSFs identified across the pre-construction phases of the Ghanaian public road construction project life cycle. This is the first study wherein the influence of CSFs across the pre-construction stages of the public road construction project life cycle in Ghana is identified. Thus, it extends public road construction project management literature in Ghana. The study is limited to equipment-intensive public construction projects in Ghana.

Enhancing the success of Ghanaian public road construction projects

The objective of this research paper is to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) influencing the success of public road construction projects from the perspective of a developing nation. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data on the extent to which critical success factors gathered from literature impact the success of public road construction projects from sector practitioners’ perspectives in Ghana. The data was then analysed using factor analysis. The study revealed that external environmental factors have the highest influence (46.23%) on public road construction project success, followed by project management factors (12.25%) while procurement-related factors have the least impact (6.97%). Public construction project management organisations and the government will now have a deeper understanding of CSFs that influence the success of public construction projects and use them as a guide to enhance the successful delivery of public road construction projects. Even though numerous studies have been undertaken to enhance the success of construction projects in Ghana, very little attention has been given to procurement-related factors. Thus, the study outcome will add value to sector practitioners and the Government of Ghana in the management of public road construction projects.

Financial Management Methods and The Efficacy of Advance Financing: a case of the Public Infrastructure in Uganda

In Uganda, advance financing is a common method for financing public infrastructure. While advance financing is thought to considerably alter the way governments in the developing countries improve infrastructure through offering more financing services that might make a real difference to infrastructural developments, there is a continual uproar about the inefficiencies in Uganda National Roads Authority, principally around the advance funded projects. This study focused on assessing the appropriateness of advance financing arrangements on the efficacy of advance financing of this road. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from a total of 204 respondents from Uganda National Roads Authority using self-administered questionnaires. The authors focused on financial stability, professionalism, level of government funding and efficacy of advance financing of the roads sector. Data was analyzed using SPSS 26. Ordinal logistic regressions were run to establish the relationships between the study variables. The findings of the study revealed that good financial management methods were significant positive predictors of efficacy of advance financing of public infrastructure. Also, when the Contractor did their part and accepted status quo other than highlighting objections was found to be a momentous predictor of efficacy of advance financing for infrastructure project. Under government funding, scenarios where government had truthfully rewarded contractors with a sense of achievement positively influenced the efficacy of advance financing of Public infrastructure. Generally, both financial stability and professionalism positively influenced efficacy. However, the study findings revealed that when the government meets the agreed target with contractors before full implementation of the project, there is a negative influence on efficacy of the project. This therefore calls for sanction on staff working on these projects which is contrary to construction code on public road construction projects since they are designed for a specific purpose using taxpayer’s money through government who are accountable to confirm that the funded projects follow their predetermined targets. Keywords: Financial Management methods, Financial stability, professionalism, Government funding, Efficacy of advance financing, Public-private partnerships, Public infrastructure DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/13-1-05 Publication date: January 31 st 2023

CONTRACTORS’ PERCEPTION ON COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN PUBLIC ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Construction industry continuously suffer from lack of compliance with regulatory framework. Particularly, a lack of compliance contributes to substandard works, delayed project implementation that are above estimated budget in public road construction subsector. Deviating from regulatory framework is reported globally. Public procurement reforms underpin regulatory inefficiencies globally calling for strengthening to achieve value for money. Using data from private road contractors, this study determines compliance factors for public procurement regulatory framework in implementing public road construction projects. A cross-sectional research design with structured self-administered questionnaire was adopted and PLS-SEM through SmartPLS3 used to estimate compliance model. Findings reveal that sanctions on staff significantly enhances compliance with public procurement regulatory framework (α = 0.418, t = 1.995, p = 0.046). However, familiarity with regulatory framework, monitoring road construction activities, staff professionalism, perceived inefficiency and contractors’ resistance could not. Accordingly, management is encouraged to enforce strict sanction effectively to ensure compliance with regulatory framework.

Compensation For Land Affected By Public Road Construction In Deli Serdang Regency

Before the land is used for public purposes such as roads, markets and others can be implemented through the procedures established by law is no exception to the acquisition of land destined for private interests. In land acquisition can be done as stipulated in Article 21 of the basic agrarian law. To do land acquisition, the land must have a person or legal entity that owns it. In the land acquisition, a person or legal entity has the right to receive monetary compensation or replacement of land located elsewhere. In addition, the land acquisition required the approval or agreement of both parties to be implemented by the committee that handles the so-called Land Acquisition Committee.

