CHAPTER ONE

AN APPRAISAL OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ON COMSTRUCTION SITE

(A CASE STUDY OF SOME CONSTRUCTION SITE IN LAGOS STATE)

1.0 INTRODUCTION

What is construction resource management? Construction resource management is the

concept of overseeing and strategically managing every physical asset, from consumables

to tools to equipment in every company department, for the advancement of the company.

Construction resource management can help a company manage tools, equipment,

consumables, and other materials throughout the whole company and on each project. By

putting critical information into the hands of employees who need it, these systems give

contractors a leg up in efficiency. These systems store information about every critical

item in inventory, from how much it costs to reorder out-of-stock items to how particular

projects should be billed for their tools use. And unlike tool tracking methods of years

past, comprehensive construction resource management systems can provide information

throughout an entire organization, allowing each employee access to just the information

they need for maximum efficiency. Today, implementing a construction resource

management system is as easy as ever because they can seamlessly integrate into an

organization's existing software. The proven result is that contractors are maximizing

their resources and projects to achieve the greatest yield possible.

In the construction of a building project, some percentage is allowed for waste in the

priced bill of quantities for the contract and at times this wastage are so much that they

tend to encroach into the profit margin of the construction company handling the building

contract.

Hence the need to properly address this problem of resource management on construction

site, because this is where real practical management of resources is being carried out on

any building building Project irrespective of whatever planning and techniques that has

been adopted for the project.

This resources include materials, labor (skilled and unskilled), direct labor or Sublette

labor, cash at hand used for payment of other operations, plant and machinery, whether

owned by the construction company or hired for a building project with respect to the

cost, duration and usage of the plant on site in relation to the programming chart being

employed for the project. Some of the problems being encountered on site like the delay

in the supply of materials which could be caused by many factors e.g. traffic jam,

breakdown of truck or lorry, shortage in manufacturers warehouse, etc., which in turn

affect the labor employed because of the idle period that they have to wait for the

material to arrive. This also has a negative effect on the programmed chart. The

manhandling of blocks when delivering, shoring and construction or placement, whether

the blocks are substandard or are it a deliberate or careless act on the part of the laborer

handling the blocks. The type of timber formwork or steel formwork to be used and their

aftercare on completion of the project, the cutting of reinforcement and the mode of

delivery on site, whether bent or left straight in its full length. The wrong arrangement or

site organization. The waste that occur during concreting using the concrete mixer. The
storage of cement either in silo, or in bags and how to prevent them from water and

moisture, first in first out (F. I. F. O) or last in last out (L. I. F. O) in the case of other

materials stored in the same warehouse or store.

The other part of resource which is labor. The laborer is expected to put in shows per day,

the time spent waiting for materials to arrive, their break period, the number of hours

spent on the break period, the location of the canteen or food vendor, whether on site or

laborer have to go or long distance to eat, couple with the effect of the sunlight and

fatigue.

Lackadaisical attitude of laborers on site, their attitude towards one another either

individually or as a team, the story of ESAN (everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody).

The kind of motivation given to them in the form of cash or buying of beer or palm wine.

The attitude of the supervisor to the laborer whether authoritative or diplomatic and his

relationship with them after the days job.

The misappropriation of funds meant for a particular project by the project manager or

supervisor either used for what was not budgeted for in the stage to be carried out, or

used for the purchase of materials meant for another construction site. As normal human

beings, the use of the money given to him for his personal problem with the hope of

replacing it in due course at the detriment of the project.

All theses resources go along way in affecting the cost of construction, the duration of the

project and the management of these resources on site.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

From recent observation the cost of building materials and building project has being on

the increase and duration of the project due to low level of management and resources on

site. The question one is always tempted to ask are:

• What are the resources to be managed on construction site?

• How can these resources be effectively managed on construction site?

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

The significance of this research cannot be over emphasized. The fact remains that for a

building to be cost effective both in the construction method adopted and the

management of resources; there is every need to minimize waste to maximize profit for

the construction company.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

• To identify the role of manpower in construction.

• To asses how the human resource is managed in construction project.

• To identify the importance of finance in construction.

• Asses how money is managed in construction project

1.4 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

To achieve the aims of the study, the following hypothesis would be tested:

QS1 there is a relationship between construction resources and effective resource

management.

