Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, 12 (1), 73-81 (2007) (Regular Paper)

TRAINING NEEDS OF CONSTRUCTION SITE MANAGERS

K.T. Odusami, O.S. Oyediran and A.O. Oseni
Department of Building, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, ktodusami@yahoo.com (Received February 2007 and accepted April 2007)

Site managers need to be kept abreast of the challenges of everchanging construction technology, knowledge ideology, management techniques, dynamic nature of construction site works and this requires training and retraining. The aim of this paper is to examine and evaluate the specific training needs of construction site managers handling selected construction projects in Lagos State of Nigeria. A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect information on construction site managers in Lagos State. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, mean score, weighted average, and t-test distribution. The result of the study revealed that there is common agreement that training of site managers should address human and industrial relations, building production and project management, then communication skills and computing. The paper concludes with recommendation to establish training institutes to take up the managerial training addressing the skill shortages of site managers to enhance efficiency in the construction industry. Field visit with site managers on weekend basis should be considered as the most effective method of training. Keywords: Site managers, training, delivery system, training needs.

1. INTRODUCTION
The conditions to which building contractors are required to operate are always highly demanding and competitive. Companies need to develop strategies to survive in a competitive environment and meet everincreasing client expectations. Ward[1] observed that clients are requiring ever-higher quality services from contractors. He therefore suggested that training of the staff of construction companies should be taken seriously. According to Putt[2], competitive positions are enhanced by the ability of the companies to use their staff to their optimum economic advantage. Chan[3] was of the opinion that there have been a lot of changes in technology, knowledge ideology, management techniques, government etc that virtually no day passes without a single noticeable change under the sun. Due to these changes, professionals, especially in the construction industry need a lot of training to be able to cope with the dynamism of the world. The capability of the construction industry to develop, procure and deliver innovative, complex and demanding projects, is driven by involvement of highly knowledgeable and skilled site managers. Training has long been identified and recognised as one of the fundamental and key processes within the construction industry to assist organisations meet the need of site managers with these qualities[4].

Another peculiarity of the construction world is the break-up, re-adjustment of personnel in site production. Obiegbu[5] observed that site management and supervision operate on a site-by-site basis. Each project requires a different labour force and as the work on site proceeds, the various work teams that have gradually been integrated during the course of work have to break up and re-adjust themselves in different groups on different sites. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that any two site manager jobs will ever show much similarity. They will work with different people at different places, they will be part of different organizations and they will be expected to operate effectively within a variety of changing constraints. This dynamic scenario exposes the site managers to new challenges, which, of course, may require training. Related to the above is the problem of skill shortages and the competition of recruiting highly qualified site managers. It follows therefore that construction firms should be encouraged to train their own staff to keep them ahead of the competitive game[6]. Agreeing with Ward[1], who described site manager as the contractors senior representative resident on site, whose aim is to achieve maximum productivity within the limitation of the resources, available to him, therefore it is pertinent to conclude that the future of the industry lies with the training of its leaders: the site managers. Similar view is held by Styhre and

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Josephson[7] that in the construction industry it is the site manager who plays the most important management role on construction site. The general belief in modern times is that construction site managers are being faced with skill shortages. How they have been coping with the dynamism of the changing world of construction technology, material innovations, management techniques, knowledge profusion and client requirements remains a subject of continuous inquiry. It is necessary to inquire, as baseline information, the training needs of these managers. Investigation into training needs of site managers has been of interest to construction researchers [4, 8, 9, 10, 11] While Wahab [8] focused on organizational, occupational and individual training needs, Odusami[10] as well as Odusami and Ameh [12] dealt with the training of project managers. It is necessary to observe that Wahabs [8] work lacked some empirical justification thereby limiting its utility value in training needs policy. This general paucity of research information triggers off the necessity of establishing training needs of site managers on individual level, within the Nigerian local construction climate. It is pertinent to inquire into the subject areas where the Nigerian construction site managers are experiencing shortages, what training philosophy they uphold and what training methods and modes they prefer.

