i

SECOND NMMU CONSTRUCTION

MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

Edited by

Dr Fidelis Emuze

25-27 November 2012

Protea Marine Hotel, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Department of Construction Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

2012

ii
 SECOND NMMU CONSTRUCTION
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

Edited by

Dr Fidelis Emuze

ISBN: 978-1-920508-16-6

Published by

Department of Construction Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

PO Box 77000
Port Elizabeth
6031, South Africa

© Department of Construction Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

a) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
without the written permission of the copyright holder.
b) Applications for the copyright holder‘s written permission to reproduce any parts of
this publication should be addressed to the Department of Construction
Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
c) No responsibility is assumed by the publishers or the authors of individual papers
for any damage to property or persons as a result of operation or use of this
publication and / or the information enclosed herein.

iii
 FOREWORD
On behalf of the Organising Committee, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Port
Elizabeth and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University‘s Second Construction
Management Conference.

The Conference provides an international forum for researchers and practitioners from
developed and developing countries to address fundamental problems and constraints
that affect the built environment. The broad objectives of the conference include to:

 Provide a forum for multi-disciplinary interaction between academics and

practitioners;
 Provide an internationally recognised, accredited conference;
 Disseminate innovative and cutting edge practices, and
 Contribute to the construction management and construction project management
bodies of knowledge.

The conference brings together in a single forum researchers, academics, administrators

and practitioners representing educational institutions, government agencies,
construction firms, consulting firms, financial institutions, and other construction related
organisations. The scope and topics that are organised around the conference theme are
broad.

In specific terms, the conference seeks responses to critical questions such as:

 What changes would lead to an improvement in performance?

 What are the barriers to change?
 How can construction management and construction project management be
promoted in a developing country context?
 How can education, training, and professional development be improved?
 How can skills better be developed and transferred?
 How can communication and management difficulties be addressed?
 How can corruption be mitigated?

As a result, the internationally peer reviewed and edited proceedings are aimed at
contributing to the body of knowledge relative to the science and practice of
construction as well as the improvement of construction management practice and
education in South Africa, and internationally.

Dr Fidelis Emuze
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
November, 2012

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Organising Committee of the Second NMMU CM Conference wishes to express
their gratitude to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, other South African
universities, and individuals for supporting the conference through their valued
contributions.

The contributions and unique support of the Scientific and Technical Committee who
worked hard and long to prepare refereed and edited papers, and published proceedings
of the highest standard that satisfy the criteria for subsidy by the South African
Department of Higher Education is truly appreciated. The contributions of Dr Fidelis
Emuze, Prof John Smallwood, Prof Winston Shakantu, and Prof Alfred Ngowi are
warmly acknowledged. The efforts of Mrs Mariana Botes, Mr Brink Botha, Mr Chris
Allen, Ms Katharina Herich, and Mr Luyolo Mahlangabeza of the NMMU Department
of Construction Management are also commendable.

v
 ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Prof John Smallwood (Technical Programme Chair)
Prof Winston Shakantu
Dr Fidelis Emuze
Brink Botha

ORGANISING COMMITTEE’S DECLARATION

All the papers in these conference proceedings were double-blind reviewed at abstract
and full paper stage by members of the Scientific Committee. This process entailed
detailed reading of the abstracts and papers, reporting of comments to authors,
modification of papers by authors whose papers were not rejected by the reviewers, and
re-evaluation of revised papers to ensure quality of content.

vi
 THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Because of the need to maintain and assure the quality of the conference proceedings
and comply with the requirements for subsidy of the South African Department of
Higher Education, a rigorous two-stage peer review process by no less than two
acknowledged experts in the field was followed. In this context, each abstract received
was twice blind reviewed in terms of:

 Relevance to conference theme and objectives;

 Originality of material;
 Academic rigour;
 Contribution to knowledge, and
 Research methodology.

Authors, whose abstracts were accepted, after the stage one review process was
completed, were provided with anonymous reviewers‘ comments and requested to
submit their full papers noting and addressing these comments. Evidence was required
relative to the action taken by authors regarding the comments received. These
resubmitted papers were twice blind reviewed again in terms of:

 Relevance to conference theme and objectives;

 Originality of material;
 Academic rigour;
 Contribution to knowledge;
 Research methodology and robustness of analysis of findings;
 Empirical research findings, and
 Critical current literature review.

Authors whose papers were accepted after this second review were provided with
additional anonymous reviewers‘ comments and requested to submit their revised full
papers. These final papers were only included in the conference presentation
programme and the conference proceedings after evidence was provided that all
comments were appropriately responded to, having been double peer-reviewed for
publication. At no stage was any member of the Scientific and Technical Committee or
the editor of the proceedings involved in the review process related to their own
authored or co-authored papers.

The role of the editor was to ensure that the final papers incorporated the reviewers‘
comments and arrange the papers into the final sequence as captured on the CD-ROM
and Table of Contents. Of the 72 abstracts originally received, only 30 papers were
finally accepted for presentation at the conference and inclusion in these proceedings,
representing a rejection rate of 58.3%. To be eligible for inclusion these papers were
required to receive a minimum score of 3 out of 5 allocated by the peer reviewers during
the final review process.

vii
 SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Prof Winton Shakantu, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof John Smallwood, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof Hendrick Marx, University of Free State, RSA
Prof Basie Verster, University of Free State, RSA
Prof Didi Thwala, University of Johannesburg, RSA
Prof Ayman Othman, British University in Egypt, Egypt
Prof Gerrit Crafford, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof Alfred Ngowi, Central University of Technology, Free State, RSA
Prof Evelyn Ai‐Lin Teo, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Prof Peter Love, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
Prof David Edwards, Birmingham City University, UK
Prof Sena A Agyepong, Ashesi University College, Ghana
Prof Alfred Talukhaba, Tshwane University of Technology, RSA
Prof Deji Rufus Ogunsemi, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
Prof Low Sui Pheng, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Prof Chris Cloete, University of Pretoria, RSA
Prof Evelyn Ai‐Lin Teo, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Prof B. Babalola, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Prof Ude Ojiako, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Prof JJ van Wyk, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu, University of the Free State, RSA
Prof AG Kyessi, Ardhi University, Tanzania
Prof Jane English, University of Cape Town, RSA
Prof Gokhan Arslan, Anadolu University, Turkey
Prof Herbert Uzoegbo, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Prof Chien-Ho Ko, National Pingtung University of Science & Technology, Taiwan
Prof Stella Zubairu, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
Prof Salman Azhar, Auburn University, USA
Prof Ulrike Rivett, University of Cape Town, RSA
Prof Hamimah Adnan, University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Prof Mohammed Dulaimi, The British University in Dubai, UAE
Prof John Kamara, Newcastle University, UK
Prof Ricky Best, Bond University, Australia
Prof Esther Obonyo, University of Florida, USA
Prof Kabir Bala, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
Prof FK Omole, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
Prof CA Adendorff, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof Sangwon Han, University of Seoul, Korea
Prof Willy Sher, University of Newcastle, Australia
Dr Aoife Finneran, Loughborough University, UK
Dr Rodney Milford, Construction Industry Development Board, RSA
Dr Chika Udeaja, Northumbria University, UK
Dr Victor Samwinga, Northumbria University, UK
Dr Begum Sertyesilisik, Liverpool John Moore University, UK
Dr Divine Ahadzie, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Dr Paul Ho, City University Hong Kong, China

viii
Dr Mohammed Ali Berawi, University of Indonesia, Indonesia
Dr Rita Li Yi Man, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, China
Dr Abimbola Windapo, University of Cape Town, RSA
Dr Nicholas Chileshe, University of South Australia, Australia
Dr Franco Geminiani, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Dr Geraldine Kikwasi, Ardhi University, Tanzania
Dr Frank Fugar, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Dr Jasper Mbachu, Massey University, New Zealand
Dr K L D Yeung, City University of Hong Kong, China
Dr Samuel Laryea, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Dr Senthikumar Venkatachalam, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Dr AO Aiyetan, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
Dr RA Jimoh, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
Dr John Ameh, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Dr BZN Gasa, The Elilox Group, RSA
Dr Nthatisi Khatleli, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Dr Y Lu, University of Maryland, USA
Dr Ying Deng, University of Hong Kong, China
Dr Oluwakemi Adeyeye, University of Brighton, UK
Dr Ezekiel Chinyio, University of Wolverhampton, UK
Dr Samuel Azasu, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Dr Stanley Yeung, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Dr Nii Ankrah, University of Wolverhampton, UK
Dr JA Fapohunda, Cape Penisula University of Technology, RSA
Dr Innocent Musonda, University of Johannesburg, RSA
Ms Sarah Charlton, University of the Witwatersrand, RSA
Ms Llewellyn van Wyk, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, RSA
Mr Theuns Knoetze, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, RSA

ix
 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
Prof Alfred Ngowi, Central University of Technology, Free State, RSA
Prof George Ofori, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Prof Winston Shakantu, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof John Smallwood, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, RSA
Prof Didi Thwala, University of Johannesburg, RSA
Prof Basie Verster, University of the Free State, RSA
Prof Peter Love, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
Prof David Edwards, Birmingham City University, UK
Dr Nicholas Chileshe, University of South Australia, Australia
Dr Geraldine Kikwasi, Ardhi University, Tanzania

x
 HOST
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

ENDORSEMENTS
The South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions
(SACPCMP)

xi
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) opened on 1 January 2005, as a
result of the merging of the PE Technikon, the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) and
the Port Elizabeth campus of Vista University (Vista PE). This union of three very
different institutions resulted from government‘s countrywide restructuring of higher
education – intended to deliver a more equitable and efficient system to meet the needs
of South Africa in the 21st century.

NMMU brings together the best traditions of technikon and university education, and
draws on more than a century of quality higher education, in a new kind of university
that offers a wide range of academic, professional and technological programmes at
varying entrance and exit levels. NMMU has approximately 25 000 students and
approximately 2 500 staff members, based on seven campuses in the Nelson Mandela
Metropolis and George. The first Chancellor of NMMU was Chief Justice Pius Langa,
and Justice Ronnie Pillay the first Chairperson of Council. Dr Rolf Stumpf was the first
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of NMMU, succeeded on 1 January 2008
by Prof Derrick Swartz.

THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION

MANAGEMENT
In South Africa, degree courses in building management commenced in 1963 following
the efforts of far sighted building personalities such as Harry Stirling, Harry McCarthy
and Thomas Pattullo. Foreseeing the future demands to which the South African
building industry would be subjected as result of rapidly increasing complexity in
technology, business practices and the social environment, these gentlemen also
motivated the establishment of the National Development Fund for the Building
Industry. Administered by the Building Industries Federation South Africa (BIFSA), its
purpose since inception was to assist in establishing university degree courses and to
provide bursaries for students following the BSc (Building Management) courses.

After vigorous encouragement and support from the PE Master Builders Association
(now the East Cape Master Builders Association), the BSc (Building Management)
programme commenced at UPE in 1971. Initially the course was presented within the
Quantity Surveying Department and thus the first two years of the curriculum closely
followed that of the BSc (QS) degree. The first Senior Lecturer in Building
Management, Ben Willemse, was appointed in 1974. He was followed by Brian
Eksteen. In 1977 they were joined by the late Henk Venter as Lecturer, in whose
footsteps followed Koos Uys (1978 to 1980), Gerry Breuer (1981 to 1989), and finally
John Smallwood (1990 to the present), the present departmental head.

xii
In 1978 Building Management became an independent department within the Faculty of
Economic Sciences, and 1980 brought further changes when Brian Eksteen was
promoted to Associate Professor and two Senior lecturers were assigned to the
Department, along with the responsibility of offering certain courses to architecture and
quantity surveying students. Thus Piet Vogel and Ivan Steenkamp joined the
Department in 1980. After Piet Vogel's departure, André Malherbe joined the
Department in 1982. The appointment of Brink Botha, Winston Shakantu, Chris Allen,
and Katharina Herich in subsequent years brought the full-time staff compliment to five.
The full-time staff members are assisted by a small number of part-time staff who are
construction professionals from various disciplines and perform selected teaching and
supporting functions in the department.

The name of the department and the degree changed from Building Management to
Construction Management in 1993 and the undergraduate degree changed to
Construction Studies in 2001. As far as its lecturing and research are concerned the
department's work embraces the disciplines of construction science and technology and
the business of construction.

VISION, MISSION AND VALUES OF THE DEPARTMENT

VISION

To be the preferred centre for construction management education and development

MISSION

Our mission is to develop human potential and create knowledge at the highest
academic level in serving the construction industry and society at large

VALUES

 Professional conduct
 Personal growth
 Quality
 in education
 in research
 in service
 of life
 Consumer satisfaction
 Development
 Community orientation
 Environmental sensitivity
 Academic accountability
 Fundamental focus

xiii
November 2012

Dear Author

PEER REVIEW PROCESS: SECOND NMMU CM CONFERENCE: PORT

ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA 2012

I confirm that the following peer review process was strictly undertaken in this
conference. Because of the need to maintain and assure the quality of the conference
proceedings and comply with the requirements for subsidy of the South African
Department of Higher Education, a rigorous two-stage peer review process by no less
than two acknowledged experts in the field was followed. In this context, each abstract
received was twice blind reviewed in terms of:

 Relevance to conference theme and objectives;

 Originality of material;
 Academic rigour;
 Contribution to knowledge, and
 Research methodology.

Authors whose abstracts were accepted after the stage one review process was
completed were provided with anonymous reviewers‘ comments and requested to
submit their full papers noting and addressing these comments. Evidence was required
relative to the action taken by authors regarding the comments received. These
resubmitted papers were twice blind reviewed again in terms of:

 Relevance to conference theme and objectives;

 Originality of material;
 Academic rigour;
 Contribution to knowledge;
 Research methodology and robustness of analysis of findings;
 Empirical research findings, and
 Critical current literature review.

Authors whose papers were accepted after this second review were provided with
additional anonymous reviewers‘ comments and requested to submit their revised final
papers. These final papers were only included in the conference presentation
programme and the conference proceedings after evidence was provided that all
comments were appropriately responded to, having been multiple peer-reviewed for
publication.

At no stage was any member of the Scientific and Technical Committee or the editor of
the proceedings involved in the review process related to their own authored or co-
authored papers. The role of the editor was to ensure that the final papers incorporated
the reviewers‘ comments and arrange the papers into the final sequence as captured on
the CD-ROM and Table of Contents.

xiv
Of the 72 abstracts originally received, only 30 papers were finally accepted for
presentation at the conference and inclusion in these proceedings, representing a
rejection rate of 58.3%. To be eligible for inclusion these papers were required to
receive a minimum score of 3 out of 5 allocated by the peer reviewers during the final
review process.