QA1 there is no relationship between construction resources and effective resource

management.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

The scope of this research is going to cover only the Lagos state residential areas under

development. Construction sites at Yaba College of technology and its environment, Ikeja

and Ikorodu town, badagry and mowe

1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This research constrained by lack of fund to effectively carry out the research work which

is a very broad topic and the time factor due to other pressing needs to be addressed in the

academic environments

1.7 METHODOLOGY

The method to be employed includes visit to construction sites, interviews with the

labourers, project manager, site manager and supervisors on site, questionnaire, use of

relevant textbook from the library and thesis from the library, construction journals, the

internet etc.
 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 FINANCE/MONEY

Money can be defined as anything that has value and can be used as a means of

exchange. There are some qualities which money must possess, such as it must be

universally acceptable, it must be durable, it must be divisible.

Money as a resource according to Austen and Weales (1986) “From contractors point of

view said that money is the most important resources of all. Without it he cannot acquire

the other resources he needs. That many contractors under estimate their need for this

resource is demonstrated by the fact that in most developing countries they lead the

league table of bankruptcies.

What follows is not about profit, but about the working capital to run a contract. Before

building operations starts, money is needed for:

i. Hire of supervising and administrative staff.

ii. Statutory fees, such as building permits service connections.

iii. Service connections.

iv. Materials

v. Hire of transport.

Many suppliers regard contractors as poor rise and are willing to accept orders only

against a cash deposit. On some government contracts, it is possible for a contractor to

obtain a cash advance to help with these costs.

Many contractors under-estimate their need for working capital. The fact that a certain

value of work has been completed by a certain date does not mean that payment will be

maid soon-after. On government projects bureaucratic procedure may delay payment for

period of 3months or more. The contractor should be aware of this when preparing his

tender. This invariable means that he must have enough capital to continue paying wages

purchasing material and hiring plant during the gap between a valuation of the work and

actual payment. This is an addition to the 10% retention fee from the client on the sum of

the projects placed in a special find as an insurance that maintenance will be properly

done.

It is the usual practice for the contractor to be responsible for maintenance of his work for

a fixed period six months after it has been completed. To insure himself against failure,

to do so, the client retains 10% of each interim payment up to a fixed amount. During the

maintenance period, the contractor must remedy all defects which implies that he may

have expenditure but no income. This should also be foreseen in his tender price.

The final certificate normally being prepared by the project manager to certify that the

work has been satisfactorily completed in accordance with the contract. Sometimes on

government project, a technical augit unit prepares the certificate.

Construction Contracts – Financial Management

According to farkas (1970) when a contract covers a number of assets, the construction of

each asset shall be treated as a separate Construction contract when:

a. Separate proposals have been submitted for each asset.

b. Each asset has been subject to separate negotiation and the contractor and customer

have been able to accept or reject that part of the contract relating to each asset.

c. The cost and revenue of each asset can be identified.

A group of contracts whether with a single customer or with several customers, shall be

treated as a single contract when:

• The group of projects are negotiated as a single package

• The contracts are so closely interrelated that they are, in effect, part of a single project

with an overall profit margin

• The contracts are performed concurrently or in a continuous sequence.

A contract may provide for the construction of an additional asset at the option of the

customer or may be amended to include the construction of an additional asset. The

construction of the additional asset shall be treated as a separate construction contract

when:

a. The asset differs significantly in design, technology or function from the asset or assets

covered by the original contract.

b. The price of the asset is negotiated without regard to the original contract price.

2.1.1 Cost & Revenue Recognition

J.S & J.G (1993) Contract Revenue is measured at a fair value of the consideration

received or receivable. The measurement of the contract revenue is effected by a variety

of uncertainties that depend on the outcome of the future events. The estimates often need

to be revised as events occur and uncertainties are resolved.

Contract Cost 6 include site labor costs inclusive of supervision costs, cost of material

used in contract, depreciation of plant & equipment used on the contract, cost of moving

plant, equipment and material to and from the contract site, cost of hiring plant &

equipment, cost of design and technical assistance, estimated cost of rectification and

claims from third party. Contract cost however can be reduced by the incidental income.