respect to a particular project. He carries out and complete the works shown upon the contract drawings and described or referred to in the contract bills and in the Articles of agreement in compliance therewith, using materials and workmanship of the quality and standards therein specified in every respect to the reasonable satisfaction of the supervising officer. Therefore, the key areas of concern in meeting this obligation relate to the quality of work during construction, the costs of construction, and the time factor in construction. 2.1 Knowledge Requirements of Site Managers Construction site managers should know about the following[14, 15, 16]: building methods and materials, building standards and regulations, how to read building plans and diagrams, how to use planning software, quantity, quality, cost control and purchasing of building materials and machinery, safety methods and procedures used on building sites, staff management, quality control system and how to put in place administration systems. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)[17] agrees with most of the foregoing knowledge areas listed. Theses knowledge areas and skills are shown in Table 1
Table 1. Skills and working knowledge of a site manager Working knowledge Management Skills General management, organization site office management, site cost control, personnel selection of operatives, workmen management, working rules agreement, safety training. Plant use, maintenance of equipment mechanical plant and transportation Production planning, site organization and layout, construction methods, site control General building technology including concrete technology and technical drawing, structural engineering, electrical installation, settings out and levelling Standard method of measurement, compilation of bill of quantities, preparation of interim and final accounts Building regulations by laws ,contract law (forms of contract)

2. SITE MANAGEMENT AND SITE MANAGERS RESPONSIBILITIES

Like any other field of management, site management involves the six processes of management, namely: forecasting, planning, organizing, motivating, controlling and communicating. Hatchett[13] said that site management is not a primary occupation within the industry. Those who are eligible for responsible positions in site management must therefore have experienced employment with other occupations in the industry and as such developed attitudes and expectations about key industrial roles. The interrelationship of these attitudes and expectations with educational and work-experience programmes need more careful consideration. Obiegbu[5] characterized the site manager as a person who has received the commission to carry out the intention of the top management through direct leadership of work groups in a construction company. He is in charge of production and maintenance, always in constant control of a definite site work force, and is in immediate daily contact with the operatives whose work he directs and controls. Most building firms have different titles for this personnel including site supervisor, site manager, site agent or project manager[14]. The major responsibilities of a site manager according to Obiegbu[5], is to fulfil the contractors obligations stated in the contract conditions with

Equipment Production Technology

Quantity surveying Law

Source: CIOB[17], p.28

2.2 Identifying Training Needs Farr and Sullivan Jr.[18] were of the opinion that training is critical for any industry that must remain competitive in a technologically complex and ever changing world. They predicted that because of technology, many architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) employees will become obsolete within three years without continuous training and this will increase training costs five fold in the near term. Adams [9] opined that for any training to be purposeful and effective, its contents must reflect the actual needs of the participants. Gunawardena and Jayawardane[19]

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were of the opinion that training is a task that must be undertaken if the construction industry is to rise to the challenge of providing strong support for national development. Training needs analysis (TNA) has been perceived as a vital part of the training design process[20]. The TNA process consists of three parts: identification of range and extent of training; specification of needs precisely; and analysis of how best training needs must be observed, implemented at organisation, job and personal levels within the organisation. From the above, it follows that training needs can be identified at three levels; the organizational, occupational, and individual levels[8]. This study, however, is focussed on the training needs at individual (personal) level. At individual level, the deficiencies in individuals who constitute the organization are identified with a view to matching them with the available training programme requirements. For example, in the recruitment for a specific position, a successful applicant may still be seen as requiring some marginal training for improved productivity. The following list has been perceived by the industry to be key elements of site managers training needs[4]: 1. Job-related and competence-based training 2. Modular-based training where training units are cumulatively available 3. Flexible training where trainees can develop at an appropriate pace 4. Training linked to a recognised award such as a certificate or diploma; and 5. Training linked to medium to long-term career development 2.3 Training Methods Adams [9] defined training methods as the fundamental catalysts and stimulators for learning. He noted that in developing countries, training methods have been variously called training techniques, training or educational methodologies. In his comparative review of the most often utilized training methods he observed that there is no global consensus on preffered methods, or on definitions of training methods. This was affirmed in the work of Ogunlana, Thapa and Dey [21] where they investigated into comparison of various training methods for different categories of construction firms. They concluded as well that there is no method that can be identified as the best method. In fact, it is not a question of either/or but of which method is appropriate for a particular purpose, at a specific time, and in certain circumstances. Table 2 outlines different training methods that can be used generally and some of these methods can be applied in the case of construction site managers.