Regards

Dr FA Emuze
Co-Chair: Academic programme

xv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD IV

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V

ORGANISING COMMITTEE VI

ORGANISING COMMITTEE’S DECLARATION VI

THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS VII

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE VIII

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE X

HOST XI

ENDORSEMENTS XI

THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT XII

SESSION 1A: PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1

INFLUENCING FACTORS OF SITE GROUND AND ACCESS ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

DELIVERY TIME IN SOUTH AFRICA 2
AO Aiyetan, JJ Smallwood and WM Shakantu

THE IMPACT OF ICT ON PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: A PILOT STUDY OF JOHANNESBURG 12
KP Lesito, CO Aigbavboa and WD Thwala

CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONAL’S PERCEPTIONS OF THE FACTORS CAUSING DELAYS ON

PROJECT DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICA 22
AO Aiyetan, JJ Smallwood and WM Shakantu

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF BUILDING PROJECTS ABANDONMENT IN DELTA STATE MINISTRY

OF HOUSING, NIGERIA 31
CO Bubu, CO Aigbavboa and WD Thwala

xvi
EVALUATION OF BUILDING MATERIAL WASTAGE LEVEL IN THE NIGERIA CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY 41
BO Ganiyu LO Oyewobi, WA Ola-awo and DO Oghuma

INVESTIGATING THE APPLICATION OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (IMS)

DURING THE CONSTRUCTION STAGE OF PROJECTS IN GAUTENG 49
S Venkatachalam , T Ismail, S Skinner and M Wadvalla

SESSION 1B: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & TRANSFER 59

AN APPRAISAL OF TECHNICAL SKILLS OF EMERGING BUILDING CONTRACTORS IN

EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA 60
S Makhetha and DJ Hoffman

EXPLORING THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS WHEN EXECUTING CONSTRUCTION

PROJECTS IN SOUTH AFRICA 68
R Pretorius, FA Emuze, C Adendorff and B Botha

TOWARDS MORE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF HOUSE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS 76

P Utting

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AS A PILLAR OF A MATURE QUANTITY SURVEYING

BUSINESS 83
P Oosthuizen

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PEDAGOGY IN THE Y-GENERATION ERA IN SOUTH AFRICA:

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY 92
FA Emuze and WM Shakantu

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN THE TEACHING, LEARNING AND

ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING COURSES IN SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER
EDUCATION SECTOR 101
S Nompunga

SESSION 2A & 2B: INUSTRY PHENOMENA 1 & 2 110

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY’S ACCESSIBILITY TO PHYSICALLY DISABLED

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS: A STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW 111
AJJ Sparling and MH Issa

xvii
RETHINKING CONSTRUCTION: THE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE STRATEGY OF A
BIOPHILIC CONSTRUCTION SITE EXPERIENCE 121
RN Obiozo and JJ Smallwood

NOTORIETY BEHAVIOUR IN CONSTRUCTION: LESSONS FROM MALAYSIA 131

R Takim, RM Nordin and AH Nawawi

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MANAGERS AND WORKERS IN CONSTRUCTION: PERCEPTIONS

FROM EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE 141
FA Emuze, IM Cook and B Botha

INDICATORS FOR MEASURING NEIGHBOURHOOD SATISFACTION IN SUBSIDISED LOW

INCOME HOUSING IN SOUTH AFRICA – A DELPHI STUDY 152
CO Aigbavboa and WD Thwala

EXAMINING CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF WORKERS 162

K Kajimo-Shakantu, W Shakantu, R Cumberlege and K Kondile

SESSION 3A & 3C: CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS & RESOURCES 172

EXTENT OF INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT INTO OIL AND GAS PROJECTS

IN NIGERIA’S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY 173
L Dapub and JJ Smallwood

MECHANISMS TO LIMIT CONSTRUCTION RISKS CAUSED BY PRIME COSTS AND

PROVISIONAL SUMS IN SOUTH AFRICA 181
JO Okumbe, HJ Marx and JJP Verster

AN EVALUATION OF COST PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC PROJECTS IN THE FREE STATE

PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA 191
TG Monyane and JO Okumbe

MANAGING RESOURCES TO AVOID PROJECT FAILURE 198

M Sankqela and P Utting

BENEFITS OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT APPROACHES IN CONSTRUCTION

FIRMS - A REVIEW 206
E Ojo, C Mbohwa and ET Akinlabi

xviii
CAUSES AND MINIMIZATION STRATEGIES OF WASTAGE IN SELECTED BUILDING
MATERIALS 217
OJ Oladiran

SESSION 3B & 3D: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 224

MAINTENANCE PRIORITISATION SYSTEM: THE CASE OF UNIVERSITY LECTURE THEATRES

225
F Simpeh, Z Khan and A Hartmann

INVESTING IN MULTI-INCOME GOLF ESTATE IN SOUTH AFRICA: A SOCIAL INTERACTIVE

STUDY 235
C Adendorff , FA Emuze, ST Ngubeni, B Botha and G Adendorff

BUSINESS DIVERSIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH AFRICAN

CONSTRUCTION FIRMS 244
AO Windapo, KS Cattell and LO Oyewobi

IMPORTANCE - SATISFACTION RELATIONSHIP RELATED TO LECTURE THEATRE

PERFORMANCE: PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS 255
F Simpeh, Z Khan and A Hartmann

MARKETING STRATEGY AND SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES:

ESTABLISHING THEIR STRENGTH OF AFFILIATION 265
GC Tucker, AO Windapo and KS Cattell

DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT AND

RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EDRMS) FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION FIRMS 276
AD Abdul‘Azeez, YM Ibrahim, CO Egbu, K Bala and IK Zubairu

xix
SESSION 1A: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1
 Influencing Factors of Site Ground and Access on
Construction Project Delivery Time in South Africa
AO Aiyetan1, JJ Smallwood2 and WM Shakantu3
1
Department of Building,
Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria,
Email: oaiyetan@yahoo.com
2&3
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa,
Email: John.Smallwood@nmmu.ac.za, Winston.Shakantu@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
Factors of site ground and access conditions could cause serious delays to the delivery
time of a project. Preliminary site investigation reveals a lot of information that will be
helpful to the client, designer and contractor with regards to project delivery success.
This study investigated the effects of factors of site ground and access condition on
project delivery time. A quantitative survey was conducted among construction
professionals namely: architects; builders, clients; engineers, and quantity surveyors
constitute the sample stratum and frame. A total of eighty-eight (88) responses
questionnaire was received out of one thousand four hundred and forty-one (1441) sent
to professionals. Two method of sampling techniques were employed. Stratified random
sampling for Architects and simple random techniques were used for other
professionals. The major metropolitan cities of the following provinces: Gauteng;
KwaZulu-Natal; Western Cape; Free State and Eastern Cape were the geographical area
of coverage of the study. The inferential statistics was the statistical tools used for the
analysis of data. The following were found to negatively affect project delivery time:
structural stability of ground; impact of ground services and water table; storage spaces
at ground level; proximity to required resources, and requirement for restrictive hours.
Recommendations based on the findings include: preliminary site survey and soil test
should be conducted prior to commencement of project; materials should be stored at
places that are free of difficulties of either placing or removal for use, and workers
should be encouraged to work extra time (overtime).

Keywords:
Construction site, Project delivery, Time, South Africa

Introduction
There are many factors that are crucial to the success of a project apart from the
conventional factors of cost, time, quality, and safety. Salient factors such as those of
site ground and access conditions could adversely affect the delivery time of a project.
There are preliminary investigations that ought to be carried out prior to commencement
of project, which the contractor often times, do not carry out, nor do the consultants
insist on it being done. This may be, in order, to save funds for the client and may
adversely impact on the project at a later time. The importance relative to preliminary

2
site investigation are: it affords knowledge about the soil bearing capacity, settlement
rate of the soil, the composition of the soil structure and texture, underground services –
ducts / cables, and existing structures on site. These will enable adequate estimation of
time relative to planning and scheduling and preparation of cost figure for the project.

Literature Review
The literature to this study is divided into two parts. The first part deals with literature
on factors of site ground conditions, and the second part is on factors of site access
conditions relative to construction projects delivery time.

Site Ground Conditions

The inherent site conditions of a project affect the speed of delivery (Frimpong et al.,
2003). This is often due to a lack of or poor investigation of site ground conditions to
obtain data regarding site soil conditions. Site conditions refer to the features on a site,
whether there are existing structures or not; the condition of the subsoil; the firmness of
the earth beneath the surface; the distance of the water table to the surface; underground
service ducts and similar features. The research of Frimpong et al. (2003) found that
ground problems and unexpected geological conditions contribute to delays. Other
ground factors that impact on the speed of construction include the nature of demolition
of work; the nature of restoration work; the structural stability of ground; the extent of
ground contamination; the extent of archaeological finds; the impact of the water table;
the impact of underground services, and the impact of underpinning existing structures.

The site ground of any project could have features that could affect the speed of
construction. These features could be underground service ducts, a high water table,
existing structures and other elements such as service pipes. Blisman et al. (2004) state
that among the ten most influential factors of project delivery, unique site features was
found to have significant influence. Acharya et al. (2006) declare that site conditions
with a weighting of 24.1% among six critical construction conflicting factors negatively
affects project delivery time. Site conditions may range from the nature of demolition
work the structural stability of ground to the extent of ground contamination. The site
ground conditions that influence project delivery time are: nature of demolition work
nature of restoration work; structural stability of ground extent of ground
contamination; extent of archaeological finds; impact of the water table; impact of
underground services, and impact of underpinning existing structures.

Nature of Demolition Work

Jefferies (2006) mentions critical success factors that have been considered by several
authors and when these success factors are given adequate attention, there may be a
reduction of their effect on delay regarding project delivery. One of these is the effect of
existing structures. Existing structures on site may impact on the speed of delivery of
projects. Nature implies: type; characteristic, and features of existing structure. These
suggest the type of demolition to be employed. Situations that require large amounts of
concrete to be demolished affect project delivery. In cases where high rise structures are
to be demolished, the extent of protection to be given to adjacent structures and the time

3
it will take to safely demolish and cart away debris from existing structures may
negatively affect the delivery time of a new structure.

Nature of Restoration Work

Restoration work requires the engagement of the services of a specialist, due to the level
of complexity involved in realising such projects. A specialist contractor is engaged in
order to avoid losses of materials, life and equipment that may arise in case an existing
structure collapses as a result of lapses in construction techniques. In the event of such a
collapse, the project delivery time becomes unpredictable.

Structural Stability of Ground

Ahmed et al. (2003) cited by Alaghbari et al. (2007) say that external factors such as
poor site conditions (ground) causes significant delays in building construction projects.
In addition, Wiguna and Scott (2006) state that unforeseen site ground conditions are
potential risk factors to the performance of projects. As an illustration, in cases where it
is discovered that the soil is made up of low bearing capacity, and a comprehensive soil
test was not carried out prior to construction, significant time related problems may
arise. This is so because in order to remedy the situation a thorough soil examination
will not only be sanctioned, but the unsuitable soil will be cut and carted away. This
corrective process takes time and may adversely affect the delivery time, and also lead
to an increased final cost of the project or, in extreme situations, the abandonment of the
project.

Extent of Ground Contamination

According to Blisman et al. (2004), many unforeseen difficulties can be encountered

during production due to lack of testing and investigation of a site soil. This may lead to
delay in the delivery of projects. Soil might be contaminated due to chemical deposits
which may result in weakening the strength of the soil. It is advised that a soil test be
carried out to reveal the characteristics of soil on site ground. When soil contamination
is encountered to reasonable depth on site, the soil must be excavated and removed from
site, and suitable material must be deposited as refill and compacted according to the
strength requirements of the soil. This process may negatively affect delivery of the
project to schedule.

Extent of Archaeological Finds

When many archaeological findings are made on site, it may affect construction speed
and impact delivery time negatively. In this case, excavation and removal, filling and
compaction are suggested.

Impact of Water Table

On construction sites where the water table is close to the natural ground level,
excavation becomes a problem. The depth of the foundation to the structure, which
might be deep, may necessitate the draining of water while excavation is going on. An
appropriate construction method such as a dry mix may be the best option for casting

4
the foundation in order to minimise the negative effect of the site condition on project
delivery time.

Impact of Underground Services

Where hidden / unknown service ducts are discovered on site along the path of the
proposed structure, the construction programme may be in jeopardy. The removal of the
buried service ducts may involve the use of more resources that have cost and time
implications. Therefore, thorough site investigation is advocated prior to the design
stage of construction projects. The processes of diverting services duct may take longer
than expected, thereby affecting delivery time.

Impact of Underpinning Existing Structures

There are situations where a new foundation is to be constructed beneath an existing

structure on site. The process might take longer than estimated, due to the type of soil
encountered during excavation, the type of structure to be constructed or the method /
technology of construction involved. All of the above may have an adverse effect on the
delivery time of the new structure.

Site Access
The condition of site access to a project will determine the rate of flow of materials,
machines and people to the project site (Griffith & Watson, 2004). Where there is
difficulty in getting to the site, in the form of bad road surfacing, narrowness of the road
or a long distance between storage space and entry point, these factors will negatively
affect construction speed. According to Toor and Ogunlana (2008), these cause delays
in construction. Site access refers to the ease with which machines, materials and human
resources enter the site. The factors of site access that influence project delivery time
are listed below and discussed thereafter. They include: proximity to required resources;
narrowness of road, therefore putting projects at a disadvantage; congestion at site entry
/ exit points; storage space at or near ground level; storage space at upper levels, and
requirements in terms of restrictive hours.

Proximity to Required Resources

Roads to construction sites must be accessible by vehicles throughout the year. Often
vehicles break down as a result of substandard surfacing materials used for road
construction, which erode the road surface and create potholes. Also, vehicles can get
stuck in the ground as a result of the type of surfacing material with which the road is
made. A tarred road is advantageous to the flow of vehicles which often bring delivery
materials to the construction site. This increases the speed of delivery of materials.
According to Tam et al. (2002), the site‘s proximity and access to the required resources
ensure that work on buildings and other construction activities is not impeded by the
thoughtless storage of materials along site access roads.

The Disadvantage of the Narrowness of Roads

Zayed et al. (2005) suggest that road conditions may adversely affect the delivery of
materials to the site and cause delays in the execution of the work. The narrowness of

5
the road impedes vehicular flow to the site. This may lead to stagnation / slow flow of
traffic for vehicles. Sometimes accidents occur due to the narrowness of the road and
result in the delay of delivery of materials, machines and human resources. It is advised
that the width of the carriageway of roads leading to site be wide enough to
conveniently accommodate the flow of two vehicles at any given point.

Congestion at Site Entry / Exit Points

According to Zayed et al. (2005), traffic conditions can enhance or impede the delivery
of materials to site. Delivery of materials to the site directly affects productivity when
traffic accessibility to the site is difficult. It is important to note that congestion may
affect the smooth flow of activity on site especially at the entrance to the site. Therefore,
entrances to sites should be free from congestion at all times in order to allow free
vehicular movement. Specifically, site planning and housekeeping featured prominently
among twenty key factors that affect construction site H&S performance (Jannadi &
Bu-Khamsin, 2002). The key factors were selected from one hundred and thirty-five
factors that directly affect site H&S performance.

Storage Space at or near Ground Level

Another factor that is vital to site access is storage space. Storage spaces should be close
to vehicle entry points on construction sites. This will ensure site activities are not
disrupted during material delivery and offloading on site. When storage space is far
from entry points to site, site activities may suffer stoppages due to the time required for
material offloading and the need to ensure that proper H & S is in place in the work
area. The cumulative effect of these, negatively affects project delivery time because of
the time required to reorganize workers and restart work. Furthermore, Elbeltagi et al.
(2001) state that during the construction phase of a project, site layout may be
efficiently reorganized at various intervals to satisfy schedule requirements as well as
maintain site H & S and productivity.

Storage Space at Upper Levels

Storage spaces at upper levels put the project and contractor at a disadvantage. With
respect to the project, offloading materials will be associated with time wastage and
damage. Similarly, contractors incur additional costs due to disruptions to other
activities. Storage spaces of materials should be provided at the lower level areas on
site. This will minimise accidents which could cause damage and ultimately increase
time relative to material supply (replacement). In addition, a storage space at lower
levels makes the process of stocking of materials much quicker.

Requirement for Restrictive Hours

Restrictive work hours on site can cause delays to a project‘s delivery time. This factor
can have a significant impact when the cumulative effect is looked at. Activities that
could cause restrictions include the lifting of heavy materials to high levels with a crane
because some activities will be stopped.