Attributable costs may include insurance, cost of design and technical assistance and

construction overheads. Non attributable costs are general admin costs for which

reimbursement is not specified in the contract or selling costs. When the outcome of the

construction contract can be estimated reliably, contract revenue and contract costs

associated with the construction contract shall be recognized as revenue and expenses

respectively by the reference to the stage of completion of the contract activity at the

Balance Sheet.

2.1.2 Circulating capital

Burbidge (1977) has described the circulating capital as a capital of a business equal. It’s

total capital less any capital tie-up in any project. The term “circulating capital applies

because such capital is in effect used continuously over and over again and because it

tend s to follow a circular path being used repeatedly for the purpose in the same

sequence”. It starts as a find of money or cash; as orders are placed and materials

delivered, and work is done by the labourers or tradesmens, the company accumulates

debts to its suppliers and to it’s employees. Eventually these debts are paid and the capital
is then said to be “tied-up” in the form of stocks. As the project are completed and the

construction company becomes a creditor and is owned money by the client and finally

when the debts are paid, the cash goes back into the fund together with any increase due

to profit, ready to pay for fur

2.1.3 Cost Shifting

J.J e- Brown (2007) Cost shifting is an accidental or deliberate misstatement in a

contractor’s job cost system that can have a substantial impact on the contractor’s balance

sheet and income statement. The most dangerous type of cost shifting involves moving or

misdirecting job costs from an unprofitable job to a profitable job. Cash and accounts

payable balances are unaffected. Accounts receivable and expense account balances are

also unaffected. In many cases, however, cost shifting can have a balance sheet and

income statement impact larger than the amount of the costs that have been shifted there

materials wages etc.

It is now a day in routine to find out many corporations improperly booking assets related

to uncompleted construction contracts. To the public, it seems improbable that a qualified

auditor could simply overlook the improper capitalization of significant assets. However,

traditional audit procedures designed without construction accounting in mind can fail to

detect the improper booking of assets related to uncompleted construction contracts.

Significant cost shifting can quickly cause a material misstatement to a contractor’s

financial statement and leave the contractor and the auditor open to serious charges.
2.1.3.1 What is the Effect of Cost Shifting?

O'Connor, J.T. and Tucker, R.L. (1986).At first glance, the movement of costs from one

contract to another would seem to have little or no overall financial statement impact. It

seems improbable that a substantial misstatement of profits could occur without affecting

any expense accounts. It also seems improbable that profits could swing without booking

any additional billings. However, many contractors and their auditors have discovered the

dramatic impact that cost shifting can have on a company’s financial statement. The

example below shows the substantial gross profit impact of a #20,000,000 cost shifting

entry:

Contract A Contract B

Completed Uncompleted

Contract Contract

Before Cost Shifting

Contract Amount #120,000,000 #150,000,000

Estimated Job Costs (130,000,000) (120,000,000)

Estimated Profit (#10,000,000) #30000,000

Billings to date #120,000,000 #60,000,000

Overbilling (Liability) - (10,000,000)

Revenue to date 120,000,000 50,000,000

Costs to date (130,000,000) (40,000,000)

Gross Profit to date (#10,000,000) #10,000,000

Job percentage complete 100% 33%

 After Cost Shifting

($200,000 of costs are shifted from Contract A to Contract B)

Contract Amount #120,000,000 #150,000,000

Estimated Job Costs (110,000,000) (120,000,000)

Estimated Profit #10,000,000 #30,000,000

Billings to date #120,000,000 #60,000,000

Under billing (Asset) - 15,000,000

Revenue to date 120,000,000 75,000,000

Costs to date (110,000,000) (60,000,000)

Gross Profit to date #10,000,000 #15,000,000

Job percentage complete 100% 50%

Increase in gross profit #20,000,000 #5,000,000

In this example, Completed Contract A improves by #20,000,000 due to the costs shifted

off the job. However, Uncompleted Contract B also improves because the contract is now

50% complete rather than 33% complete. Because Contract B is incomplete, gross profit

is recognized on the percentage of completion basis. Therefore, Contract B recognizes

50% of the estimated gross profit for the entire job (#15,000,000) rather than 33% of the

gross profit for the entire job (#10,000,000). The #20,000,000 cost shifting entry

improved the books of the contractor by a total of #25,000,000. In this example,

Uncompleted Contract B received #20,000,000 of costs which did not belong to that job.
When Contract B is completed, it will either finish #20,000,000 over budget or another

cost shifting entry will occur.