Assessing public sector road construction projects’ critical success factors in a developing economy: Definitive stakeholders’ perspective

This study assessed the critical success factors (CSFs) of public-sector road construction projects execution from the perspective of definitive stakeholders associated with such projects by drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews (16) and surveys (372) in Ghana, thirty-four (34) CSFs were identified. Using Relative Importance Index (RII), Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficients, and Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance and the Chi-square test of significance statistics, the top ten most important factors in descending order are: the absence of political interference, project continuity by successive governments, adequate project funding, support from financial institutions and donor agencies and countries, government commitment to the project, absence of clientelism, absence of nepotism, no political corruption, payments of contractors on time and absence of court injunction or legal suit and land litigations. This study contributes to road construction CSFs in the context of public sector road construction in developing economies.

Approaches on Mitigating Variation Orders in Road Construction Industry in Kenya: The Case of Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA)

Variation orders have been globally identified as a significant reason for poor performance of construction projects. Several variation orders have been identified in the Kenyan construction industry, however, there is a paucity of information on the approaches to minimize their occurrence. The aim of this study is to identify the practices for variation order mitigation in the public road construction sector in Kenya. This is a cross-sectional study that was carried out among the stakeholders (clients, consultants, and contractors) involved in road construction projects. The study used the purposive sampling technique whereby the data were collected with the use of distributed questionnaires among clients, consultants, and contractors’ staff with a technical background in civil engineering. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was used for data analysis. According to the findings of the study, the top five recommended approaches for minimizing variation orders include the provision of adequate planning before the initiation of road construction projects, understanding of the contract provisions by all the parties before project implementation, solving of land disputes before the project tender awards, provision of complete project designs, and provision of a brief project scope during the tendering process. This research, therefore, contributes to a pool of knowledge that will enable practitioners and researchers in the construction industry to develop effective models for minimizing variation orders.

ІДЕНТИФІКАЦІЯ РИЗИКІВ БУДІВНИЦТВА ТА ЕКСПЛУАТАЦІЇ АВТОМОБІЛЬНИХ ДОРІГ

UDC 658.272:625.27; JEL Classification: R 42 Purpose. The purpose of the article is to substantiate and develop the theoretical and methodological bases for identifying the public road construction and operation maintenance risks. Methodology of research. The following methods were used in the research. The generalization method was relevance to determine the category “identification of public road construction and operation maintenance risks”. The dialectical method was used for formulating the subject of identification of public road construction and operation maintenance risks. The system approach and general scientific method of analysis were used to develop a classification of types of road construction and operation maintenance risks. Findings. The research considers actual theoretical and methodological questions of identifying the public road construction and operation maintenance risks. The author's interpretation of the concept “identification of the public road construction and operation maintenance risks” as a process of determining the risk by its main species characteristic and attributing it to the grouping in the appropriate classification was given. The subject of such identification was defined separately: the activities of production systems in road construction, which are complex dynamic systems, consist of a number of subsystems, can enter into over-systems, as well as interact with other systems and the environment. The classification table of types of risks of construction and operation maintenance of public roads has been developed. The necessity of using this classification as the basis for building predictive models of risk management in the road economy was noted. Originality. The theoretical and methodological approach to risk management in the road economy was further developed by identifying them in the construction and operation of public roads according to their classification criteria. Practical value. The results of the research can be used as guidelines for the public administration in the field of road construction and development of the transport network of the region, and for Ukravtodor entities directly engaged in road production, to assess the probability of occurrence of risk case.

Compliance mediating role within road construction regulatory framework

PurposeThe propose of this study is to focus on the mediating role of compliance with procurement regulatory frameworks in implementing public road construction projects.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional research design was adopted. Structured questionnaires were developed in a three-step process including generating items, purifying measurement items and validating measurement items. Variables were anchored on a five-point Likert scale because it is an efficient unidimensional scale that ensures all items measure the same thing and widely applicable in construction research.FindingsThe findings show that compliance with a public procurement regulatory framework significantly mediates the relationship between familiarity with a public procurement regulatory framework, monitoring activities, sanction on staff and contractors’ resistance to non-compliance and public road construction project success. However, compliance with a public procurement regulatory framework does not mediate the relationship between the professionalism of staff and perceived inefficiency with public road construction projects’ success.Research limitations/implicationsLimited mediation studies and examples in the public road construction subsector affected this study to comprehensively investigate and compare study findings. Furthermore, the study adopted a cross-sectional research design that limits responses to one point in time. Finally, the study missed out other participants in different organizations and departments that could have had relevant information.Social implicationsThe study contributes to public procurement and construction management research fields by uncovering this strong mediating role of compliance with a public procurement regulatory framework that collectively would help the government to implement public road construction projects successfully. Because no single factor can reliably attain objectives, blending these factors through a hybrid governance system would enable the government to achieve value for money, increase the quality and quantity of paved roads and save funds that can be channeled to other priority sectors for economic development.Originality/valueDespite scholarly efforts to establish project success factors, studies have been limited to factors directly impacting the project success without considering a mediating effect among the factors that affect the success of these projects.