6
Research Methodology
The study assessed the perception of professionals in the building construction industry
relative to site ground and access factors, which may adversely affect project delivery
time. The respondents for the study were drawn from five major areas in South Africa,
which were used to represent the entire nation, since construction activities are carried
out in the same method. In addition, the areas of high constructional activities were
identified, and respondents were drawn from these areas, namely Free State, Guateng,
Kwazu-Natal; Western Cape, and Eastern Cape. The sampling frame consists of:
Architects; Clients; Master builders; Quantity surveyors, and structural engineers.
Probability sampling was used in the selection of samples for the study. Proportional
stratified and simple random sampling was the sampling techniques used in the
selection of samples for the study. Particularly, the proportional stratified random
sampling technique was used for the selection of Architects firms, while simple random
sampling technique was used for the selection of other professionals.

The different choices of sampling techniques, stems from the fact, that the population
contains definite strata that appear in different proportions within the population,
particularly that of the architects. A total of eighty-eight (88) respondents form the
sample size for this study, drawn from the professionals. The data for the study was
analysed using inferential statistics. Questionnaires were used in the collection of data.
A five-point Likert scale adjoined with ―Unsure‟ and ―Does not‟ options was used to
measure the perceptions of professionals within the building construction industry in
South Africa. Tables 1 and 2 indicate the perceptions of respondents relative to the
project delivery time performance in terms of percentage responses to a scale of 1 to 5,
and a mean score (MS) ranging between 1.00 and 5.00. MSs were calculated for each
statement to enable an interpretation of the percentages relative to each point on the
response scale. Given that there are five points on the scale, and that 5 – 1 = 4, the
ranges were determined by dividing 4 by 5 which equates to 0.8. Consequently the
ranges and their definitions are as follows:

 4.20 ≤ 5.00 between a near major to major / major influence;

 3.40 ≤ 4.20 between moderate influence to a near major / near major influence;

 2.60 ≤ 3.40 between a near minor to moderate influence / moderate influence;

 1.80 ≤ 2.60 between a minor to near minor influence / near minor influence, and

 1.00 ≤ 1.80 between a minor to near minor influence.

Conclusions and recommendations were deduced from the results of the data analysis. It
is worth noting that the percentage response is low, but the number of responses
received is enough for statistical analysis.

7
Findings and Discussion
In this section, data obtained from the investigation are presented. Respondents were
required to rate the influence of eight factors pertaining to site ground conditions on the
delivery time of projects (Table 1). Five factors‘ MSs are within the range > 3.40 ≤
4.20, which signifies that these factors have between a moderate influence to a near
major / near major influence on project delivery time. The factors in this range are:
structural stability of ground; impact of underground services; impact of water table;
nature of restoration work, and extent of ground contamination.

The three other factors‘ MSs are within the range > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, implying that the
factors have between a near minor to moderate influence / moderate influence project
delivery time. They are: impact of underpinning existing structure; nature of demolition
work, and extent of archaeological finds. Structural stability of the ground predominates
among factors, the most likely reason for this being because foundations must be
founded on ground that is stable. Often it takes longer than anticipated to reach this
level. A soil investigation should be conducted to assist in the design of the foundation
type with reference to the type of structure to be constructed and relative to foundation
depth.

Following the factor structural stability, is the impact of underground services. A lot of
time could be wasted in requesting for approval on diversions of underground service
ducts. The work needed might include excavation, compacting, concreting of the base,
pipe laying, compaction, and final concreting. All of these might have to be done before
the commencement of the project and may lead to delay in project delivery. The client
should conduct a site investigation prior to awarding a contract.

Table 1: The contribution of site ground conditions‘ factors to project delivery time

Response (%)
Factor Mean Rank
DN Minor.................................................Major score
Unsure

1 2 3 4 5

Structural stability of
2.4 1.2 5.9 5.9 11.8 36.5 36.5 3.87 1
ground
Impact of underground
2.4 4.7 4.7 8.2 17.7 32.9 29.4 3.59 2
services
Impact of water table 11.9 6.0 9.5 10.7 11.9 15.5 34.5 3.52 3
Nature of restoration
5.9 4.7 9.4 4.7 15.3 31.8 28.2 3.48 4
work
Extent of ground
5.8 3.5 8.1 7.0 23.3 24.4 27.9 3.44 5
contamination
Impact of
underpinning existing
3.7 7.3 8.5 9.8 11.0 29.3 30.5 3.40 6
structure
Nature of demolition
4.7 3.5 10.6 9.4 22.4 23.5 2598 3.32 7
work
Extent of
11.9 6.0 9.5 10.1 11.9 15.5 34.5 3.31 8
archaeological finds

8
The least influencing factor of site ground conditions on project delivery time is the
nature of demolition work. Compared to erecting a new structure, it does not take long
to demolish a building and cart the debris away. In fact demolition work is fast and easy
partly due to the availability of equipment and experienced personnel.

Table 2 presents the rating of respondents relative to the influence of six site access
factors on project delivery time. It is notable that five of the six factors have MSs > 3.40
≤ 4.20, which indicates that respondents can be deemed to be of the opinion that these
factors have between a near minor to moderate influence / moderate influence on
project delivery time. These include: storage space at or near ground level; proximity to
required resources; requirement for restrictive hours; congestion at site entry / exit
points, and access to site entry / exit points.

One factor ‗storage space at upper levels‘ has a MS > 2.60 ≤ 3.40, which signifies that
the factor has between a near minor to moderate influence / moderate influence on
project delivery time. Storage space near or at ground level is the most significant factor
influencing project delivery time in the category. When storage space is to be located, it
should be at ground level. If otherwise, it creates problems for loading and movement of
materials. The ease of transporting materials especially to areas where they will be
needed is very important. The next factor in terms of ability to influence project
delivery time is proximity to required resources. The ease of accessibility of humans,
materials and machines to the construction site is directly proportional to how fast the
project can be completed. Delays might be experienced when the site is remote from
these resources, owing to the time it will take to assemble them on site. Following
proximity to required resources is the requirement for restrictive hours. According to the
respondents, it can be deemed to have a moderate to a near major influence on project
delivery time. Requirement for restrictive hours may adversely affect project delivery
time, owing to the odd hours workers might have to work for the achievement of
planned performance. It may require the organisation to introduce shift work.

Table 2: The influence of site access factors on project delivery time

Response (%)
Factor Mean Rank
DN Minor.................................................Major score
Unsure

1 2 3 4 5

Storage space at or near

ground level 6.0 0.0 8.4 9.6 24.1 35.1 15.7 3.78 1
Proximity to required
resources 3.6 0.0 3.6 7.1 25.0 28.6 32.1 3.77 2
Requirement for
6.1 2.4 6.1 7.3 18.3 28.1 31.7 3.62 3
restrictive hours
Congestion at site entry
3.6 1.2 6.0 6.0 19.3 44.6 19.3 3.60 4
/ exit points
Access to site entry /
2.4 0.0 4.8 14.3 21.4 32.1 25.0 3.57 5
exit points
Storage space at upper
7.3 3.7 11.0 9.8 22.0 25.6 20.7 3.21 6
levels

9
This may result in low productivity of workers. Some of the workers might have
worked during the day on some other job and come to work at night again. Fatigue will
result in low productivity of such workers: its cumulative effect being late delivery of
the project. The least significant influencing factor is storage space at upper floor levels.
It is the least because material removal from storage spaces could be done by a separate
work force. With this arrangement, the delay that would have occurred using upper
levels for materials storage will be mitigated.

Conclusions and Further Research

Two sets of conclusions were made relative to this study, based on data analysis. They
are conclusion from the site access conditions and site ground condition factors. With
regards to the site ground conditions factors, top of the factors that influence project
delivery time is structural stability of ground, followed by impact of ground services
and impact of water table. From the site access conditions factors, storage space at
ground level has the most influence on project delivery time; next to this factor is
proximity to required resources, and requirement for restrictive hours. These factors
negatively affect construction speed, in turn affecting delivery time.

Based on the conclusion reached from the analysis of data for this study, the following
recommendations were made. Preliminary site investigation and soil testing should be
conducted by clients prior to the commencement of projects. This will assist in the of
foundations design for structures, and reveal the features of the site ground conditions.
In addition, it will enhance the smooth flow of construction activities. Materials for
construction should be stored at places on site that will be free of difficulties of either
placing or removal for use. Workers should be encouraged to work extra time; this will
mitigate the problem of restrictive working hours.

References
Acharya, N.K., Lee, Y.D. & Im, H.M. (2006), Conflicting factors in construction
project: Korean perspective. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management, Vol. 13(6), pp. 543-566.
Ahmed, S.M., Azhar, S., Kappagntula, P. & Gollapudil, D. (2003), Delays in
construction: a brief study of the Florida construction industry. Proceedings of the
39th annual ASC Conference, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, pp. 257 – 266.
Alaghbari, W., Kadir, M.R.A., Salim, A. & Ernawati, (2007), The significant factors
causing delay of building construction projects in Malaysia. Engineering,
Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 14(2), pp. 192-206.
Blismas, N.G., Sher, W.D., Thorpe, A. & Baldwin, A.N. (2004), Factors influencing
project delivery within construction clients multi-project environments.
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 11(2), pp. 113-125.
Elbeltagi, E., Hegazy, T., Hosny, A.H. & Eldosouky, A. (2001), Schedule-dependent
evolution of site layout planning. Construction Management and Economics, Vol.
19(6), pp. 689-697.
Frimpong, Y., Oluwoye, J. & Crawford, L. (2003), Causes of delay and cost overruns in
construction of groundwater projects in developing countries: Ghana as a case
study. International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 21(3), pp. 321-326.

10
Griffith, A. & Watson, P. (2004), Construction management principles and practice, 1st
ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jefferies, M. (2006), Critical success factors of public private sector partnership: A case
study of the Sydney Superdome. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management, Vol. 13(5), pp. 451-462.
Tam, C.M., Tong, T.K.L., Leung, A.W.T. & Chiu, G.W.C. (2002), Site layout planning
using non-structural fuzzy decision support system. Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, Vol. 128(3), pp. 220-231.
Toor, S. & Ogunlana, S.O. (2010), Problems causing delays in major construction
projects in Thailand. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 26(4), pp.
395-408.
Wiguna, I.P.A & Scott, P. (2006), Relating risk to project performance in indonesian
building contracts. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 24(11), pp.
1125-1135.
Zayed, T.M., Halpin, D.N. & Basha, I. (2005), Productivity and delays assessment for
concrete batch plant-truck mixer operations. Construction Management and
Economics, Vol. 23(8), pp. 839-850.

11
 The Impact of ICT on Professional Practice in the
South African Construction Industry: A pilot study of
Johannesburg
KP Lesito1, CO Aigbavboa2 and WD Thwala3
123
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Email: aigclinton@gmail.com, didibhukut@uj.ac.za

Abstract:
The paper examines the impact of ICT in professional practice in the South African
construction industry. This is with the view that ICT utilization in professional practice
has the potential to facilitate better decision-making ability and savings in operating
costs, amongst others. The data used in this paper were derived from both primary and
secondary sources. The primary data were obtained through the survey method, while
the secondary data were derived from the review of literature. The primary data for the
study were collected through a structured questionnaire survey distributed to a sample
of 37 professionals who are in the industry. The results indicate that architectural,
engineering and Quantity Surveying functions have been largely computerised, however
data and document management is still done through the traditional way in most cases.
Construction industry professionals are a rich source of information about ICT and its
improvement within the industry. Hence, ICT surveys in the construction industry can
be used to determine the number of users of these systems, identify the core impacts
ICT has had on day to day activities on construction professional practice firms.

Keywords:
Construction Industry, Information Communication Technology, Professional Practice

Introduction
The importance of communication within the construction industry cannot be over
emphasized as this is one key aspect that brings all professionals in the industry
together, towards the practice of construction and its related works. As a professional
needs to prove themselves on the job daily, the need of communication finds relevance
in every professional endeavour.

Due to the hierarchal and fragmented nature of the construction, a close coordination
among a large number of specialized but interdependent organizations and individuals
to achieve the cost, time and quality of goals of a construction project is required
(Toole, 2003). Like any project exchange of information is always present between all
participants, with respect to the construction industry and its associated activities which
require heavy exchange of data and information between project participants on a daily

12
basis, the need for a medium and systems which will help facilitates this process is great
desired.

For instance, Rivard et al. (2004) posit that information sharing plays two vital roles in
all construction projects, which are the specification of the resulting product (design
information) and the initiation and control of the activities required for constructing the
facility (management information). These two identified critical roles of information in
a construction project have a starting point, that is, they are distributed to the particular
project participants - the design team normally referred to as the Professional team who
in this context act as professional advisers to the client. These are the main producers
and disseminators of the information sent out regarding the project. Sadly enough, a
majority of construction information exchange are still based on traditional means of
communication such as face-to-face meetings and the exchange of paper documents
(Working Drawings from the Engineer or Architect), specifications and site instructions.
This slow pace of adapting to change, is one of the reasons why the construction
industry has for many years suffered from the difficult-to-access, out-of-date and
incomplete information (Shoesmith, 1995). In order to manage a construction project
properly, accurate and up-to-date information is required at all times so that no delays
and failures can be encountered, all project participants must be up to speed with the
changes that are happening within the project. Unlike other industries, the need to
increase the efficiency of information management by exchanging massive volumes of
information at high speeds and at relatively low costs has long been recognized and
fully embracing.

This study is therefore an attempt to evaluate the impact of ICT on construction

professional consultants in the South Africa construction industry. Against this
background, this paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact the adapation and
use of ICT has had on their professional responsibilities. To this end, the specific
objectives are to:

 identify the factors that determine the use of ICT by construction consultants in
South Africa;

 identify the constraints to the use of ICT by the consultants, and

 assess the benefits of ICT usage to the consultants.

The next section of the paper outlines the current use of ICT in construction
professional practice and by the construction professional. This is followed a description
of the methodology adopted by the study in order to meet the above research objectives,
followed by the analysis and discussion of the results, before conclusions are drawn and
recommendations made.

The current use of ICT in Construction professional practice

The construction industry is currently experiencing a paradigm shift from traditional
paper-based to digitally based information exchange, which other industries such as
aircraft, manufacturing and banking have adopted and benefited from long ago (Rivard

13
et al., 2004). This shift has been aided to a large extent by the drastic reduction in
computer hardware and software prices and the increased power, usefulness and
popularity of computers over the last few years and most especially in South Africa,
where a large chuck of its software are imported and the cost of internet bundle is one of
the highest in the world.

According to Ruiker et al. (2005) ICT can greatly impact the traditional processes of
professional organizations in construction and result in change in organizational
processes, working methods and culture. This will build a much more sound and stable
collaborative working environment within the domains of the construction industry
similar to other industries that have benefited from the total embrance of ICT. In this
context, it therefore means that some benefits of ICT are critical to the performance of
professional consultants. Prime amonsgt these include the reduction of time for data
processing and communicating information within other professionals, and improve in
communications for effective decision-making and coordination among
construction/project participants (Peansupap & Walker, 2005), which at the end enhance
construction productivity (Liston et al., 2000). For this to be possible, the use of
Internet-based tools of ICT which allows communication between remote and deserted
user within the construction industry such as in remote areas which enables the sharing
of files, comment on changes, propose changes, requests for information, clarity on
information received, discuss issues being faced with regards to the information given
to the professional consultants is highly necessary.