Table 2. Training methods Lecture The classical teaching method. An organized oral presentation of subject matter on a definite topic prepared for specific purpose by the instructor. Rarely used in its pure form without provision for additional methods, for example, discussion, question and answer, visual aids Lecture Probably the most familiar and widely used instructional method is the lecture. It is usually done live, but it may be presented on videotape or audio tape. From training and learning standpoint, the learning is one of the weakest methods. It usually involves no interaction, practice, study, or testing of the material presented. Classroom Training Traditional classroom training is basically a series of lectures. Classroom training allows for modifications and enhancements to the lecture method by providing workbooks, small group discussions and practice, multiple sessions with homework, regular testing, etc. This approach is certainly more effective than a simple lecture and is appropriate for more complicated training. It could be adopted for almost any type of staff training. Lecture Lectures, of course, are the most familiar way of instruction and not much has to be said about it.

Case Study A popular approach for teaching management processes. Involves a discussion by a group of a case report which poses a number of questions on issues of current interest to the trainees. The report, a written or filmed description of an actual or an imaginary problem situation is presented in sufficient detail to enable rigorous analysis of problems and recommendation of appropriate action by the group. Participants may be asked to write their own cases from real life problems to enhance relevance and effectiveness.

Case Study In using the case method, the instructor collects cases on a subject area which would represent a variety of real issues inherent in the study of the subject. In many teaching situations cases are used for a variety of different purposes: sometimes to illustrate specific points that the instructor wants to highlight, sometimes to demonstrate how the concepts under discussion show up at work, operationally, in real-life situations. Cases are often used to encourage greater classroom participation and for working in small groups to diagnose the real situation.

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Table 2. Cont. Training methods

Conferences A meeting of people in a large or small group to discuss openly a specific problem or topic of common interest with the eventual acceptance of the conclusions made by group members. The term often used for gatherings of people from a given profession or association. Recognized authorities in areas covered are invited to address conference or present technical papers and to provide answers to questions concerning the topic(s) covered. Programmed Learning This method breaks the training program down into many smaller parts that are put into a logical sequence. At the end of each section or module, the participants are tested and given immediate feedback as to their understanding of the material. The training course of this type is much more difficult and costly to develop, and they usually involve programmed texts or workbooks. Programmed Instruction This method is designed for trainees to learn on their own: self learning. The programmed learning method has been used for learning repetitive tasks. With increasing skills in writing programmes, more complex situations are handled by the programmed instruction methods. The process of writing a programme is very expensive and time consuming. The programmed material is generally presented to trainees either by machine or programmed text-books. The machines vary from the very simple to complex electronic devices. Films Their use in training is familiar. Films can be used for many purposes and the instructor has to choose them carefully. He may use films to illustrate something, show how other people handle different issues, provide a background of a situation for trainees to work in small groups, etc.

Field visit Brief educational visit lasting a day or at most two to provide freehand information of objects and people being studied which would never occur in classrooms or conference rooms, to summarize and consolidate initially presented by some traditional methods as well as to provide new information experiences Project-based programme Incorporates formal and on-the-job training. Like action learning, learning is focused on a clearly identified and specific problem common to a carefully selected member of organizations. A short seminar to provide formal tuition on specific topics and instructions on key issues is followed by a visit to organizations of participating managers by the trainer to set up a project related to the subject matter. Sources: Adams[9] pp. 201-207 Birnberg [22] pp10&11 Dayal [23], pp.91-101 1

Problem-oriented Exercises and Projects The instructor giving as complete information as is needed to work on the problem under study writes up often exercises and projects. The material is distributed to the trainees in advance. The trainees are divided into groups and work separately on the problem. In the final session the groups present their reports, followed by more general discussion on the issues in hand.