Zwrot nieruchomości przeznaczonych pod drogi publiczne w trybie przepisów szczególnych – zarys problemu

Return of Property Designed for Public Roads under Special Regulations Interference in property rights carried out under expropriations is a sensitive issue, especially when it concerns public road construction or extension. The legal situation of entities whose property rights were withdrawn deteriorated after 2006, which was related to the introduction of lex specialis regulations, which are ambiguous as to the right to allow the return of unused property for the purpose of expropriation. The objective of this study is to identify the most important issues found in numerous court orders and legal literature. All considerations should lead to a deeper analysis of the presented issues and refer to the formulated de lege ferenda conclusions.

Success factors for implementing Uganda’s public road construction projects

The construction industry is known for its underperformance. Globally, construction projects are often delayed and completed above-estimated budgets because of inferior works and contract variations. These in turn negatively affect the goals set by public sector client. Many studies aim to establish factors for successful construction projects that include public road construction projects. However, challenges remain. Using institutional theory, this research focusses on success factors for implementing public road construction projects in Uganda. Loss of funds in such projects significantly affects and stalls the implementation process. This study is cross-sectional and structured self-administered questionnaires are used with Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) data analysis by Smart-PLS3 subsequently conducted. The findings reveal that professionalism, monitoring activities, familiarity with regulatory framework; perceived inefficiency of regulatory framework and compliance with these frameworks significantly enhances successful implementation of public road construction projects. However, sanctions on staff and contractors’ resistance to non-compliance are insignificant predictors. Governments should emphasize and embark on improving monitoring mechanisms and staff familiarity with public procurement regulatory frameworks to avoid manipulations by unethical project stakeholders especially on contract cost variation during implementation. These regulatory frameworks should be written in a less technical language that is easily interpreted by stakeholders. Recruitment of qualified staff is paramount.

Compliance within a Regulatory Framework in Implementing Public Road Construction Projects

The construction industry faces a lack of compliance with policy that in Uganda public road construction projects affects the attainment of Government goals and disrupts infrastructure project delivery. For decades, public entities have been known for a lack of compliance that manifest in: poor performance, poor personnel management, poor resource utilization and unprofessionalism. In Uganda, this has resulted in several restructures aimed at improving service delivery. Despite this, compliance remains an issue. The purpose of this study is to establish factors affecting compliance within a public procurement regulatory framework in public road construction projects and foster economic development. A cross-sectional research design including a structured self-administered questionnaire survey and PLS-SEM data analysis by SmartPLS3 was conducted. The research reveals that three factors positively affect compliance with a regulatory framework that govern public road construction projects; sanctions on staff, inefficiency of the public procurement regulatory framework and contractors’ resistance to non-compliance. While a further three factors have little positive effect on compliance; familiarity, monitoring activities and professionalism. Hence, the research contributes to construction management by showing that sanctions, perceived inefficiency and contractors’ resistance significantly enhance compliance within a public procurement regulatory framework.

A Study on Improvement Measures for the Design Documents Delivery System in Public Road Construction Projects

A Study on Improvement Measures for the Design Documents Delivery System in Public Road Construction Projects

Technology for Automated Search and Detection of Overpriced Road Construction and Repair Public Procurement Contracts

The paper presents the results of the use of the technology developed by the authors for automated monitoring of financial and economic events corresponding to formalized typologies of suspicious activity in the area of public procurement developed by the Eurasian Anti-Money-Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing Group (EAG). For this work, a typology based on deviation of contract price from market price in road construction and maintenance was chosen. Keywords: public procurement, road construction and repair, AML/CFT, suspicious activity, typology

Do Longer Projects Have Larger Cost Deviation Than Shorter Construction Projects?