While a lot of ICT (particularly hardware) are commonly required in architectural

engineering and quantity surveying practices, others (software related) are profession-
specific (Oladapo, 2006). The common types of software‘s used in all the three
professions include Microsoft Word, Microsoft excel, AutoCAD and Internet software
(Goh, 2005). The areas of thorough application with the use of ICT as a tool to the
relevant professions is mainly based on administration, communication, marketing,
desktop publishing, presentation and project management, design, project monitoring
just to name a few. While architects and engineers used AutoCAD mainly for design,
drawing and presentation purposes, quantity surveyors use it mainly for measurement
purposes, preparation of bills of quantities, estimating and for presentation purposes as
well. The engineering analysis software for specific branches of engineering includes
Microstran, and MathCAD (Doherty, 1997). In model structural design software,
software‘s with 3D, 4D and even 5D modeling capacities, designing complex structures
is now facilitated where previously this was almost impossible to achieve (Walker &
Hampson, 2003). Furthermore quantity surveying softwares such as WinQS, QS
Plus2001, Candy, QsCAD and Masterbill among others (Murray et al., 2001) speed up
the process of taking off and working up but also enhance the accuracy of quantity
surveying functions from approximate estimating to final accounts of a project. A
detailed description of many of the available software for architects, engineers and
quantity surveyors is thoroughly outlined in Murray et al. (2001).

In addition to these application of ICT to what may be termed the traditional domains of
architectural, engineering and quantity surveying professions, there are some ideas that
have emerged in area of ICT innovations and applications. These innovations include
knowledge management (KM), electronic document management (EDM) and e-
business. ICT facilitates the transfer of knowledge and information between project

14
teams, enabling the development of new knowledge for innovation (Gann, 2000). The
recent developments of EDM systems for project management can save a considerable
amount of time and cost with regards to document transfer and information exchange
among project participants in the industry, while on the other hand e-business provides
an efficient infrastructure for remote consulting services to consultants who desire to
provide their professional services to clients in need of their services through internet,
and email requests.

Professionals within the South Africa construction industry must learn to avail
themselves to the various tools provided through ICT to improve the quality and speed
of their work in the project chain, from project inception to testing and commissioning.
Given the rapid rate of fall in the prices of ICT hardware and software globally and the
tremendous benefits ICT offers, it should not be too expensive for construction
professionals in South Africa and other developing countries to embrace the technology.
Perhaps the critical requirement now, according to Murray et al. (2001), is the need for
investment in ICT education to students in varsity so as to prepare them for the
corporate world and easily adjustment them to being professionals by the time they
graduate.

Research Methodology
This section presents an explanation of the methodology used in conducting the
research. A cross sectional, systematic random questionnaire based study to determine
the views of consulting professionals on the impact of ICT on their practices in the
South African construction industry around the Johannesburg region; was conducted
amongst 60 construction professionals. The questionnaires were distributed personally
by the researcher to various construction organizations around the Johannesburg region.
But owing to limitations imposed by time, 37 questionnaires were collected back as
most professional were busy with one endeavour and another. This represented a
response rate of 62.0%. This was considered adequate for the study analysis based on
the assertion by Moser and Kalton (1971) that the result of a survey could be considered
as biased and of little value if the return rate is lower than 30–40%. The questionnaires
were tailored to consulting professionals only. The exploratory phase sample frame
consisted of the various construction organizations randomly selected from
Johannesburg region. These include: Civil engineering consultants, architectural
practices, contracts managers, construction managers, project managers and quantity
surveyors. Subjects for the study were drawn from various construction organizations in
Johannesburg region. The participants were located in different areas as they were
selected randomly; some were located in South of Johannesburg, others in North of
Johannesburg while others were in Johannesburg CBD. The selected respondents
participated in the study on a voluntarily basis and did not have to sign consent for. The
details of those participants who partook in the study will remain anonymous, in order
to prevent possible discrimination by the employer. The data presentation and analysis
made use of frequency distributions and percentages of all the respondents. The
research was conducted between the months in the month of July to August, 2012.

15
Relative significance index (RSI)
A 5-point Likert type scale was used to determine the, response times and risks attached
to the usage of ICT in the South African Construction industry with regards to the
identified factors from the reviewed literature. The adopted scale read as follows,
1=strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, and strongly agree. The 5-point
Likert scale was transformed to a relative significance index for each of the factors of
response times as assessed by the respondents. The indices were then used to determine
the rank of each item. These rankings made it possible to cross compare the relative
significance of the items as perceived by the respondents to impact the various aspects
of the study, because it is necessary to highlight the relative significance of the factors
(Kangwa & Olubodun, 2003). The Relative significance index was used for ranking of
the factors.

The RSI is a non-parametric technique based on the aggregate weighting of the initial
frequency score of each factor (Kangwa & Olubodun, 2003).The computation of the
relative significance indices (RSI) was calculated from the total of all weighted
responses and then relating it to the total responses on a particular aspect. This was
based on the principle that respondents‘ scores on all the selected criteria, considered
together, are the empirically determined indices of relative importance. The index of
RSI of a particular factor is the sum of respondents‘ actual scores (on the 5-point Likert
scale) given by all respondents‘ as a proportion of the sum of all maximum possible
scores on the 5-point Likert scale that all the respondents could give to the criterion.
Weighting were assigned to each responses ranging from one being strongly in disagree
with the statement to five being in total agreement with the statement posed to the
respondents. The relative significance index (RSI) was calculated for each item as
follows, after Lim and Alum (1995)

= 1α1 + 2α2 + 3α3 +4α4+5α5

∑α
Where;
α1 = number of respondents for strongly disagree.
α2 = number of respondents for disagree.
α3 = number of respondents for Neutral.
α4 = number of respondents for agree.
α5 = number of respondents for strongly agree.
∑α = Total number of respondents.

Following the mathematical computations, the criteria are taken ranked in descending
order of their relative importance index (from the highest to the lowest). The next
section of the study presents the findings of the survey and some discussions as well.

Findings and Discussion

Findings from the 37 usable questionnaires revealed that 59% of the respondents were
male, while 41% were female; suggesting that the construction industry is still a male
dominated industry. Further findings revealed that 59% of the respondents have a B-
degree or its equivalent. Also, findings showed that 41% of the respondents were

16
between the ages of 31 – 35 years of age; with an average of 6 – 10 years‘ experience in
the industry. Also, findings revealed that 40% of the respondents indicated that they are
working for large construction consulting firm; while a 60% are working for a
combination of small to medium construction consulting firms.

Respondents were further assessed on the source of motivation in the adoption of ICT in
running of their business affairs. Findings as shown in Table 1 revealed that changing
trends in the global construction industry is the most significance factor driving
professional consulting firms to adopt the use of ICT with an RSI=3.57. This was
followed by client/customer demand (RSI=3.41), construction industry demands
(RSI=3.32) and the level of competition being the least factor. This suggests that
increasing marketization of the South African economy and the construction industry
sector is compelling firms to adjust themselves to the changing trends in technology as
previous research findings has shown in Peansupap and Walker (2005).

Table 1: Factors determine use of ICT

Factors R.S.I Rank
Changing trends in the global construction industry 3.57 1
Client/customer demand 3.41 2
Construction industry demands 3.32 3
Level of competition 3.35 4

When the respondents were asked about the constraints faced in the use of ICT in their
consulting firms, Table 2 summarise the findings of the constraints. Based on the
ranking (R) of the weighted average of the RRI, it was found that the most dominant
factor with regards to constraints of using ICT systems in the South African
construction industry consulting firms were Continual need to upgrade (RSI=4.16;
R=1), Personal abuse and High Cost (RSI=3.76; R=2), Poor security and privacy and
High cost or professional to employ (RSI=3.73; R=3), System and computer
malfunction and virus attacks (RSI=3.69; R=4). Other factors assessed which were not
considered as major constraints to the adaptation and use of ICT in the South African
construction industry professional firms include; Poor return on investment (RSI=3.49;
R=8), Inadequate power supply (RSI=3.43; R=9),ICT making professional redundant
(RSI=3.38; R=10).

Furthermore, in order to meet the study objective three, the respondents were asked to
score the most evident benefit the adaptation and use of ICT has brought to their
professional consultancy services. Table 3 summarise the findings. The findings
revealed that the most dominant factor with regards to benefits of using ICT systems in
the South African construction industry professional firms were Time saving
(RSI=4.41; R=1), Ease of doing complex tasks, Increases productivity and increases
speed of work, all having the same score (RSI=4.16; R=2), Increases document quality
(RSI=4.14; R=3), Speeds up response times (RSI=4.03; R=4). Other factors include;
Reduces proportion of new work (RSI=3.92; R=7), Reduces mistakes in document
(RSI=3.86; R=8) and Reduces construction error (RSI=3.81; R=9).

17
 Table 2: constraints to the use of ICT by the consultants

Constraints R.S.I Rank

Continual need to upgrade 4.16 1
Personal abuse 3.76 2
High Cost 3.76 2
Poor security and privacy 3.73 3
High cost or professional to employ 3.73 3
System and computer malfunction and virus attacks 3.69 4
Incompatibility in software packages 3.63 5
Inefficiency from ICT 3.54 6
Incompatibility in software packages 3.58 7
Poor return on investment 3.49 8
Inadequate power supply 3.43 9
ICT making professional redundant 3.38 10

Findings from the survey reveal the typical constraints faced by construction
professional firm in the adaption and usage of ICT, as they need to stay up dated with
the ever changing ICT software. Also, the aspect of personal abuse of the ICT and high
cost are correlated as abuse of ICT systems from employees‘ leads to high cost in the
maintenance of the systems in place. However, the respondents do not see inadequate
power supply as a constraints to the use of ICT systems as constant electricity power
supply is not a problem in South Africa, but it does add to the high cost of running ICT
systems. Likewise the respondents do not agree that ICT makes professional redundant,
suggesting that ICT when is properly utilized, it makes professionals to better respond
to the need of their clients. Findings accord with literature which indicates that with
availability of 3D modelling software for example, complex designs which were
previously almost impossible to design are now being designed with ease (Walker &
Hampson, 2003).

ICT improves communication and response times within the construction industry to
enhance decision making (Peansupap & Walker, 2005), which ultimately yields time
and cost savings. Time and cost are not the aspect of savings, but the nine bodies of
knowledge under project management are utilized to their full extent as ICT comes in as
a catalyst to improve what is already there. This aspect include: Scope of work is easily
handled with ICT usage; Quality is achieved with better accuracy; Risk is minimised by
using ICT systems; Time is saved on repetitive work; Human Resource Management is
adequately utilized; Procurement is done much more efficiency; Cost is reduced and
kept at a minimum; Communication is achieved much more effectively and Integration
forms a collaborative working environment amongst professionals. However, the
professional does not see ICT and it adaptation in the reduction of mistakes in the
execution of their everyday duties and hence reduction of construction of errors.

18
 Table 3: benefits of ICT usage to the consultants

Benefit R.S.I Rank

Time saving 4.41 1
Ease of doing complex tasks 4.16 2
Increases Productivity 4.16 2
Increase speed of work 4.16 2
Increases document quality 4.14 3
Speeds up response times 4.03 4
Reduces mistakes in document 3.97 5
Reduces degree of difficulty 3.95 6
Ease of doing complex tasks 3.95 6
Reduces proportion of new work 3.92 7
Reduces mistakes in document 3.86 8
Reduces construction error 3.81 9

The findings rejected previous research findings by Davenport (1993), Odedra-Straub

(1996) and Chinn & Fairlie (2004), which informs that developing countries still have
low computer penetration rates. But it should be re-stated as found that the adoption of
ICT is in response to the changing trends in technology in the construction industry.
From the researcher‘s personal search of the surveyed firms, it was observed that close
to two-third of the firms are connected to the Internet which they use mainly for e-mail.
Such strategic uses of the Internet as electronic data transfer and e-business are virtually
unheard of; but it has become the trend of the modern day professional practice.

Furthermore, findings highlight the wide gap in ICT infrastructure which, according to
Chinn & Farlie (2004), exists between developed and developing countries. In spite of
these problems, a majority of the respondents were optimistic about increased use of
ICT in their practices in future, with major new investments planned for such
application as teleworking, BIM (Building Information Modelling) and electronic data
management (EDM).

Conclusions
The study was carried out to assess the impact that ICT has had on architectural,
engineering, project management and quantity surveying practices, which are the main
producers and managers of project information in the South African construction
industry. The results of a structured questionnaire survey of firms in these practices
were presented in this paper. The results indicate a high level of computerisation of
professional services. Also, findings revealed that the diffusion of ICT in the
construction industry is greatly hampered by such factors as continual need to upgrade
ICT software and hardware, personal abuse, high cost and poor security and privacy.
The fact that the problem of continual need to upgrade is the most prominent obstacle in
this study and does feature in most of the similar studies in industrialised and newly
industrialised economies makes it peculiar to a developing country like South Africa.

19
Software upgrading is necessary because better versions of the programme are being
released.

While existing reports on the use of ICT in the construction industries of such
developed countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Singapore indicate that
the high rate of obsolescence of hardware and software is the most prominent obstacle
to use of ICT it is established in this study that for South Africa cost of electricity
supply is not a significant factor in the adaptation of ICT. In summary, the study has x-
rayed the state of ICT in a professional practice is South Africa construction industry
and has attempted to show that the most critical challenges facing construction
professionals in the use of ICT are quite different for developed countries and
developing countries like South Africa. It is therefore recommended that the South
Africa Construction Industry should endeavour to fully adapt to appropriate ICT
innovations for its construction industry practicing forms, which is one of the most
strategic industries in the nation‘s development agenda. Hence, as ICT gains more
adaptation usage, the benefit will be reaped through employment provision to the
unemployed in the country.

References
Chinn, M. &. Farlie, F.R. (2004), The determinants of the global digital divide: a cross-
country analysis of computer and internet penetration. Bonn: s.n.
Davenport, T. (1993), Process innovation: reengineering work through information
technology. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Doherty, J. (1997), A survey of computer use in the New Zealand building and
construction industry. Journal of Information Technology in Construction, Vol.
2(1), pp. 73-86.
Gann, D. (2000), Building Innovation: Complex Constructs in a Changing World. 1 ed.
London: Thomas Telford.
Goh, B. (2005), IT barometer: survey of the Singapore construction industry and a
comparison of results. Journal of Information Technology in Construction, Vol.
10(1), pp. 1-13.
Liston, K., Fischer, M. & Kunz, J. (2000), Designing and evaluating visualization
techniques for construction planning. 8th International Conference on Computing in
Civil and Building Engineering (ICCCBE-VIII). Stanford, California, United States.
Pp. 1-8
Lim, E.C. & Alum, J. (1995), Construction productivity: issues encountered by
contractors in Singapore. International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 13(1),
pp. 51-58.
Moser, C.A. & Kalton, G. (1971), Survey methods in social investigation. London;
Heinemann Educational.
Murray, N., Nkado, R. & Lai, A. (2001). The integrated use of information technology
in the construction industry. Proceedings of the CIB 78 Conference: IT in
Construction in Africa, pp. 39-1 to 39-13.
Odedra-Straub, M. (1996), Global information technology and socio-economic
development. 1st ed. Nashua: Ivy League Publishing.