Films, Tapes and Videos Information provided on films, tapes and videos are used as a supplement to other training methods or as the main vehicle of learning. While audio tapes use only narrations, films and videos further allow weaving in of real life demonstrations or action lots and graphics to visually illustrate the skills, concepts and facts being presented. Seminar / Syndicate Small groups of about 5-10 members examine in depth a specific theme or problem. Each group presents their findings or recommendations in a report to the plenary session of all groups or to the teacher for a joint report for the appraisal of the whole class. Seminar has a more academic innovation.

Group discussion In this method, small groups discuss issues or problems and work out new ideas, solutions, proposals, etc. It is most effective for teaching problemsolving and decision-making skills. As such, it is probably most useful for management rather than stafflevel, training. Field Visit This is often used in training for specific skills. Trainees learn while they are actually on the job and are being productive. It is usually combined with classroom training or other off-the-job approaches as well. Firms often combine the field visit method with other approaches for better results.

Syndicate The method basically consists of dividing up the trainees into a number of groups to work on different subjects. The groups are called syndicates. Generally each syndicate has a brief and background papers carefully prepared by the instructor. The syndicate discusses the issues involved in the subject area assigned to it and prepares a paper. The chairman of each syndicate presents his report separately , followed by questions raised by each syndicate on the recommendations of other syndicates.

3. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF NIGERIA IN RELATION TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The Federal republic of Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and a Federal Capital city located at Abuja on 9 12 N, 7 11 E geographic coordinates. The country is a leading member state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The country shares borders with Benin on the West, on the South with the Gulf of Guinea (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean), on the Northwest and North with Niger, on the Northeast with The Chad, and on the East with Cameroon [24]. Nigeria is located on 10 00 N, 8 00 E geographical coordinates and occupies an area of about 356,667 square miles (923,768 square kilometre). With a July 2007 population estimate of 135,031,164 growing at an annual population rate of 2.379% (2007 est.) the labour force is put at 48.99 million (2006 est.). The country has GDP (purchasing power parity) of $188.5 billion (2006 est.) GDP - real growth rate 5.3%

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(2006 est.) of which industry takes about 53.2%, agriculture takes 17.3% and services sector takes the remaining 20% of the GDP. Economically, the country is an oil-rich, oil-reliant and oil-funded economy. Until 1999 the country experienced a long period of military regime and series of political instability. The advent of democratic governance brought some reforms aimed at empowering the private sector to deliver the necessary services and reducing dependence on the public sector as provider of services other than regulatory functions. The market driven reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry have started yielding results lately.[25] In 2003, the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS), a domestically designed and run program modelled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management[25]. 3.1 The Nigerian Construction Industry in the Recent Years The latest Nigerian Statistical Facts Sheets on Economic and Social Development, 1999-2003 [26] reported that building and construction picked up considerably in 2003 resulting in nearly 9% growth rate. This growth is believed to be as a result of the implementation of capital and maintenance projects especially under the newly created Road Maintenance Agency. Additionally, there were observed increases in housing projects both by the governments and the private property speculators. The country also witnessed the inflow of foreign capital to finance projects in the telecommunication, energy and power sectors. The performance of the communication sector in 2002 and 2003 was encouraging (attained 47% and 43% real growth rates respectively). The inter-sectoral impact on the construction industry has been tremendous leading to upward swing in the reported contribution of the industry to the GDP. The prospect of inflow of more foreign capital is bright with the governments effort at promoting public private partnership especially in power generation and other infrastructures.