2.1.3.2 How to Spot Cost Shifting

Tucker, R.L. (1986).The only way the contractor’s balance sheet changes when cost

shifting occurs is that under billings (an asset) increase and over billings (a liability)

decrease. Under billings should be rare, especially in contracts over 50% complete.

Auditors and other users of contractors’ financial statements should look at under billings

skeptically and investigate each under billing carefully. Many users of contractors’

financial statements prepare fade schedules. A fade schedule measures a contractor’s job

profit forecasts versus the final profit on a job. At a minimum, significant contract fades

can indicate poor job profitability forecasting. At worst, contract fades can indicate cost

shifting has occurred.

Traditional audit procedures designed for non-contractors will not detect cost shifting.

Tests designed to search for unrecorded liabilities or to detect improper cutoff of

expenses will only reflect that all costs have been reported in the proper period. Tests

designed to find improperly booked billings or receivables will find no exceptions. Audit

test work for cost shifting must focus on the accuracy of job costing procedures.

2.1.4 Cash flow

O'Brien, J.J. (1976).This can be described as the moment invested into a project in form

of material, labour sand plant for the execution of a project after which the contractor is

reimbursed.
The common system is that contractor is paid periodically, usually monthly in a way

related to the value of the work completed. The contractor submits an application for

payment on a particular date each month. This is then checked and the project manager

approves an amount which the client has to pay within a specified period.

The major objectives of cash advances at the bank handling procedure are to ensure that

the project is funded by the responsible party as per the contract. A cash-flow forecast of

a reimbursable type contact is usually prepared for a one to two months period and then

presented to the owner for cash advances on a bi-weekly or weekly basis.

Any amount by which the advance payment to contractor for such one month period

exceeds or is less than the amount of actual lost; incurred for that one month period shall

be taken into account in ascertaining the advance payment for the next following one

month period.

2.2 LABOUR (MAN POWER)

Labour can be defined as the man hour input of an individual in carrying out building

operations. These could be direct labour that is labour used by the project manager or

supervisors of the client or sublet labour. We also have skilled labour and unskilled

labour.

Skilled labors are that persons who are trained on a particular job of specialty. Unskilled

labour is that which the individual is not a specialist in any field task.

Labour is the manpower input into a job. There are different types of labour. We have the

skilled and the unskilled labour. In the skilled labour, the personnel have undergone some
training in his area of specialty and is well endowed with the knowledge and technique of

the field task. The unskilled labour is the opposite of skilled labour. The personnel

involved in unskilled labour do not have the required training and they are most times

supervised when doing their duty on construction sites.

On construction projects, there are various ways of employing labour for construction

works. We have the direct labour, sub-contractor labour. In the direct labour employed,

the contractor or client with the help of his project manager employs labourer which they

bargain terms of work with, job classification, overtime etc. without the interference of

labour unions leaders or group. At the end of the whole operation, the labour are paid off

and there employment terminated or subletted labour is a kind of labour agreement

reached amongst the main contractor, the sub-contractor and the labourers. In most cases,

the terms of employment is discussed with the sub-contractor who now in turn bills or

estimate the cost of the labour employed to the main contractor. When all conditions of

work and contract has been reached.

In a large construction firm, the employment of labour is done by the personnel

department whose responsibility is to employ skilled and unskilled personnel’s, foremen,

the general foreman, the site agent, the contract manager, the secretaries, drivers etc. but

we are going to confine ourselves to those people who work on construction sites

otherwise known as construction staff.

They include according to Gerhard (1970)

i. the contract manager who is a qualified engineer with experience or otherwise

technically qualified man, who is responsible for directing and managing large

sites or a number of medium or small sites.

ii. The site agent organizes the construction work on one or more sites, controls them

and carries out the measurement of quantities.

iii. The general foreman is the senior executive person on the site. He reports to the

site agent and has under him one or more foremen.

iv. The foremen are the last in line of the site management team and are the head of a

particular trade or group of workers such as bricklayer’s concreter etc.