20
Oladapo, A.A. (2006), Impact of ICT on professional practice in the nigerian
construction industry. The Eletronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing
Countries, Vol. 24(2), pp. 1-19.
Peansupap, V. &. Walker. D. (2005), Factors affecting ict diffusion a case study of three
large Australian construction contractors. Engineering, Construction and
Architectural Management, Vol. 12(1), pp. 21-27.
Rivard, H., Froese, T., Waugh, L.M., El-Diraby, T., Mora, R., Torres, H., Gill, S.M. &
O'Reilly, T. (2004), Case studies on the use of information technology in the
Canadian construction industry. Journal of Information Technology in Construction,
Vol. 9(1), pp. 19-34.
Ruikar, K., Anumba, C.J. &. Carrillo, P.M. (2005), End-user Perspectives on Use of
Project Extranet in Construction Organizations. Engineering. Construction and
Architectural Management, Vol. 12(3), pp. 222-235.
Shoesmith, D. (1995), Using internet as a dissemination channel for construction
research. Construction Information Technology, Vol. 3(2), pp. 65-75.
Toole, T. (2003), Information Technology Innovation: A View of Large Contractors.
Honolulu, Proc. of the ASCE Construction Research Congress, pp. 1-8.
Walker, D, Hampson, K. & Ashton, S. (2003), Developing an innovative culture
through relationship-based procurement systems. In: Walker, D and Hampson, K
(Ed.), Procurement strategies. Chichester: Blackwell.

21
Construction Professional’s Perceptions of the Factors
Causing Delays on Project Delivery in South Africa
AO Aiyetan1, JJ Smallwood2 and WM Shakantu3
1
Department of Building,
Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria,
Email: oaiyetan@yahoo.com
2&3
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa,
Email: John.Smallwood@nmmu.ac.za, Winston.Shakantu@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
Delay in the delivery of projects creates an impression of lack of competence and a poor
image, either of professionals or the industry (construction). Based on these, a study was
undertaken to identify the influencing factors of delay in the South African Construction
Industry. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted in Free State, Gauteng,
Kwazulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape. The sampling frame consists of:
architects; clients; master builders; quantity surveyors, and structural engineers.
Probability sampling was used for sample selection. The stratified random sampling
techniques used in the selection of Architects, and simple random sampling for the
selection of other professionals. The findings of this study are in two parts, from the
questionnaire and comments of respondents. The findings from the questionnaire
include: set time lines; materials availability, and critical path method adversely affect
project delivery time when attention is not paid to them. Findings from the comments of
respondents are: late payment to contractor; contractor incompetence, and contractors‘
cash flow problems initial delay on project delivery. Other findings are: the twelve
factors categories could cause delay on project up to 35.3% of initial contract period.
Respondents suggested ways of reducing delay on projects, and are, the use of
management techniques for the planning and control of project; client understand the
design, procurement and construction processes and giving attention to the quality of
management during construction and design. In addition, the use of 35.3% addition of
initial contract period to estimate the final contract period is advised.

Keywords:
Construction, Construction professionals, Delay, Project delivery, South Africa

Introduction
One of the most reoccurring problems in construction projects is delay (Faridi & El-
Sayegh, 2006). Delay arises from incompetency on the parts of clients, contractor and
consultants. Relative to the client – the lack of understanding of design and construction
processes, which results in wrong decisions. From the contractor - wrong construction
method, poor workmanship, inadequate planning, lack of pre-qualification of quality
conscious contractor and so on. Concerning the consultant – it could be, inadequate
instruction, inadequate design, communication lapses, and so on.

22
Delays in the delivery of projects could result in, apart from cost and time increases,
poor quality product, disputes, loss of owner‘s revenue due to unavailability of facility
in time, higher overheads incurred by the contractor arising from materials and labour
cost. Based on the foregoing, this study was initiated to assess the opinions of
professionals relative to causes of delay in the delivery of projects.

Literature Review
Several research studies have been conducted in different parts of the world prior to the
year 2000 with respect to construction delays. Some examined the causes as well as the
effects of delays in construction project delivery, while others used a predictive model
to ascertain construction period estimation. A total of seventy-six problems causing
delays were categorised into sub-groups totalling twelve, from past studies, which are:
Client understanding of the design, procurement and construction processes, Quality of
management during design, Quality of management during construction, Motivation of
staff, Site ground conditions, Site access, Constructability of design, Management style,
Management techniques used for planning and control, Physical environmental
conditions, Economic policy, and Socio–political conditions.

The literatures related to this study are those factors ranked from one to thirteen of the
seventy-six factors rated by respondents, based on the questionnaire. This is done to
equal the identified number of causes of delay identified by the respondents. They are:
set time-lines, materials availability (Al-Kharashi & Skitmore, 2009; Dai et al., 2007;,
Koushki & Kartam, 2004), critical path method (CPM), specific goals people are to
achieve (Pheng & Chuan, 2005), conduct regular updates on progress Edum-Fotwe and
McCaffer (2000), and Chan et al. (2004), provide specific direction (Bassioni et al.,
2005; Pheng & Chuan, 2005), involve team members through discussion of work (Chan
et al., 2004), and Mbachu and Nkando (2007)} effective coordination of resources (Tam
et al., 2002; Chan et al., 2004; Kazaz & Ulubeyli, 2003; Jha & Iyer, 2005), equipment
availability (Yasamis et al., 2002; Pongpeng & Liston, 2003; Ng et al., 2003; O‘Connor
& Yang, 2004), Gantt Charts (Steyn, 2005), development of an appropriate organisation
structure to maintain workflow (Bassioni et al., 2005), structural stability of ground, and
supervision / management staff availability (Fortune & White, 2005; Ng et al., 2003;
Sambasivan & Soon, 2007).

Method
Both the qualitative and quantitative research methods were adopted for the study.
Structured questionnaire were sent to the sampled population. Questions on factors that
could influence delay in the delivery of projects were asked.

Questionnaire construction

There are two questionnaires relative to this study. The first part of the first
questionnaire consisted of biographical questions; the second part consisted of twelve
sections, which were the twelve problem categories of this study. Of these, the seventy-
six sub-problem (problem factors for the study) were identified based on literature
review. Respondents had to rate their influence on delay in the delivery of project. The
ratings were indicated on a five-point Likert scale, where one is minor influence and

23
five is major influence. The second questionnaire had a space provided for respondents
to comment on influencing factors of delay, based on past experiences. These were
collated and tabulated. The mean score was employed to indicate the levels of influence
each sub-problem had on delay of projects.

Sample

The sample was not representative of all professionals in the Free State, Gauteng,
Kwazu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape. A total of eighty-eight (88) respondents
form the sample size for this study, out of a sum of one thousand four hundred and
forty-one (1441) sent to professionals. This represents a response rate of 6.1%, which
was drawn from the Architects, Clients, Builders, Quantity Surveyors, and Structural
Engineers, through proportionate random and simple random sampling techniques.

Data Collection

Data for the study were collected through questionnaire, which were posted and e-
mailed to the drawn respondents in the study areas.

Data Analysis

Data was analysed using frequencies and measures of central tendencies of the
descriptive statistics. The seventy-six factors which were categorised into twelve main
groups were arranged according to their ratings. The top thirteen factors were those
considered for discussion in this paper. The comments of professional‘s were collated
and could be grouped into thirteen factors. This was the basis for comparison and the
literature review.

Findings and Discussion

This section reports finding relative to the main questionnaire (first questionnaire) for
this study. Table 1 presents the top ten most influential factors on project delivery time
of the seventy-six factors identified in this study. The most influential factor is set-time
line (MS=4.13). This is in the form of having determined the work output per day per
skilled men, this is used to a lot task to be completed within a set time. It is discovered
that workers prefer this mode of system of work. They put in much effort to finish the
work allocated to them and close for the day to rest or to do some other work. This
enables much work to be done to the advantage of the contractor, therefore, reducing
contract period.

The second most influential factor on project delivery is materials availability

(MS=4.11). The availability of materials on site eliminates time wastages, which may
prolong the contract period, and increases in cost of delivery of the project. The third
most influential factor on project delivery time of project is the use of critical path
method (MS=4.09). Though complex, it has the advantage of being able to identify
critical activities relative to completion of a project.

24
Once these activities are identified and their sequence adhered to, it assists in the
elimination in project execution, because all activities linked to each activity on the
critical path are identified and executed. The fourth factor with influence on project
delivery time is the specification of goals people are to accomplish (MS=4.06). The
specification of goals people are to carry out by supervisors and management staffs
amounts to carrying workers along as a team on the project. Workers are not in doubt as
regards what to do at any moment, resulting in useful investment of time and energy.
This will culminate in the elimination of delays on project delivery.

Table 1: Ranking of factors‘ according to their MSs

Valid Standard Mean Rank

Factor number deviation score
Set time lines 87 0.96 4.13 1
Materials availability 87 1.04 4.11 2
Critical path methods (CPM) 87 1.12 4.09 3
Specified goals people are to accomplish 88 0.96 4.06 4
Required regular reporting on progress 86 1.06 3.97 5
Provided specific direction 87 1.00 3.96 6
Involved team members through discussion of 84 1.05 3.93 7
work
Effectively coordinating resources 86 1.01 3.92 8
Equipment availability 87 1.11 3.91 9
Bar chart 87 1.09 3.89 10
Developing an appropriate organisational 86 1.06 3.88 11
structure to maintain workflow
Structural stability of ground 85 1.22 3.87 12
Supervision/management of staff availability 87 1.12 3.87 13

The fifth factor which influences project delivery time is regular monitoring of progress
with a (MS=3.97) grants the opportunity of monitoring achieved progress against the
plan progress. It is an indicator of defiance relative to the two plans, and enables
necessary actions to be taken for progress to be achieved as planned. The least of the
thirteen factors that influences project delivery time is supervision / management of
staff availability. During the execution of work, tasks may be poorly performed; the
quick intervention of supervisory staff will afford correction and the production of high
quality product, which eliminates rework, additional cost of materials and time.

Analysis of respondents’ comments from questionnaire 2

Table 2 presents comments from respondents from the second questionnaire; pertaining
to the reasons for delays relative to the various projects reported on. These comments
were obtained from the second set of questionnaire for this study. The analysis is
reported in Table 2. Late payment to contractors (35.9%) predominates among factors
that respondents cited as causes of delays in project delivery time (Table 2). Late
payment could lead to contractor cutting corners, in an attempt to deliver project on
time. This may lead to poor quality products and rework, engendering project delay.

25
This is followed by contractors‘ incompetence (18.8%). Contractor‘s incompetence may
result in low standard of work, inadequate planning and eventually lead to delay.
Contractors‘ cash flow problems (17.2%); may lead to contractor abandoning the
project and cause damages to project with respect to lack of protection of either
materials or part of the work. This may lead to a colossal waste and as a result,
revisiting the project from the beginning. Changes in design requirements from the
client (6.3%); late information (4.7%); contractors‘ abandonment of project (4.7%),
abandonment of project will automatically lead to project delay; weather (3.1%), in the
form of high temperature, extreme cool will negatively affect productivity levels, plans
should be put in place to reduce the effect of adverse weather conditions on workers, in
order to maintain constant production levels, and lastly six factors with the same
percentage frequency, they are as reflected on Table 3. They are access problems to site;
no electrical reticulation; delay in appointment of sub-contractors; additional works; a
dispute between contractor and consultants, and the discovery of an underground
service duct (1.6%). It is notable that 42.3% of these causes of delay are contractor-
related.

Table 2: Respondents‘ views regarding causes of delays on projects from main questionnaire

Factors Frequency
No. Percentage
Late payment to contractor 23 35.9
Contractor incompetence 12 18.8
Contractors‘ cash flow problems 11 17.2
Changes in design requirements (client) 4 6.2
Contractor abandonment of project 3 4.7
Late information 3 4.7
Weather 2 3.1
Access problem to site (high security area) 1 1.6
No electrical reticulation 1 1.6
Delay in appointment of sub-contractor 1 1.6
Additional work 1 1.6
Dispute between contractor and consultants 1 1.6
Discovery of underground service duct 1 1.6
Total 64 100.0

Delay analysis based on the main questionnaire

From the main questionnaire for this study, a section is pertain to the reasonable number
of days, weeks, months or year a project experienced delay, relative to specified factor
category. These were collated and presented in Table 3. The percentage mean was
computed for the delays caused by factors in various categories. It was found that the
factors identified in this research could cause 35.3% of delay with respect to the initial
project time. These factors were those which constitute the twelve sub-problem of the
study.

26
 Table 3: Percentage delay on project delivery time based on respondents comments

Factors category Frequency of Standard Percentage

respondents deviation mean (%)
Quality of management during construction 12 10.63 4.9
Physical environmental considerations 12 10.02 4.8
Client understanding of design, procurement
and construction processes 9 6.39 3.4
Economic policy 8 7.91 3.2
Site ground conditions 8 5.54 3.0
Constructability of design 7 6.42 2.9
Quality of management during design 7 5.30 2.9
Management techniques used for planning
and control 6 4.04 2.4
Management style 5 4.23 2.2
Socio-political conditions 5 4.91 2.2
Motivation of staff 5 3.46 1.8
Site access 4 3.28 1.6
Total 88 35.3

A space was provided in the questionnaire (main) for respondents‘ to comment on ways
of reducing or eliminating delays on projects. These were collated and analysed, and are
presented in Table 4. Table 4 indicate that, the most effective means by which delays
can be minimised on projects, according to the perceptions of respondents are through
the use of effective planning and control techniques (30%). This is followed by quality
management during construction (22.5%) and client understands the design,
procurement and construction processes (22.5%). Quality management during design,
and management style, both with a 12.5% rating. The categories of factors with the least
influence on ways of minimising delay on project delivery are site access, economic
policy, and socio-political conditions.
Table 4: Respondents‘ comments on ways of minimising delays on projects

Category of factors Frequency Percentage Ranking

frequency %
Management techniques used for
planning and control 12 30.0 1
Client understanding of the design, 9 22.5 2
procurement and construction
processes
Quality of management during 9 22.5 2
construction
Quality of management during design 5 12.5 3
Management style 5 12.5 3
Physical environmental conditions 2 5.0 5
Constructability of design 1 2.5 6
Motivation of workers 1 2.5 6
Site ground conditions 1 2.5 6
Site access Nil - -
Economic policy Nil - -
Socio-political conditions Nil - -

27
These categories of factors were not commented upon.

Respondents Comments

In this section Table 1 and 3 will be discussed. The top four rated causes of delay except
the use of critical path method regarding the perception of the professionals (Table 1)
and the top three factors Respondents listed relative to their comments (Table 3), with
the exception of contractor‘s incompetency; are factors which relates to finance. This is
in the form of payment to contractor or earnings of the workers in accordance to work
output. Finance serves as a principal factor with respect to its impact on delivery of
project. Finance significantly affects speed of project delivery. Apart from these initial
factors with close relation, it is noteworthy, that of the rest nine factors, none are close
in rating. Relative to the questionnaire (Table 1), the first three factors rated as
influencing project delivery are set time lines, materials availability and critical path
method.

Those identified by the respondents and referred to as their comments (Table 3) are late
payment to contractor, contractor incompetence, and contractors‘ cash flow problems.
The three least factors of the thirteen from the questionnaire and those identified by the
respondents are developing an appropriate organisational structure to maintain
workflow, structural stability of ground, and supervision / management of staff
availability, while those compiled from respondent comments are additional work,
dispute between contractor and consultants, and discovery of underground service duct
respectively. Comments of respondents are regarded significant, as they have sound
knowledge of the processes of building construction and have commented based on
their past experience. Therefore, attention should be paid to their comments. It is worth
noting that, these comments will drastically reduce delay on the delivery of projects
when adhered to.

Conclusions and Recommendation

Based on the analysis of data conclusions were reached and recommendations were
made. The conclusions and recommendations are relative to the questionnaire and
comments from respondents.
Conclusions from the questionnaire include:
 The lack of setting of time lines with regard to execution of tasks is the factor that
has the most negative influence on delay in the delivery of projects. Workers tend to
lazy of work at a slow rate when there is no time line set for them to achieve certain
level of productivity, which in turn adversely affects project delivery time.
 The non-availability of materials on site is the second factor with the high influence
on productivity and adversely affects the delivery of projects.
 The lack of usage of critical path method negatively impact on speed of
construction, therefore resulting in project delay. Critical path method has the
advantage of identifying critical activities in the construction process. The lack of its
usage may lead to skipping critical activities and cause delay in the delivery of
projects.