Construction cost and delivery time have been used as mutually inclusive measurement for project success in construction industry. In relation to this, several researchers showed a correlation between cost deviation and deviation on delivery time. However, very limited research discussed about the relationship between total construction time and cost deviation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze two specific types of construction projects (roads and buildings) and test if there is a correlation between cost performance and the length of construction time. In other words, respond to the proposition that longer projects have large cost deviation. Further, the research discusses managerial implications by referring what it really matters in cost performance in either of longer or shorter projects. To do this, the research considers various size public road construction projects and building constructions with different project completion time. It uses quantitative research method. The result showed that longer project do not necessarily have higher cost deviation. Unlike the building construction, road construction showed negative correlation between cost and construction time. However, few longer projects showed relatively large cost deviation as compared to smaller projects. This paper also wants to do practical discussions by comparing the attributes of shorter versus the longer projects.

공공 도로건설사업에서의 원격 현장모니터링 적용방안에 관한 연구

공공 도로건설사업은 국토교통부 소속기관 중 하나인 지방국토관리청에서 발주되며 각 건설현장은 공사관리관을 두어 관리하고 있다. 공사관리관은 다수의 공사현장을 수시로 방문하여 현장을 점검 감독함에 따라 현장까지 이동하는데 많은 시간과 비용이 소요됨으로 현장관리 업무의 효율화가 요구되고 있다. 이에 공사관리관의 업무효율성 제고를 위해 현장방문을 최소화하고, 원격지에서 공사 진척현황을 실시간으로 모니터링 할 수 있도록 현장모니터링 관리 체계의 도입이 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 공공 도로건설공사를 대상으로 웹카메라(Web camera)를 활용한 원격 현장모니터링시스템을 구축하였다. 또한 10개 건설현장을 선정하여 시범적용을 실시하고, 효과분석을 통해 적용성을 검증하였다. 적용성 검증 결과, 웹카메라를 활용한 원격 현장관리는 기존 현장관리 방식에 비해 약 35% 정도의 비용절감효과를 갖는 것으로 분석되었다. 마지막으로 현장모니터링 관리 체계의 적용을 위한 가이드라인 마련과 도입방안을 검토하고, 개선방안을 제시하였으며, 이를 통해 불필요한 현장방문을 최소화하고, 현장의 취약지점에 대한 위험요소를 사전에 차단하여 각종 재난 및 재해를 사전에 예방할 수 있도록 하였다. 아울러 안전사고 예방과 부실시공의 근절을 통한 시설물의 품질을 향상시키리라 기대된다. The public road construction projects awarded by the regional construction and management office, which is an affiliate of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, are managed by construction supervision officers. These officials frequently visit a large number of construction sites to conduct inspections and supervision tasks. Therefore, the site management efficiency is essential in terms of the time and money spent in travelling to the sites. The introduction of a site monitoring management system is considered necessary to minimize the number of site visits and enable remote monitoring of the construction progress to enhance the business efficiency of the construction supervision officers. In this study, a remote site monitoring system was constructed using web cameras for public road construction works. The trial applications were implemented by selecting ten constructions sites. The effectiveness of the system was analyzed to assess its applicability. In an assessment of the applicability of the verification results, remote site monitoring showed cost savings of approximately 35% compared to the existing site management. The guidelines for applying the site monitoring management system were provided, the introduction plan was investigated, and the improvement method was presented. The results showed that the system is likely to minimize the unnecessary site visits, remove the risk factors at vulnerable areas in the sites beforehand, and prevent a range of disasters and accidents. In addition, the quality of the infrastructures is likely to improve through the prevention of accidents and the elimination of substandard and faulty construction work.

Conceptual Cost-Prediction Model for Public Road Planning via Rough Set Theory and Case-Based Reasoning

Long-term transportation policies require government officials to predict the cost of public road construction during the conceptual planning phase. However, early cost prediction is often inaccurate because public officials are not familiar with cost engineering practices, and moreover, have limited time and insufficient information for estimating the possible range of the cost distribution. This study develops a conceptual cost prediction model by combining rough set theory, case-based reasoning, and genetic algorithms to better predict costs in the conceptual planning phase. Rough set theory and qualitative in-depth interviews are integrated to select the proper input attributes for the cost prediction model. Case-based reasoning is then applied to predict road construction costs by considering users’ difficulties in the conceptual policy planning phase. A genetic algorithm is also used to assist the rough set model and case-based reasoning model to obtain optimal solutions. The result of the analysis shows that the proposed conceptual cost prediction model is reliable and robust compared to the existing cost prediction model.