5. METHODOLOGY
The study sample was drawn from Lagos State of Nigeria. The authors chose Lagos State because of its high and heavy construction workload and activities. An ex-post facto research design was employed. A total of 80 site managers were selected from different categories of construction firms; small, medium and large-scale firms. A total of 36 positive returns were received representing an average response rate of 45%. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, designed using an adopted Likert-type 5-point scales. The mean score method was adopted to establish the relative importance of the variables to be used in assessing the training needs of site managers. The mean score is mathematically represented as:

MS =

(F X ) / N . (1 MS 5)

Where X is the score or weight given to each variable by the respondents and ranges from 1 to 5 where 1 is not significant and 5 is most significant; F is the frequency of responses to each rating (1-5), and N is the total number of responses concerning that variable. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to measure correlation between two sets of rankings. The spearmans rank correlation coefficient (rs) for any two sets of ranking is defined as in Asika[27] to be:

rs = 1 6 di 2 / n n 2 1

Where di is the difference between the ranking given by one party and rank given by another party for an individual factor or a factor category and n is number of pairs of values in the data set. Also; t = rs

n2 2 1 rs

4. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study aimed at discovering the skills and knowledge deficiencies existing among construction site managers. This will help to identify their training needs. The study also explores the preferred delivery system, as a basis for designing what system will suit site managers.

To test the rank correlation coefficient, a ttest at 95% confidence interval of the null hypothesis, H0, was used. The decision rule depends on whether the calculated value of t is greater than or less than the critical value of t for (n-2) degrees of freedom. The Weighted Average (WA) for each of the elements was obtained from the sum of the product of the proportion of the questionnaires received from each group compared to the total number of receipts (n/N) and the corresponding mean score (MS) of that group in respect of each individual variable i.e.

WA = n

[( N ) * MS ]

(1

WA 5)

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Where n = number of questionnaire received from each group. Once the site managers subject area or training area weights are determined, they can be used for the evaluation of site managers priority for training needs.

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Site managers were classified into four categories based on their disciplines: Architecture (19.4%), Building (38.9%), Quantity Surveying (5.6%), Civil Engineering (36.1%). This indicates that both builders and civil engineers were mostly used as site managers by the construction firms under study.
Table 3. Importance attached to training Importance of training Moderately important Important Very important Total No of responses 2 8 26 36

1 Not important, 2 Slightly important, 3 Moderately important, 4 Important, 5 Very important. (Mean score=4.67)

showing the demand level of these subject areas or training areas. The results of the survey revealed that training on human and industrial relations have the highest demand followed by building production and project management, then communication skills/computing. Others are resource management, quality control, project finance and cost control and others in that order. Human and industrial relations happened to be the first training priority because of the dynamic nature of construction site works. That is, the site managers need added knowledge and skills on human and industrial relations to be able to cope with the different labour force encountered as they embark on their site by site operation. This observation contradicts the findings of Gunawardena and Jayawardane[19], which opined that computer applications and package are the most needed subject area by the construction managers and professionals. In contrast to the above relationship, the result correlates with the opinion given by Obiegbu [5] that lack of human relations skill is one of the complaints and criticisms of site managers. He stressed that unless management tries to modify supervisory attitudes and changes supervisory practices in Nigeria, it will be impossible to carry out any effective modernization in the industry. 6.2 Perception of Groups of Site Managers on Training Needs It was hypothesized that any two groups of site managers could hold different views on their training needs. This is expected since they have different professional background and attended different training institutions, belong to different training generations, among others. Alternatively, it was hypothesized that there are agreements in their perceptions of the training needs of site managers. In which case, their professional background, different training institutions, different training generation or regimes do not significantly affect their perception of what their training needs are. The results of the hypothesis set up are shown in Table 6. The computed p-value for five out of the six combinations of site manager groups was significant and larger than the critical value (1.734), hence the null hypothesis was rejected for the five and accepted for only one. This implies that there was no significant difference in the training priorities for the four groups of site managers. Preferred delivery methods The weighted average in Table 7 represents the indices used in assessing the preferred delivery methods by the site managers. All the groups of site managers gave priority to field visit, followed by films, tapes and video; and then lecture in that order. The site managers believed that firms should have a system of field visits mostly on weekend basis. The