28
Conclusions from respondents‘ comments show that the three factors which are likely to
have significant effect in the delivery of projects pointed by respondents are:
 Late payment to contractor will slow down production levels of contractor and may
induce delay in the delivery of project.
 Contractor‘s incompetence‘s will introduce rework and ultimately delay in the
delivery of projects.
 Contractors‘ cash flow problems in the form of insolvency, not credit worthy may
lead to stagnation of construction work, in addition to late payment to contractors.

In addition, based on the analysis made of the twelve categories of problems identified
in this study, it was found that the factors identified in this research could cause 35.3%
of delay on projects, with respect to the initial project time. Respondents identified
categories of factors that could minimise delays on projects, when adequate attentions
are paid to them. They are: the use of good management techniques for planning and
control; clients understand the design and construction processes; the quality of
management during construction and design.

From the conclusions reached, the following recommendations are made. Time lines
should be set for each task to be carried out in order to avoid wasteful time. Materials
stock taking carried out at a regular interval on site, to ascertain level of stocks relative
to make requisition for materials. A good planning and control mechanism should be
decided on at the onset of the project. Payment to contractors should be mad promptly,
and ascertain contractors‘ financial capabilities before awarding contract. In addition,
the competence of contractor must be verified. The use of 35.3% addition on the initial
contract period is encouraged in the estimation of contract period. Clients are advised to
acquaint themselves of the construction processes. It will assist in making quick
decision. The comments of respondents were collated and analysed using percentages
and were later ranked according to the factor with the highest percentage. Adequate
attention should be paid to the quality of management during construction and design.

References
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sector construction projects. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 27(1),
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30
 Causes and effects of Building Projects abandonment
in Delta State Ministry of Housing, Nigeria
CO Bubu1, CO Aigbavboa2 and WD Thwala3
123
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Email: aigclinton@gmail.com, didibhukut@uj.ac.za

Abstract:
Abandonment of building projects leads to many negative effects such as disputes
between clients and contractors, increased costs, lost of productivity and revenue, and
eventually termination of the contract. This paper investigates the causes and effects of
building projects abandonment in Delta State MOH, Nigeria. The data used in this paper
were derived from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was obtained
through the use of a structured questionnaire survey. This was distributed to Quantity
Surveyors, Civil Engineers, Architects, Builders, and Contractors that are
registered with the Ministry of Housing, Delta State, Nigeria for at least five years.
Fifty-five structured questionnaire were used for the survey. Out of the 55
questionnaires sent out, all were received back representing 100% response rate. After a
careful examination of the received questionnaires, only 50 were usable; these formed
the basis of the analysis for the paper. The secondary data for the study was derived
from the review of literatures. Findings from the questionnaire analysis revealed that the
major causes of building project abandonment in MOH, Delta State Nigeria where:
delay in payment, inadequate finance, inadequate planning and political influence
amongst others. While the findings on the effect of building project abandonment from
the study where: disappointment of the populace, wastage/under-utilization of resources
and reduction of employment opportunities amongst others. The study contributes to the
body of knowledge on the subject of building project abandonment in Delta State,
Nigeira and in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Keywords:
Abandonment, Building project, Construction Industry, Ministry of Housing, Nigeria

Introduction
The Nigeria building construction industry is one of the driving forces in the growth of
the country‘s socio economic development. However, one of the major problems facing
the industry is the frequent abandonment of projects, which decelerates the multiplier
effects of the industry to the Nigeria economy. The industry and the respective
ministries responsible for the development of the country‘s infrastructure have suffered
many setbacks as a result of non-completion of initiated project at the stipulated period
within the predetermine sum. For the past three decades, construction project in the
Nigeria public sector has been experiencing time and cost overrun which in turn lead to
the abandonment of projects. Hence, the present study is posed to establish the specific
factors that actually causes abandonment of projects in Delta State Ministry of Housing.

31
Scholars have reported that Nigeria has become the world‘s junk-yard of abandoned
projects worth billions of dollars, and it is greatly unthinkable to believe that a country
which is ranked amongst the 10 world producers of crude oil with a rich heritage of
construction professionals will experience such magnitude of project abandonment all
over the country. According to the International Crisis Group (2006) report, Nigeria has
earned over $400 billion as oil revenue since the early 1970s. Despite these huge
foreign exchange earnings, the economy under performs, and the great majority of the
people have not been able to derive much benefits from the eanings of the natural
resources. Despite this, poverty, unemployment, decay infrastructure, lack of basic
human needs, abandonment of building projects, amongst others are embracing sights in
the country.

Majority of the abandoned projects across the country are mainly public projects that
include power plants, school building, residential low cost housing, roads, rail, ports
amongst others. For instance, a recent report by the Nigeria Senate Committee on
Petroleum (Downstream) unearthed abandoned projects worth over 2 billion naira at the
Petroleum Training Institute, Warri, Delta State. While the Presidential Projects
Assessment Committee (PPAC) in 2011 identified 11,886 uncompleted/abandoned
Federal Government projects all over the country‘s thirty-six states including the
Federal Capital Territory, that was estimated at a cost of 7.78 trillion naira ($4.8
billion). The total projects duration was estimated at five years, assuming no cost
overruns or delays are encountered. However, the figures did not include the state
governments‘ projects, which would have raised the stakes were they to be within the
purview of the committee‘s duty. For instance, the abandoned N2.9 billion bridge
project at Ebu, near Asaba in Delta State. The project was started by the
federal government in 2006 and transferred to the Delta State government in 2007. After
two years of work, the project has now been abandoned since 2009 after
50% completion of the scope of work. The fore-goings reveal that the Nigeria
construction industry has more than enough potentials to facilitate the country‘s socio-
economic growth if the present problems of building projects abandonment is avoided.
Abandonment of building projects lead to many negative effects such as disputes
between clients and contractors, increased costs, loss of productivity and revenue, and
eventually termination of the contract. Therefore, this paper investigates the causes and
effects of building projects abandonment in the Delta State MOH, in Nigeria. The paper
starts with an overview of the concept of building project abandonment, followed by an
explanation of the methdology design; presentation of the findings and discussions
before conclusion were drawn and recommendation made.

Building project abandonment

Abandoned building projects can be described as the projects that has started which the
construction work for one reason or the other has stopped. Also, Olalusi and Otunola
(2012) posit that abandonment of projects refers to structures on which taxes and
mortgages are not paid, and for which services are neither paid for nor provided. They
are unoccupied, vandalized, boarded-up, deteriorated or those which have unmaintained
grounds. It can also mean an owner ceasing to provide maintenance and operating
services to a building, or the loss of an owner‘s legal right to a building, or the
demolition of a building. In its simplest form, it is the non-completion of a project

32
within the time frame of a contract. However, these definition does not completely
relate to the Nigeria situation as many of the building contracts and other projects in
Nigeria are outrightly abandoned even at conception. However, Akindoyemi (2005)
deferred on the above definition, advocating that a project is never considered
abandoned, rather the project must have been suspended as a result of the proprietor
lacking funds to continue in the main time. Within the Nigeria context, specifically
relating to the Delta State MOH, abandonment of building projects can be referred to as
a situation whereby state finance building projects are suspended and neglected, with
respect to the government ceasing to provide financial and professional services to the
conceived project, which evetually is not completed and within the original time frame
of the contract. Most times, the abandonment of projects span a space of four to five
years before attention are again accorded the projects only when it occupies a central
role in the activities of the state. Hence, most of the suspended or abandoned projects
are re-awarded with new contract terms different from the first process.

According to Olalusi and Otunola (2012), a good number of building project in Nigeria
initiated with good intentions are abandoned at different stages of the design and
construction process. Likewise, Oyelola (2010) and Olalusi and Otunola (2012)
advanced that some of the major reasons for abandonment of building projects in most
MOH accros the country include: incorrect estimation; lack of available skilled
personnel; inadequate planning; poor risk management; misunderstanding of the work
requirement; poor quality control by regulatory agencies; corruption and
communication gap among the personnel. Other factors are cost; lack of technical
experience of the contractors; inability of the government to engage contractors or
designers capability to do the work; failure on the part of contractors to obtain vital
inputs such as materials, manpower and machines.

Other factors which have been found as contributing to project abandonment in Nigeria
include inconsistent government policies, lack of accountability, high level of
corruption, political influence, incompetent contractors,non-compliance with
international stardards, non-availability of building materials, lack of utilities or
infrastructural facilities, wrong location amongst others have also been advanced as
causes of abandonment of building project (Aibinu and Jagboro, 2002; Adeleke, 2005;
Olalusi and Otunola (2012); Mohammed and Isah, 2012; Oyelola, 2010). For instance,
non-compliance with international standard and poor planning can lead both the
government and the contractors to abandon a project, due to the fact that such projects
may not meet the relevant criteria in structuring it. At a point, before completion, such
errors may become manifest and if not resolved as it should, the project will thus be
abandoned. Also, inconsistence of government policies can also affect government
projects if there is dishonesty within the policy makers. Hence, it is paramount to take
make proper analysis in terms of finance, and other important materials for completion
of the project before commissioning and embarking on a project.

A non-strigent factor which also brings about project abandonment which is a major
factor in Nigeria and mostly in Delta State and in all other Niger-Delta region is
community leadership. In some communities the youths hinder project being executed,
due to the fact that they expect returns to them before construction of building or other
infrastructure can be executived in their community. Building projects abandonment is
both a social and economic menace in Nigeria as most government projects are

33
abandoned half way after commencement by contractors due to many factors as
discussed above. Abandonment of projects invariably leads to waste of resources in the
form of capital, material, human power, loss of jobs, promotion of illegal activities,
adverse effect on community, aesthetics and so on. Hence, Rwelamila and Lobelo
(2000) advocates that construction firms should inculcate operational, strategic,
personal, technological, marketing and environmental strategies in order to cushion the
effect of financial predicament associated with project abandonment. Project
abandonment is not restricted to developing countries only. Hicks, (2008) informs that it
is a well-known concept on construction projects in California, USA. But the causes of
abandonmnet in the developed countries is not similar with the developing nations like
Nigeria. Hicks (2008) further inform that this problem generally arises when the
project‘s design is so deficient that the contractor performs a massive amount of change
orders and extra work.

Research Methodology
The geographical area where this study was conducted is Delta State of Nigeria. This
area was chosen as the survey site because of the attention given to Delta state, as one of
the oil producing state. Thus, the in terms of Nigeria budgetary and other monetary
allocations, Delta State receives the third largest allocation or fourth. Despite this huge
level of inflow of funds, the state is highly behind in housing and infrastructure
development.

Delta State is a state in Nigeria, which lies approximately between Longitude 5°00 and
6°.45‘ East and Latitude 5°00 and 6°.30‘ North. It is bounded in the north by Edo State,
the east by Anambra State, south-east by Bayelsa State, and on the southern flank is the
Bight of Benin which covers about 160kilometres of the State's coastline. Delta State is
generally low-lying without remarkable hills. The State has a wide coastal belt inter-
lace with rivulets and streams, which form part of the Niger-Delta. Delta State was
carved out of the former Bendel State on August 27th 1991. The state was created
following agitations for the creation of separate distinct states by the Urhobos and
Anioma regions. The state comprises of the Urhobo, Isoko, Aniomas, Ijaw and Itsekiri.

The whole ethnic-groups that comprise the Delta are administratively grouped into three
senatorial districts namely Delta North, Delta South and Delta Central for easy
administrative purposes. Delta is an oil producing state of Nigeria situated in the Niger
Delta region, South-South Geo-political zone with a population of 4,098,291 (Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 2007). The Niger Delta is a region comprising the delta of Niger
River and oil producing areas to the east and west of the natural delta. The capital city is
Asaba located at the northern end of the state with an estimated area of 762 km2,
while Warri is the economic nerve of the state and also the most populated location in
the southern end of the state. The state has a total land area of 16,842 km2. Delta State
runs a two-tier system of government namely; the state government and the local
government administration.

The data used in this paper were derived from both primary and secondary sources. The
primary data was obtained through the survey method, while the secondary data were
derived from the review of literature and archival records. The primary data were

34
obtained through the use of a structured questionnaire survey. This was distributed to a
total of 55 Quantity Surveyors, Civil Engineers, Architects, Builders, and Contractors
who are registered with the Delta State Ministry of Housing situated in Asaba; for at
least five years and who have executed a minimum of three building projects either via
professional consultancy services or contruction works with MOH. This yardstick was
considered vital for the survey in order to have a true reflection of the causes of project
abandonment in Delta State MOH. Another reason for considerating a minimum of five
years registration with MOH was to adequately captured the effect of political influence
(appointment and management) in the state, which may have effects project delivery.

The professionals and contractors were selected from a numerical list of professioanls
and contractors registered with MOH. Systematic sampling techniques were adopted in
the selection. This according to Leedy (1980) minimizes bias. Based on the result of
tossing of a coin, the selection was commenced with the first number in the arithmetic
progression of odd numbers. All registered professional and contractors of the adopted
range had an equal chance to be drawn and to occur in the sample. All professional and
contractors who have been registered for a minimum of 5 years were chosen as the
sample frame. This process was essential to obtain true representativeness of the entire
sample. Out of the 55 questionnaires sent out, all were received back representing 100%
response rate. However, after a careful examination of the received questionnaires, only
50 were usable (91.0%), which formed the basis of the analysis for the paper. This was
considered adequate for the analysis based on the assertion by Moser and Kalton (1971)
that the result of a survey could be considered as biased and of little value if the return
rate was lower than 30–40%. The data presentation and analysis made use of frequency
distributions and percentages of all the respondents. The research was conducted
between the months of July to August, 2012.

Mean Item Score (MIS)

A 5-point Likert scale was used to determine the causes and effects of building project
abandonment in Delta State MOH. The adopted scale read as follows, 1=Strongly
disagree, 2= Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, and 5=Strongly agree. The five-point scale
was transformed to a Mean Item Score (MIS) for each of the factors in terms of cause
and effects. The indices were then used to determine the rank of each item. These
rankings made it possible to cross compare the relative importance of the items as
perceived by the respondents. The MIS was based on the previous studies as conducted
by Aibinu and Jagboro (2002), Ayodele and Alabi (2011) and Kometa et al. (1995) that
used the ‗MIS‘ index method in rating their study criteria. This method was also
adopted to analyze the data collected from the questionnaire survey.

The computation of the MIS was calculated from the total of all weighted responses and
then comparing it to the total responses on a particular aspect. This was based on the
principle that respondents‘ scores on all the selected criteria, considered together, are
the empirically determined indices of relative importance. The index of MIS of a
particular factor is the sum of the respondents‘ actual scores (on the 5-point scale) given
by all the respondents‘ as a proportion of the sum of all maximum possible scores on the
5-point scale that all the respondents could give to that criterion. Weighting were
assigned to each responses ranging from one to five for the responses of ‗strongly

35
disagree‘ to ‗strongly agree‘. This is expressed mathematically below. The MIS index
(MIS) was calculated for each item as follows, after Lim and Alum (1995):

MIS = 1n1 + 2n2 + 3n3 +4n4+5n5……………………………..equation 1

∑N
Where;
n1 = number of respondents for strongly disagree
n5 = number of respondents for strongly agree
N = Total number of respondents

Following the mathematical computations, the criteria are then ranked in descending
order of their MIS (from the highest to the lowest). The next section of the article
presents the findings of the survey and discussion.