2.2.1 Labour estimate

The tender prepared by the contractor should be abed on his estimate of the work-hour of

labour required. To execute the project. This estimate is built up from estimates of the

require number of carpenters, mason, labourers and so on. If he is to make a profit, the

contractor must ensure that the productivity of this tradesmen and labourer is high

enough to enable the work to be completed within the estimated working hours. This can

be done by measuring the work-hours for each activity or group of activities and

comparing them with the estimated amount. If they exceed the amount, it is appropriate

to investigate the causes and take correction actions. However, if they are fewer, he must

check that the cost of these hours is not more than his estimate.

Bent and thuman (1989) used a curve to illustrate their labour estimate with respect to the

contract time and the activities and budget.

The curve shows cumulative planned and actual profiles of direct labour man hour rate.

This rate represent total labour cost divided by total direct man hours.

Significant deviation of actual versus planned values can indicate potential over run. Rate

over runs can occur because of different craft mixes, union contract charges, premium

cost for overturn.

Donald and Boyd (1984) said “that the basic approach is to divide labour cost into two

main components and develop them separately. These components are:

i. prices in money terms

ii. Productivity.

Both are essential to determine labour cost.

The first is the money or prices associated with hourly wages, fringe benefits, payrolls,

insurance and taxes, and wage premium. Though calculation of the money component

can be complex, most of the parameter can atleast be readily and accurately quantified.

The second factor is productivity, the amount of work that a worker or crew can

accomplish in a defined period of time. Of the two main factors, productivity is by far the

harder to determine. While wage and other money component may stay essentially

constant over the duration of an operation, productivity can fluctuate wildly. To estimate

and control productivity, one not only needs accurate, consistent and up to date records

but a great deal of experience and judgement as we.

The basic mathematics for labour cost is quite simple e.g.

Price of all money element = p (#1 hr)

Productivity of labour = q (units/hour)

Combining these and dividing gives

Unit labour cost = p #1hour / q unit/hour

= p / q = (#/unit).

2.2.2 Working hours

A.E. Kerridge and C. H. Vervalin (1986) In a big construction project where time is the

essence of the contract, foremost among the concerns of the site supervisor is the hours

he will be working. This also applies to small construction projects to be completed

within the contract time. A labourer or tradesmen is expected to put in 8 hours per day for

which he is paid for. In a situation where they have to work day and night, the shift

method can be incorporated that the labourer works for 8 hours irrespective of when he

starts his job and when the next person takes over from him.

The time span for each shift should be set so that it has an overlap with preceding and

succeeding shifts, thus permitting the men to discuss the work which must be continued

or finished by the next shift. For example, if the day shift works from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm

including an hour lunch, the second shift should work from 3:30 pm to 12:30 am while
the third shift works from 11;30 pm to 8:30 am. The one hour overlap for each shift

should be more than enough to provide continuity of the site operations.

The hours of each shift should be defined and man assigned a definite shift. In some

cases, this creates problems, since certain workers may have objection to a specific shift.

To solve this problem, men are sometimes allowed to exchange shift, provided other men

in the team are not affected. It is good practice to rotate labourers or tradesmen on a

regular basis, perhaps every month or every three months, so that any one man does not

feel stranded on a particular shift.

2.2.3 Labor Productivity

Productivity in construction is often broadly defined as output per labor hour. Since labor

constitutes a large part of the construction cost and the quantity of labor hours in

performing a task in construction is more susceptible to the influence of management

than are materials or capital, this productivity measure is often referred to as labor

productivity. However, it is important to note that labor productivity is a measure of the

overall effectiveness of an operating system in utilizing labor, equipment and capital to

convert labor efforts into useful output, and is not a measure of the capabilities of labor

alone. For example, by investing in a piece of new equipment to perform certain tasks in

construction, output may be increased for the same number of labor hours, thus resulting

in higher labor productivity.

Construction output may be expressed in terms of functional units or constant dollars. In

the former case, labor productivity is associated with units of product per labor hour, such

as cubic yards of concrete placed per hour or miles of highway paved per hour. In the
latter case, labor productivity is identified with value of construction (in constant dollars)

per labor hour. The value of construction in this regard is not measured by the benefit of

constructed facilities, but by construction cost. Labor productivity measured in this way

requires considerable care in interpretation. For example, wage rates in construction have

been declining in the US during the period 1970 to 1990, and since wages are an

important component in construction costs, the value of construction put in place per hour

of work will decline as a result, suggesting lower productivity.