As shown in Table 3, the mean score for all the respondents is 4.67. This indicates that majority of site managers under study (72% of the respondents) considered training very important. This correlates with the opinion given by Farr and Sullivan Jr.[18] that training is critical for any industry that must remain competitive in a technologically complex and everchanging world. They predicted that because of technology, many AEC employees will become obsolete within three years without continuous training and this will increase training costs five fold in the near term. Table 4 shows that majority of the site managers (50% of the respondents) prefer weekend training.
Table 4. Distribution of response according to preferred mode of delivery Mode of delivery Evening Weekend Day release lecture During annual leave Full time Total No of responses 2 18 11 2 3 36

6.1 Evaluating the Important Training Needs and Preferred Delivery Methods The weighted average in Table 5 represents the indices to be used in assessing the site managers priority for training needs. It could be observed that all the figures obtained had a weighted average between 3 and 5

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Table 5. Site Managers priority for training needs as perceived by the four groups.
N=7 Architect group (Mean score) 4.714 4.571 4.571 4.714 4.143 4.286 3.714 3.571 4.429 2.714 3.857 3.286 3.143 4.000 3.000 3.429 2.429 2.857 2.286 2.571 N=14 Builder group (Mean score) 4.786 4.714 4.714 4.571 4.500 4.643 4.429 4.214 4.357 4.286 3.643 3.876 3.857 3.929 4.071 3.714 4.143 4.000 3.571 3.500 N=13 Engineer group (Mean score) 4.962 4.769 4.615 6.692 4.461 4.538 4.308 4.385 3.308 3.846 3.923 4.231 4.154 3.538 3.615 4.000 4.077 3.769 3.692 3.461 N=2 Quantity Surveyor group (Mean score) 5.000 4.500 4.500 3.000 4.500 2.000 3.000 3.500 5.00 4.000 4.000 2.500 2.500 3.000 4.000 2.000 1.000 1.500 3.500 2.500

Area of training / subject area

Rank

Rank

Rank

Rank

Weighted average mean score 4.750 4.694 4.639 4.555 4.416 4.389 4.167 4.111 4.028 3.806 3.801 3.778 3.750 3.750 3.694 3.667 3.611 3.555 3.361 3.250

Rank

Human and industrial relations Building production and project management Communication skills/computing Resource management Quality control Project finance and cost control Accounting and finance Industrial and labour law Structural design Safety, health and welfare Services in building Management of people Management of subcontractors Site surveying and levelling Building contract law and arbitration Contractual procedure/procurement systems Estimating and quantity surveying Valuation of work in progress Building maintenance and improvement Planning organization

1 4 3 2 7 6 10 11 5 17 9 13 14 8 15 12 19 16 20 18

1 2 3 5 6 4 7 10 8 9 18 16 15 14 12 17 11 13 19 20

2 1 4 3 6 5 8 7 20 14 13 9 10 16 17 12 11 15 16 19

2 3 5 12 4 18 11 9 1 7 6 14 15 13 8 17 20 19 10 16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Table 6. Test for agreement on the ranking of specific training needs by different groups of Site Managers. Site Manager combined group Architect and Builder Builder and Engineer Architect and Quantity Surveyor Architect and Engineer Engineer and Quantity Surveyor Builder and Quantity Surveyor rs 0.743 0.72 0.528 0.625 0.182 0.720 t-cal. 7.036 6.350 3.638 3.398 0.785 4.404 t-tab 1.734 1.734 1.734 1.734 1.734 1.734 Reject H0 ? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes p-value Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05 Not Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05

rs = Spearmans rank correlation coefficient; t=t-statistics ; H0 = Null hypothesis; p = probability that rejects the null hypothesis