Findings and Discussion

Findings from the 50 usable questionnaires revealed that 28.0% of the respondents have
school living certificate (matric), 25.0% have diploma or its equivalent degree, 31.3%
have B-degree and 15.6% have an M-degree as their highest qualification. Further
findings revealed that 60.0% of the respondents who are construction professionals,
were all professionally registered with their professional bodies. The average years of
experience of the respondents stands at 8 years, while on the average the respondents
had handled a minimum of 4 different building projects for the Delta State MOH. This
suggests that the respondents have an adequate knowledge of the dealings of the MOH.
Hence, their responses could be used to establish the causes and effects of project
abandonment in the ministry.

Based on the ranking of the weighted average from the MIS for the listed factors (Table
1), it was observed that the most dorminant causes of abandonment of building project
in the Delta State MOH were delay in payment (MIS=4.50), inadequate funding /
finance (MIS=4.00), political influence (MIS=3.91) and inadequate planning
(MIS=3.78). Other factors assessed which which were not considerd dominant as
contributing to project abandonment include; under-pricing of BOQ (MIS=3.22), faulty
design (MIS=2.88), Dispute (MIS=2.84) and change in management (MIS=2.66). A
prominent factors that the respondents found as the major cause of project abandonment
though it was not considered in the factors assessed, was corruption.

Findings from the survey supports the works of Aibinu and Jagboro (2002), Ayodele
and Alabi (2011), Adedeji (1998) and Opara (1986). In these studies, delay in payment
to the contractors, inadequate funding, finance and planning were all identified as the
major causes of project abandonment in Nigeria, without a particular reference to any
geographical location. Hence, the findings suggests that adequate project planning in
order to identify and properly plan for every risk elements of building construction is
needed in order for viable projects not to be abandoned along the way.

36
 Table 1: Causes of building project abandonment in Delta State Ministry of Housing

Causes MIS Ranking

Delay in payment 4.50 1
Inadequate funding / finance 4.00 2
Political influence 3.91 3
Inadequate planning 3.78 4
Inflation 3.66 5
Incompetent project managers 3.66 6
Unqualified / incompetent consultants 3.53 7
Variation of project scope 3.47 8
Inadequate cost control 3.34 9
Change in priority 3.25 10
Bankruptcy of contractor 3.22 11
Wrong estimate (Under-pricing of BOQ) 3.22 12
Improper documentation 2.94 13
Administrative/legal action 2.91 14
Faulty design 2.88 15
Dispute 2.84 16
Change of management 2.66 17
Natural disaster 2.44 18

Also, the findings relating to inadequate funding / finance is in agreement with the work
of Odenyinka and Yusuf (1997), where it was found that owner‘s cash flow problem is
a major factor responsible for abandonment of project in Nigeria. Likewise the general
assertion of the respondent with regards to the influence of corruption is a major dilema
of the entire Nigeria community and not just to abandonment of building projects. This
findings concurs with the findings of the work done by Ayodele (2010) on Bribery and
Corruption in Nigerian Construction Industry. The result of the study revealed that
between 5% and 15% and at times up to 40% of the awarded contract sum in projects
undertaken by the governement, are illegally expended on bribery and corruption to
government officials during the execution of the contract.

However, the findings on the score of faulty design of building did not concur with the
work of Hicks (2008), where it was discovered that the causes of building abandonment
in the developing country is mainly as a result of faulty and inadequate design errors.
Also, Political influence was ranked as the third most influenctial factors that brings
abount project abandonment in Delta State MOH. This finding was in agreement with
the work of Ayodele and Alabi (2011), Omoniyi (1996) and Onikute (1988) who
informed that changes in government / administration have often meant changes in
policies. Hence, project commenced by previous political administrative government
are often abandoned to give way for their newly concerned idea in order to advance
their political mandate. Furthermore, when the respondents were asked to rate the effect
of abandonment of project on the citizens of Delta State, the following as show in Table
2 were the results obtained.

37
 Table 2: Effects of construction project abandonment

Causes MIS Ranking

Disappointment of the populace 4.09 1
Wastage/under-utilization of resources 4.09 1
Reduction of employment opportunities 4.03 2
Decrease in tempo of economic activities 3.88 3
Lack of trust from the populace 3.66 4
Decrease in revenue accruing to
government 3.63 5
Lowering of living standard 3.56 6
Difficulties in attracting foreign loans 3.34 7

Findings revealed that disappointment of the populace (MIS=4.09) and wastage / under-
ultilization of resources ((MIS=4.09) were scored as the most devastating effect of
project abandonment to the Delta State MOH. Others include the reduction of
employment (MIS=4.03) which was ranked second, followed by the decrease in the
tempo of economic activities (MIS=4.03) and lack of trust from the populace
(MIS=3.66). Other findings from the survey revealed that lowering of living standard
(MIS=3.56) and difficulties in attracting foreign loans (MIS=3.34) were rank sixth and
seventh as the least effects of project abandonment to the State. These findings were in
agreement with the work of Ayodele and Alabi (2011), Olalusi and Otunola (2012) and
Aluko (2008). However, the findings of Aluko (2008) that was based on a qualitative
research itemized the effects of project abandonment in Nigeria as: unemployment,
reduction in government revenue, reduction in economic activities, lowering standard of
living, and wastage of resources.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The paper set out to explore the causes and effects of building project abandonment in
Delta State Ministry of Housing in Nigeria. Literature review showed that the Nigeia
government and its respective State government such as, Delta State government have
enough resources to conceive and timeously complete any prospective project. Also,
literature further revealed that the causes of building project abandonment in Nigeria is
different from what casues building project abondonment in other places. This paper
examined causes of building project abondonment in the context of 18 identified
features as compiled from an extensive literature survey. Findings from the study
supported work done by previous scholars that not a singlular factor is responsible for
buiding project abondonment in Delta State MOH, as it is in other areas of Nigeria.
Further findings revealed that there are corresponding negative effcts of abandonment to
the Ministry of Housing department and the citizens of Delta State. The empirical study,
although based on a relatively small sample of construction professionals and
contractors in Delta State MOH; the findings are indicative of the the causes and effects
of building project abandonment in Delta State. In terms of reliability of the
methodology adopted; when the procedure is followed in a bigger and more diversed
sample, findings would justify the current study. Therefore, the results revealed in this
study gives valuable insights for the improvement of much better run contractors in
Delta State MOH and in other states of the federation.

38
It is therefore recommended that the following should be adopted in order to
significantly reduce the effects of building project abandonment in Delta State MOH
and in other State MOH. The government should endeavour to undertake adequate
planning for building projects at the inception and should fund available and provided
for based on a reliable estimate as will be prepared by the respective professionals
during the inception of the projects. Also, they should engage services of competent
contractors with strong financial stand, as the study findings revealed that a majority of
the contractors had only a secondary school leaving certificate. Also, prompt payment
should be made to the contractor in order to enable them to have a good cash flow
during the duration of the contract. Also, the government should put in place sound
monetary efforts to reduce inflation and when there is change in political government,
previously started job should not be abandoned for the furtherance of new plitical
agenda. Also, government should provide adequate funding for projects and refrain
from embarking on white elephant projects. Where there are options, they should
embark on projects that are less cost effective, and which touche the lives of the people,
both in the urban and rural areas. Lastly, the aspect of citizens participation should be
incorporated into building construction projects in order to prevent the disturbance from
the local during project execution.

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Civil Engineering Construction Firms in South Africa. 2nd International Conference
on Construction in Developing Countries. Rotterdam (Netherlands): 1-15.

40
 Evaluation of Building Material Wastage level in the
Nigeria Construction Industry
BO Ganiyu1, LO Oyewobi2, WA Ola-awo3 and DO Oghuma4
1234
Department of Quantity Surveying,
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
Email: bashiroganiyu@futminna.edu.ng

Abstract:
The study focused on evaluation of factors contributing to material wastages, materials
prone to excessive wastage, percentage wastage, wastage index & wastage level, ways
of minimizing material wastages and evaluation of volume of wastages generated from
building projects. Four construction materials were taken into consideration, namely;
concrete, block, timber and reinforcement. Structured questionnaire was used in the
quantitative data gathering and analysed. Results shows that construction related factors
are the most frequently occurring, and the most significant contributors to overall
wastage of material on site. Blocks and Timber (formwork) have the highest wastage
index signifying the wastage level of these two materials, compare to concrete and
reinforcement. Effective material planning and control policy were perceived to be the
most significant strategy for minimizing material wastage. The result also shows that as
the volume of material-wastes generated from building construction project increases,
so the total cost of building increases and variations in the increase of material-waste
generated from building projects accounts for 97.3% in the shortage of materials
apportioned for each item in the bill of quantities (BOQ).

Keywords:
Construction, Materials, Wastes, Nigeria

Introduction
Material wastages on building construction project are a global problem, which
represents loss of profits. According to Ekanayake and Ofori (2000), ―waste‖ is a
familiar term in the industry world-wide, it is difficult to compare construction waste
figures from different construction sites due to a number of reasons, which includes the
use of varying definitions; and the use of different estimation approaches. Material
wastage is defined by Chartered Institute of Building (1979) as ―the difference between
the value of those material delivered and accepted on the site and those properly used as
specified and as accurately measure in the work, after deducting the cost of substitute
materials and those transferred elsewhere‖. Waste is also perceived as construction
material that is additional to the actual quantity required in the work as indicated in the
contract document, but nevertheless required or used in performing the work.

It is incontrovertible that material is the most central construction input around which
resolves the efficiency or inefficiency of labour, plant and equipment. Several authors
asserted that as at late 1974 the quantities of bricks wasted on housing projects were

41
enough to build 15,000 houses. Motete, Mbachu, and Nkado (2003) confirmed that
bricks and concrete have the highest wastage indices signifying that wastage levels of
these two materials and their contribution to construction cost overruns are the most
critical compared with other building materials in a project where they are used. The
sights of broken blocks and wasted heaps of concrete littering all over most construction
sites in Nigeria could attest to this finding.

However, material wastage has serious cost implications for stakeholders in the building
procurement process; for the contractor, it reduces significantly the expected profit from
a project; and for the developer, it escalates the development costs and undermines
value. To the consumers and the society at large, it results in high purchase price and
rental charges. Hence, the need to analyse the effects of material wastage with a view to
minimizing material wastages on building construction projects exists.

Literature Review
Nwachukwu (2004) sees material management as the single manager organization
concept embracing the planning, organizing, motivating and controlling of all those
activities and personnel principally concerned with the flow of material into an
organization. According to Rogoff and Williams (1994), 29% of solid-wastes in the
United States of America (USA) are construction wastes. These investigations
demonstrated that construction business is a large contributor to waste generation. The
benefits of managing construction wastes are multiple. It benefits both the environment
and the construction firms in terms of cost reduction. Tam, Shen and Tam (2007) also
opined that reducing building material wastages can achieve higher construction
productivity, save time and achieve safety improvement.

The literature reported that some materials are more prone to waste than others:
concrete, masonry and pipes have the highest average wastage level of all the materials
studied. The same study estimate that wastage could be as much as 100% more than
usually allowed for in estimating. Johnston (1997) asserted that more than 6 million tons
of sand is wasted during contract and that 7 million square meters concrete blocks either
disappeared or unaccounted for during valuations; and losses of timber amounted to
more than 11 million squares meters. The potential effect of material wastage on
contract sum is frightening, but positive action needs to be taken to remedy the situation
in Nigeria.

Material Waste Management in the Construction Industry

Waste in the construction industry has been the subject of several research projects
around the world in recent years. Some of them have focused on the environmental
damage those results from the generation of material waste (Formoso et al., 1999). The
Hong Kong Polytechnic and the Hong Kong Construction Association (1993) conducted
a research on construction waste aimed to reduce the generation of waste at source, and
to proposed alternative methods for treatment of construction waste in order to reduce
the demand for final disposal areas. Bossink and Brouwers (1996) conducted a research
project in The Netherlands, concerned with the measurement and prevention of
construction waste regarding sustainability requirements.

42
Causes of Construction Site Waste Generation
Many factors contribute to construction waste generation. Waste may occur due to one
or a combination of many causes. Crittenden and Kolaczkowski (1995) suggest human
and mechanical factor. Additional sources of construction waste include: design;
procurement; handling of materials; operation; and so on. Motete et al. (2003) identifies
various factors contributing to material wastage, namely, client, design, management
and construction related, material storage and supply and phenomenal occurrences. The
factors identified after review of literature were placed under four major sources as:
design; operational; material handling and procurement, mainly for the practical
purpose of the survey. .

Research Methodology
The target respondents for the study were consultants (Quantity Surveyors, Engineers)
and contractor, operating in major cities in Nigeria, whom the researcher believed had
first-hand information of things happening on building construction sites. Descriptive
statistics tools were employed in analysing the data that are presented. Ranking was
used to analyse some of the data through the use of factor analysis, significant index and
ranking of best value contributing factor (BVCF), while mean was used to assess the
factors contributing to material wastages and suggested strategies for minimizing
material wastages.

The scales for the questionnaires were used to calculate the mean score for each factor,
which was later used to determine the relative ranking of different factors by assigning
ranks to the means scores with low mean scores assigned low ranks and high scores
allocated high ranks. This is given in equation below. The relative significance index of
the five CSFs (critical success factors) and those of the SSFs (sub-success factors) under
each CSF were calculated separately. The 0–5 scale used in the questionnaire survey
was converted to a 0–100 scale, with 0 representing the lowest and 100 the highest.

Significance index

Si=Ri0 X 0 + Ri1 X 20 + Ri2 X 40 + Ri3 X 60 + Ri4 X 80 + Ri5 X100

Ri0+Ri1+Ri2+Ri3+Ri4+Ri5
= 20Ri1 + 40Ri2 + 60Ri3 + 80Ri4 + 100Ri5
Ri0 + Ri1 + Ri2 + Ri3 + Ri4 + Ri5
Relative indexes= Mean of Reponses
∑ Mean of Reponses
The concept of material wastage index was developed in this study as an indicator of the
wastage rate of a given material and the contribution of the material wastage to
construction cost. The index was computed using the formulae adopted from Motete et
al. (2003); Crittenden and Kolaczkowski (1995); Tam et al. (2007) in the equation
below:

(V) = Truck volume (m3)

(N) = Total no of truck loads for waste disposal
(W) = Total wastage generated by the project (m3) = (V) x (N)
(C) = Waste index = W/GFA (m3/m2)

43
The index was computed as follows in equation 3 below:
Wastage level (%) = Mp – Mu x 100%
Mp
Where Mp is the purchased material, Mu is the used material (m2 in concrete, Tonne for
reinforcement, m2 for timber formwork and m2 for block work).

Findings and Discussion

The results showed that (Table 1a and 1b) out of the six broad categories of factors,
under client related contributed significantly, these are; expectation of two high
standards and undue interference with the execution of the project. Inclusive or
incorrect standard specification and detailing errors pertain to design.

Construction related factors include: idle (waiting periods), abnormal wear of

equipment, misinterpretation of drawings, pilfering and vandalism and excess material
input, especially due to over-excavation. And in terms of management: delay in planned
activities, mode of material delivery, site accidents and acts of God.

The results also show that majority of the respondents perceived effective material
planning and control as the most effective strategy for minimizing material wastages.
This concurs with the findings of Motete et al. (2003) who also laments on the ―serious
lack of awareness and care amongst management and supervisory employees regarding
the utilization of materials and equipment.

From the results in Figure 1 & 2, it can be deduced that blocks and timber formwork
have the highest wastage indices, signifying that the wastage levels of these two
materials and their contributions to construction cost overrun are the most critical,
compared to concrete and reinforcement. The sights of broken blocks and wasted heaps
of timber all over construction sites could attest to this finding. Not only do they have
serious cost implications, the health and safety (H&S) risks posed by their littering are
quite alarming.