2.2.3.1 Productivity at the Job Site

Contractors and owners are often concerned with the labor activity at job sites. For this

purpose, it is convenient to express labor productivity as functional units per labor hour

for each type of construction task. However, even for such specific purposes, different

levels of measure may be used. For example, cubic yards of concrete placed per hour is a

lower level of measure than miles of highway paved per hour. Lower-level measures are

more useful for monitoring individual activities, while higher-level measures may be

more convenient for developing industry-wide standards of performance.

While each contractor or owner is free to use its own system to measure labor

productivity at a site, it is a good practice to set up a system which can be used to track

productivity trends over time and in varied locations. Considerable efforts are required to

collect information regionally or nationally over a number of years to produce such

results. The productivity indices compiled from statistical data should include parameters

such as the performance of major crafts, effects of project size, type and location, and

other major project influences.

In order to develop industry-wide standards of performance, there must be a general

agreement on the measures to be useful for compiling data. Then, the job site productivity

data collected by various contractors and owners can be correlated and analyzed to

develop certain measures for each of the major segment of the construction industry.

Thus, a contractor or owner can compare its performance with that of the industry

average.

2.2.3.2 Productivity in the Construction Industry

Julian E. and Daniel Quinn Mills (1979) Because of the diversity of the construction

industry, a single index for the entire industry is neither meaningful nor reliable.

Productivity indices may be developed for major segments of the construction industry

nationwide if reliable statistical data can be obtained for separate industrial segments. For

this general type of productivity measure, it is more convenient to express labor

productivity as constant dollars per labor hours since dollar values are more easily

aggregated from a large amount of data collected from different sources. The use of

constant dollars allows meaningful approximations of the changes in construction output

from one year to another when price deflators are applied to current dollars to obtain the

corresponding values in constant dollars. However, since most construction price

deflators are obtained from a combination of price indices for material and labor inputs,

they reflect only the change of price levels and do not capture any savings arising from

improved labor productivity. Such deflators tend to overstate increases in construction

costs over a long period of time, and consequently understate the physical volume or

value of construction work in years subsequent to the base year for the indices.
2.2.4 Factors Affecting Job-Site Productivity

Simon and Schuster (1977) Job-site productivity is influenced by many factors which can

be characterized either as labor characteristics, project work conditions or as non-

productive activities. The labor characteristics include:

• age, skill and experience of workforce

• leadership and motivation of workforce

The project work conditions include among other factors:

• Job size and complexity.

• Job site accessibility.

• Labor availability.

• Equipment utilization.

• Contractual agreements.

• Local climate.

• Local cultural characteristics, particularly in foreign operations.

The non-productive activities associated with a project may or may not be paid by the

owner, but they nevertheless take up potential labor resources which can otherwise be

directed to the project. The non-productive activities include among other factors:

• Indirect labor required to maintain the progress of the project

• Rework for correcting unsatisfactory work

• Temporary work stoppage due to inclement weather or material shortage

 • Time off for union activities

• Absentee time, including late start and early quits

• Non-working holidays

• Strikes

Each category of factors affects the productive labor available to a project as well as the

on-site labor efficiency.

2.2.5 Labor Characteristics

J.E. Lang and D.Q. Mills (1992) Performance analysis is a common tool for assessing

worker quality and contribution. Factors that might be evaluated include:

• Quality of Work - caliber of work produced or accomplished.

• Quantity of Work - volume of acceptable work

• Job Knowledge - demonstrated knowledge of requirements, methods, techniques

and skills involved in doing the job and in applying these to increase productivity.

• Related Work Knowledge - knowledge of effects of work upon other areas and

knowledge of related areas which have influence on assigned work.

• Judgment - soundness of conclusions, decisions and actions.

• Initiative - ability to take effective action without being told.

• Resource Utilization - ability to delineate project needs and locate, plan and

effectively use all resources available.

• Dependability - reliability in assuming and carrying out commitments and

obligations.
• Analytical Ability - effectiveness in thinking through a problem and reaching

sound conclusions.

• Communicative Ability - effectiveness in using orgal and written communications

and in keeping subordinates, associates, superiors and others adequately informed.

• Interpersonal Skills - effectiveness in relating in an appropriate and productive

manner to others.

• Ability to Work Under Pressure - ability to meet tight deadlines and adapt to

changes.