reason being that, observing the object or action in its natural setting is particularly helpful in relating theory to practice. Thus, this finding gave credence to that of Ogunlana et al[21] that contractors employees prefer on-the-job training and should be of regular nature. Theoretically, field visit enhances not only the cognitive learning outcome; it has significant impact on the affective domain of the learning. Ilogu[28] believes that there is a sort of overlapping in the three domains of learning: cognitive, affective and psychomotor. This training delivery method must recognize these domains and incorporate this into whatever system being deployed. In the field of educational technology, it has been observed that the use of visual aids is an important elements of knowledge impartation[29] . Visual methods have the advantages of moving learning from the abstract to the concrete and tangible sense, as well as individualized learning. It is therefore important that the training of future site managers must take into cognizance this mode of training in the curriculum development. A practical difficulty, however, is the availability of sites to visit, willingness of site owners/contractors/or

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Table 7. Site Managers priority for training methods as perceived by the four groups Training method Field visit Films, tapes and video Lecture Project-based programme Case study Seminar Conferences N=7 Architect site manager mean score 4.429 4.143 4.000 3.714 3.571 3.286 3.149 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N=14 Builder site manager mean score 4.643 4.500 4.286 4.500 4.071 4.214 3.927 Rank 1 2 4 3 6 5 7 N=13 Engineer site manager mean score 4.615 4.461 4.308 4.231 4.077 3.864 4.000 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 N=2 Quantity Survey- or site manager mean score 4.500 3.500 3.500 3.500 3.000 2.500 2.000 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Weighted average mean score 4.583 4.389 4.195 4.194 3.916 3.805 3.695 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Table 8. Test for agreement on the ranking of training methods by different site manager groups Site Manager group Architect and Builder Builder and Engineer Builder and Quantity Surveyor Architect and Quantity Surveyor Architect and Engineer rs 0.902 0.830 0.937 0.991 0.964 t-cal. 4.664 3.333 6.023 16.609 8.136 t-tab 2.015 2.015 2.015 2.015 2.015 Reject H0 ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes p-value Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05 Significant < 0.05

The results of the hypothesis set up are shown in Table 8. The computed p-value for the six combinations of site manager groups was significant and larger than the critical value (2.015), hence the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative was accepted for the six combinations of site manager groups. This implies that there was no significant difference in the level of importance for training methods for the four groups of site managers.

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Having identified the related problems that affect this study and carefully analysed the relevant data, the following conclusions have been arrived at: - There is common agreement that training of site managers should address human and industrial relations skills, building production and project management, communication skills and computing. - Site managers considered training very important as it makes them cope with the rapidly changing world. - Field visit for site managers is concluded as the most preferred delivery method. - Training on weekend basis was the most preferred mode of training by the site managers. Based on the findings the following recommendations for training of construction site managers become relevant: - In order to cope with the competitive and dynamic nature of construction site works, site managers training should address human and industrial relations, building production and project management, communication skills and computing. - Frequent training of site managers should be seen as important and encouraged so as to put an end to the problem of skill shortages. - Field visit, as a preferred delivery method for the training of site managers and should be encouraged and site-documentary bank should be developed, stored and made accessible to future generation of site managers. This can also be used for training at

rs = Spearmans rank correlation coefficient, t = t- statistics; H0 = Null hypothesis, p = probability that rejects the null hypothesis.

clients to allow their sites to be visited either for security or job disruption reasons. To overcome this difficulty, in-house documentaries could be produced and stored as site-documentary bank. Such site documentaries could be assessed by up-coming generations of site mangers and used for their training. By extension the documentary can be made available on commercial basis for training at educational institutions and training workshops. A test of agreement was also carried out to determine if there exists a relationship in the results of the four groups of site managers. 6.3 Perception of Groups of Site Managers on Training Methods The study hypothesized that any two groups of site managers could hold different views on the training methods that will meet their training needs. Training and professional background can be assumed to be accountable for this. Alternatively, any two groups of site managers hold the same view as to the training methods they prefer.

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educational institutions and at continuous professional development fora. - Regulatory bodies such as The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) should adopt a strategy for chasing the laymen site managers off the building construction market to enhance a better glory for contracting in Nigeria.

REFERENCES
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