• Security Sensitivity - ability to handle confidential information appropriately and

to exercise care in safeguarding sensitive information.

• Safety Consciousness - has knowledge of good safety practices and demonstrates

awareness of own personal safety and the safety of others.

• Profit and Cost Sensitivity - ability to seek out, generate and implement profit-

making ideas.

• Planning Effectiveness - ability to anticipate needs, forecast conditions, set goals

and standards, plan and schedule work and measure results.

• Leadership - ability to develop in others the willingness’ and desire to work

towards common objectives.

• Delegating - effectiveness in delegating work appropriately.

• Development People - ability to select, train and appraise personnel, set standards

of performance, and provide motivation to grow in their capacity. < li>Diversity

(Equal Employment Opportunity) - ability to be sensitive to the needs of

 minorities, females and other protected groups and to demonstrate affirmative

action in responding to these needs.

These different factors could each be assessed on a three point scale: (1) recognized

strength, (2) meets expectations, (3) area needing improvement. Examples of work

performance in these areas might also be provided.

2.2.6 Project Work Conditions

B.C. Paulson, W.T. Chan, and C.C. Koo (1987) Job-site labor productivity can be

estimated either for each craft (carpenter, bricklayer, etc.) or each type of construction

(residential housing, processing plant, etc.) under a specific set of work conditions. A

base labor productivity may be defined for a set of work conditions specified by the

owner or contractor who wishes to observe and measure the labor performance over a

period of time under such conditions. A labor productivity index may then be defined as

the ratio of the job-site labor productivity under a different set of work conditions to the

base labor productivity, and is a measure of the relative labor efficiency of a project under

this new set of work conditions.

The effects of various factors related to work conditions on a new project can be

estimated in advance, some more accurately than others. For example, for very large

construction projects, the labor productivity index tends to decrease as the project size

and/or complexity increase because of logistic problems and the "learning" that the work

force must undergo before adjusting to the new environment. Job-site accessibility often

may reduce the labor productivity index if the workers must perform their jobs in round
about ways, such as avoiding traffic in repaving the highway surface or maintaining the

operation of a plant during renovation. Labor availability in the local market is another

factor. Shortage of local labor will force the contractor to bring in non-local labor or

schedule overtime work or both. In either case, the labor efficiency will be reduced in

addition to incurring additional expenses. The degree of equipment utilization and

mechanization of a construction project clearly will have direct bearing on job-site labor

productivity. The contractual agreements play an important role in the utilization of union

or non-union labor, the use of subcontractors and the degree of field supervision, all of

which will impact job-site labor productivity. Since on-site construction essentially

involves outdoor activities, the local climate will influence the efficiency of workers

directly. In foreign operations, the cultural characteristics of the host country should be

observed in assessing the labor efficiency.

2.2.7 Project hierarchies

According to Benneth (1985) “Large and complex construction projects are necessarily

arranged in hierarchies because of practical limits or the size and capacity of teams. There

is much evidence which is consistent that teams of between 2 and 15 people are the most

effective. Also there is much evidence that effective teams or rather their managers tend

to plan their mark in terms of a relatively small member of subtask large and complex

corsfunction projects will require the work of many hundreds of teams if each is to be

relatively small. Since such members are beyond the capacity of effective managers there

is no choice but to see projects as hierarchies which means that the strategy for a total

project will divide it into fairly small member of sub-projects. As far as the top level of

responsibility technical level. However, each sub-project becomes a complete project in

itself as for as the teams responsible for it are concerned. Their project moves through a

strategies please which results in the definition of sub-project or of defined roles

departing or the size and complexity of the total project. The process of sub-dividing

continues through as many levels of hierarchy as are needed to arrive at defined roles

small enough to be carried out by teams of between 2 and 15 peoples. The figure below

shans the essential features of a project hierarchy in teams of the information system. It

illustrate an important principle this is that each of the major component of the project

information system needs to be connected to the equivalent component in the sub-project

and similarly it heads to be connected to those in their sub-project. This is to ensure that

first of all, the lower level teams are fully informed of what they are to do and secondly

that the higher level teams are provided with feedback we can see from the illustration

that in large and complexity projects, the tactical phase. This is time right down to the

work of individual teams for example, Peter Sammies and his team won the contract for

the block work of a project. They had to decide exactly what work was to be done, how it

was strategic issues. Once these matters were settled, they could get or with the direct

construction work.

The essential difference between work at the top of the hierarchy and at the bottom, lie in

the discretion exercised in the strategic phase. Peter is employed in the project to carry

blocks rather than to do any other kind of work. An architect employed on the same

project may do a number of very different things and to a large extent, it may well be for

the architect to decide whether he makes a model, produces a drawing, builds or writes a

specification etc.
2.2.8 Labour supervision

Labour supervision implies operating at close range by actually overseeing, controlling

dealing with labour situation on the spot as they arise.

Labour supervision is concerned with the day-to-day running of the group or gang and

their operations on site which entails a certain amount of attention to detail depending

upon the size of the labour and the operation or task. If the labour is large, the supervisor

will need to master the art of delegation assign on the minor task to his colleagues or

subordinates on site, thus providing more own time to plan and control the work

effectively.
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 PREAMBLE

This project is a study of the problems associated with financial and labour in

construction. The study will be carried out in Lagos metropolis. The choice of Lagos is

based on its representative nature. A lot of public and private building projects are

presently being executed in Lagos state.

The various sequential steps adopted in order to do a proper, precise and detail research

on this study are the use of population sample method, instrument for data collection and

data analysis.

3.2 POPULATION

The populations for this study are managers such as the site managers, site engineers, site

supervisors, project managers and the operatives such as carpenters, brick layers will be

part of the population for the study.

3.3 SAMPLE METHOD

A total number of ten sites will be visited both the indigenous construction firms and

expatriate firms. Random sampling technique will be used to select the managers and the

operatives in each site visited. Purposive sampling technique will be used to select the

construction site.

3.4 INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION

The methods for data collection adopted in this research work are the presentation of

questionnaire.
A total of twenty copies of questionnaire will be administrated to both the managers and

the operatives on site. Two questionnaires to each site. The data collected from the

responses will be gathered to form the basis of analysis and discussion.

3.5 TECHNIQUE FOR DATA ANALYSIS

Each questionnaire consist of two sections, that is section A and section B. for section A

of the questionnaire, the use of table and percentages were used based on the total

number of respondent upon total questionnaire returned multiplied by 100.

While for section B of the questionnaire, the data collected was ranked one to four. T- test

value will be used to test the statement of hypothesis.

 PROJECT QUESTIONAIRE

TOPIC: THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FINANCIAL AND LABOUR

IN CONSTRUCTION

This questionnaire is purposely and purely on academic exercise.

It is designed to assist in working the final year dissertation for the award of HND in

building technology. I therefore desire maximum co-operation from you, and I assure you

that all information provided shall be treated in strict confidence.

Yours faithfully,

Aigbe Christopher

HND II Building Technology.

 QUESTIONAIRE

SECTION A

1. Name of the company -------------------------------------

2. Title of the present project --------------------------------

3. Location of the project ------------------------------------

4. Which category does your company belong to based on staff strength?

(a) Small size company employing 7 operatives

(b) Medium size company employing between 8 and 200 operatives

(c) Large size company employing over 200 operatives

5. What is your position / status in the company?

(a) Project manager

(b) Site manager

(c) Site engineer

(d) Site supervisor

(e) Supervisory builder

(f) Operative

6. What is your academic qualification?

(a) None

(b) Technical school certificate

(c) WASC / GCE

(d) School leaving certificate with trade test

(e) HND / BSC

(f) PGD
 (g) MSC

(h) PhD

7. How many years of working experience do you have?

(a) 1-5

(b) 6-10

(c) 11-15

(d) 16-20

(e) Over 20

8. How many building project have you supervised or have you involved in?

(a) 1-5

(b) 6-10

(c) 11-15

(d) 16-20

(e) Over 20
 SECTION B

9. What is the level of wastage of manpower on construction site?

(a) High

(b) Very high

(c) Low

(d) Very low

10. What is the level of wastage of finance/money on construction site?

(a) High

(b) Very high

(c) Low

(d) Very low

11. Manpower and finance/money as major resources on construction site, when any of

this resource is delayed what is the level at which it affect the duration of the project?

(a) High

(b) Very high

(c) Low

(d) Very low

12.