Results of analysis on material wastage index and cost of building project display strong
statistical relationships. In experiment 1, as the changes in volume of material wastage
generated from construction projects increases, so the total cost of building projects
increases and the result is statistically significant (R2=80.2%). And in experiment 2,
variations in the increase of material wastages generated from construction projects
were responsible for 97.3% in the shortage of materials apportioned for each item in the
BOQ.

44
Table 1a: Responses from Factors contributing to Material Wastage on Significance Indexes of Sub-
factors

Success sub-factors VH H AVG L VL Significance Relative Rank

5 4 3 2 1 indexes indexes
Client related

Undue pressure to
deliver, resulting in 7 7 9 2 1 46.9231 0.2283 3
crash programme
Expectations of too
high standards 2 7 7 6 2 59.1667 0.2879 1
Late
changes/alterations 9 6 5 4 1 45.6 0.2219 4
leading
Undue tointerference
abortive
work
with the execution of
the project 0 15 5 5 1 53.8462 0.262 2

∑ Mean
205.5359
Design Related

Architect's variation
instruction 4 10 7 4 0 48.8 0.3115 3

Detailing errors
4 6 12 4 0 52.3077 0.3339 2
Inclusive or incorrect
standard specifications 0 15 4 7 1 55.5556 0.3546 1

∑ Mean 156.6632
Construction Related

Poor supervision 9 11 2 2 4 46.4286 0.11 7

Pilfering and vandalism
4 6 8 3 5 59.2308 0.1404 4
Faulty workmanship
7 10 5 3 2 47.4074 0.1123 6
and abortive work
Excess material input
especially due to over- 4 6 8 8 1 57.037 0.1352 5
excavation
Misinterpretation of
drawings 3 4 8 7 4 63.8462 0.1513 3
Abnormal wear of 0 4 8 9 5 71.5385 0.1695 2
Equipment
Idle (waiting periods) 0 3 7 4 9 76.5217 0.1813 1
∑Mean 422.0101

45
Table 1b: Responses from Factors contributing to Material Wastage on Significance Indexes of Sub-
factors

Management Related

Poor planning and 7 10 6 4 0 45.1852 0.2223 3

organization
Poor material 10 9 4 1 3 43.7037 0.215 4
management practices
Over-estimating the 2 12 5 4 2 53.6 0.2637 2
quantity required
Delays in plan 0 6 15 5 1 60.7407 0.2989 1
activities
∑ Mean 203.2296
Supply and Storage
Related
Poor storage 9 6 6 3 2 46.9231 0.2041 4
Improper material 5 10 6 5 0 48.4615 0.2108 3
handling
Mode of delivery (e.g. 2 7 6 4 5 62.5 0.2719 2
loose as against
packaged forms)
Manufacturing defects 0 4 8 7 6 72 0.3132 1
∑ Mean 229.8846
Phenomenal
Occurrences
Negligence / 1 12 7 6 1 55.5556 0.2859 3
carelessness
Damage by inclement 2 4 8 8 4 66.1538 0.3405 2
conditions
Site accidents and acts 2 2 7 9 7 72.5926 0.3736 1
of God
∑ Mean 194.302

46
 Relationship between material wastages and total volume of work the BOQ

20000 600000
volume of work the BOQ

18000
16000 500000

material wastages
14000 400000
12000
10000 300000
8000
6000 200000
4000 100000
2000
0 0

project no.

Material wastages Volume of work in the BOQ

Figure 1: Material wastages on building projects and total volume of work in the B.O.Q

Figure 2: Examination of materials prone to excessive wastages and their relative contribution to cost
overrun

Conclusions and Further Research

Because efficient use of materials reduces the quantities of waste generated, the need to
manage the materials through disposal or recycling in construction industry cannot be
over emphasised. The factors underlying material wastages on building sites could be

47
broadly categorized into design, management and construction related as well as storage
and supply and phenomenal occurrences. Construction related factors are the most
frequently occurring and contribute most significantly to overall material wastage
levels. The leading factors in all groups are poor supervision (construction related), poor
planning and organization (management related) and improper storage (storage and
supply). The materials of greatest concern in terms of high wastage rates and
contribution to construction cost overruns are blocks and timber formwork.

Acknowledgement
The support that was received from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, most
especially from employees and student at the Quantity Surveying Department is warmly
acknowledged.

References
Bossink, B.A.G. & Brouwers, H.J.H. (1996), Construction waste: quantification and
source evaluation. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol.
122(1), pp. 55–60.
Chartered Institute of Building (1979) Site Control Guide. Bershire, UK; CIOB.
Crittenden B. & Kolaczkowski, S. (1995), ‗Waste minimisation: a practical guide‘.
Rugby, Warwickshire, UK: Institution of Chemical Engineers.
Ekanayake, L.L. & Ofori, G. (2000), Construction material waste source evaluation,
Proceedings of Strategies for a Sustainable Built Environment Conference, 23 - 25
August 2000, Pretoria.
Formoso, C.T., Isatto, E.L. & Hirota, E.H. (1999), Method for Waste Control in the
Building Industry, In: 7th annual conference of the International Group for Lean
Construction proceedings, 26-28 July 1999, California, Berkeley, USA.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic and the Hong Kong Construction Association (1993),
Reduction of Construction Waste: Final Report, Hong Kong.
Johnston J.E. (1997), Site control of materials. London: Butterworth.
Motete, L., Mbachu, J.I., & Nkado, R.N. (2003). Investigations into material wastages
on building sites. In T. Haupt, & JS. Eds (Eds.) Construstion Industry Development
Board of South Africa - 1st Postgraduate Research Conference. (pp. 288 - 295).
Brooklyn Square, South Africa.
Nwachukwu G.O. (2004), The impact of materials management on projects profitability
and corporate survival, NIQS Journal, Vol. 47, pp. 116-125.
Rogoff, M.J. & Williams, J.F. (1994), Approaches to implementing solid waste
recycling facilities. Park Ridge, N.J: Noyes Publications.
Tam, V.W.Y. Shen, L.Y. & Tam, C.M. (2007), Assessing the levels of material wastage
affected by subcontracting relationships and projects types with their correlations.
Building and Environment, Vol. 42(3), pp. 1471-1477.

48
 Investigating the Application of Information
Management System (IMS) during the Construction
Stage of Projects in Gauteng
S Venkatachalam1, T Ismail2, S Skinner3 and M Wadvalla4
1234
School of Construction Economics and Management,
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Email: senthilkumar.venkatachalam@wits.ac.za

Abstract:
The construction industry is continuously evolving and becoming more complex as it is
an information dependent process involving varying project professionals. With the
increasing complexity of the industry, new techniques and systems have to be
implemented by construction firms to cope with this level of complexity in order to be
competitive. The overall objective of this study is to investigate the implementation of
information management systems (IMS) in assisting to solve the complexities with
respect to time, efficiency and productivity on small to medium construction related
firms in Gauteng during the construction phase of a modern project. The investigation is
carried out through a structured questionnaire interview with the IMS and Non IMS
firms regarding their time efficiency in their project delivery and its relationship with
the IMS. The results of the study suggest that the IMS implementation improves the
information communication among the project stakeholders and thereby reduce the time
delay and avoid revisions and rework during the construction phase. The study also
revealed that the IMS implementations among the small and medium companies are low
and which need to be improved for better timely delivery of construction projects.

Keywords:
Construction, Communication, Information,Time Management, Gauteng

Introduction
The construction industry is characterized for its fragmented nature and its information
intensive processes (Anumba & Evbuomwan, 1999; Tam, 1999; Lottaz et al., 2000;
Thomas et al., 2001; Gajendran, et al., 2004). These complexities have not produced
adverse effect as the traditional project execution follows a sequential path. Further, the
construction industry has undergone significant changes during the 21st century.
Innovative techniques such as supply chain management, total quality management and
lean production principles have been applied to improve the execution phase of the
construction projects, as it consumes a major part of the project cost. However the small
and medium companies cannot afford to adopt these well-established systems in project
control. These result in delay, rework, cost overruns, material wastes, quality
deficiencies, poor productivity, and reduced stakeholders‘ satisfaction. Many of these
defects can be attributed to the poor communication among the project stakeholders.

49
The aim of this study is to establish the effect of Information Management System
(IMS) on the effectiveness of communication of project information and time efficiency
during the construction phase on small-to-medium construction related firms in
Gauteng. The study will investigate the impacts which result in terms of efficiency due
to implementation of any general Information Management Systems (IMS) on small-to-
medium construction firms in Gauteng. In terms of efficiency the study will focus on
communication amongst key team parties / professionals involved during the
construction phase of the project and what impacts would result due to implementation
of an IMS in terms of the overall project duration. The study includes all forms of IT
(Information Technology) used for IMS in the firms. The present study concentrates
primarily on data gathering from a survey questionnaire and secondly on informal
interviews during the survey data collection. The collected data is critically analysed by
means of descriptive statistics to evaluate the existence of certain relationships between
the two groups of data. The paper has five sections which includes the introduction
followed by the literature review. The third section briefs the adopted research
methodology followed by the analysis section. The last section concludes the study with
the future research scope and recommendations.

Literature Review
The construction phase of a project is more complex than a simple sequence of
activities. Bertelsen (2004), Pennanen and Koskela (2005), Dubois and Gadda (2002)
have described the construction procedure as a non-linear, unpredictable and complex
process. Further, there is no single correct solution to any given problem in the
construction process, hence there is a need for multiple decision making during the
project executions. The decisions made during each stages of the project depend on the
project specifications, situation as well as external factors (Bertelsen, 2004). The major
factors affecting the construction phase are communication across the board, contractor
experience, management and supervision of the project activities, poor labour skill and
productivity, change in design and material specifications during the construction
process, and conflict of interest between professionals (Bertelsen, 2004; Chan &
Kumaraswamy, 1997; Cicmil & Marshall, 2005; Kaming et al., 1997); Dubois &
Gadde, 2002).

Information communication plays a vital role as the process are based on temporary
collaborations of owners, architects, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers assume
different roles (Chan & Leung, 2001). These organizations differ in terms of size,
physical location and IT capabilities and hence communication between them becomes
complicated (Alshawi & Faraj, 2002). However, it is essential that these organizations
work collaboratively and share the same project data to prevent misunderstanding,
which could result in time delays as well as increased costs (Alshawi & Faraj, 2002).
Therefore, issues regarding communication improvement need to be fully considered to
facilitate such collaboration (Alshawi & Faraj, 2002).

Scott et al. (2002) explains that construction projects go through a continuous cycle of
creation, storage, manipulation, transmission, reformation, revision and application of
information. In addition, the construction process can prove to be a difficult task due to
frequent exchanging of information between major team professionals such as project

50
managers, architects, contractors, quantity surveyors and engineers because of the
geographical locations between project and professional team (Chan & Leung, 2001).
This dynamic characteristic of information exchange comes as a standard hurdle on a
construction site, especially when action needs to be taken promptly and there is little
time for significant research and analysis (Scott et al., 2002).

IMS Implementation in Construction Projects

Information Management System (IMS) is a general collective term for specific types of
programmes, which enable a number of computer users to create and access data, on a
central database, and allow for extensive transaction and processing capabilities.
Alshawi and Faraj (2002) refer to these types of systems as centralized project
databases. They continue to define this sort of database as one with a single centralized
channel for information and communication transfer, which all team members can
access remotely (Alshawi & Faraj, 2002). IMS and centralized databases are planned
and integrated systems useful for gathering and communicating information to the
parties involved. Put simply, the main purpose of an IMS is to provide the correct
information, to the correct people, at the correct time, thus improving efficient reaction
time related to the construction activities.

Barnes and Unteidt (2004) explain an IMS as a database and transaction management
system that was first introduced in 1968. It consists of two major components, the IMS
Database Management System (IMS DB) and the IMS Transaction Management
System (IMS TM). The IMS DB element organizes data into a hierarchy, the data in
each level is dependent on the data in the next higher level, it is arranged so that its
integrity is ensured, and the storage and retrieval process is optimized. The IMS TM
controls input and output processing (Barnes & Unteidt, 2004). IMS TM also provides
formatting, logging, communications security, data back-up and oversees the scheduling
and execution of programs (Barnes & Unteidt, 2004).

IMS is used all around many industries (Sadagopan, 2004). Some of the more common
industries that use them are financial, medical, production, education, science and
research, commercial, communications, security as well as construction industries
(Sadagopan, 2004). The end users of the IMS programme would typically be employed
by a firm to manage the information, external strategic project participants, various
company divisions such as top management, project management, project planning and
engineering, administration, finance and marketing parties (Chassiakos &
Sakellaropoulos, 2008). Typical employee that would use the system include the
president, managers of the different departments, engineers, accountants, equipment
operators, craftsmen and labourers (Chassiakos & Sakellaropoulos, 2008). Outside
participants using the system could include the project owner, subcontractors, suppliers,
supervising authorities, and consultants (Chassiakos & Sakellaropoulos, 2008). The
benefits of implementing ICT, and more specific IMS, to construction projects have
been instrumental to a number of improvements in the industry (Bowden et al., 2006).
Bowden et al. (2006), Alshawi (2007) and Alshawi and Ingirige (2003) highlight a
number of these advantages:

51
 Reducing construction time by improving communication amongst key team
professionals and enabling the project team to respond to changes in a structured
organized way.
 Integrated communication process promotes more accurate information transfer and
any errors which may occur can easily be traced.
 Facilitating planning by providing relevant information immediately for decision
making thus reducing delays.
 Reducing defects by immediately notifying key team professionals of important
changes.
 Increase productivity through improved communication amongst key team
professionals.
 Increases predictability.
 Minimizing information overload by summarising data helping avoid confusion
caused by extra, unnecessary repetition of information.
 Measuring performance and allowing the making of necessary changes in
organizational plans and procedures.
 Better co-ordination by connecting internal departments or teams, helping to keep
everyone in an organization informed of vital information.
 Control is improved when the IMS is used as a link between managerial and
planning parties and the site supervisors, allowing fast movement of instruction.
 Reducing company‘s time and expenditure wasted on disputes as these systems
create and record full audit trails of updates and changes.
 Reducing costs of communication by using intranets/internets as opposed to
traditional communication techniques such as phone calls etc.
 Reducing storage space for paper work as IMS systems require a significantly
smaller, electronic, centralized storage.
The challenges of using ICT and IMS systems are pointed out by Alsayegh (2010) and
Alshawi (2007) as:

 Each key individual is required to have connectivity and access to the system.

 Inaccurate or incorrect assumptions may be due to high levels of detail.

 Whilst some variables are easily quantifiable, others have a limited set of options
that could be considered and cannot be easily quantified.

 The need for extensive data management is necessary where collected data is of
varying criteria and affect different aspects of a project and need to be distributed
accordingly to ensure the correct information reaches the intended recipient.

 Historic data of long term project may prove to be complex.

 The option and ease of changing and updating plans and instructions leads to
confusion and instability in the project team.

 Backups should be made to ensure no complete loss of project in extreme cases.

 Need for extra employees to monitor data capture.

52
 Training of professionals to use a system may be a challenging procedure as it
requires time which few professional are willing to sacrifice.

Research Methodology
This study used a mixed method research approach. The study used questionnaires
surveys and interviews. The study concentrate primarily on data gathering from a
survey questionnaire and secondly on informal interviews during the survey data
collection. The survey was conducted by use of a dichotomous survey, true or false
questions, as well as an ordinal data with five standard options: strongly agree, agree,
neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. The questions are formulated based on the
above literature about the factors attributed to the better communication and time
management. The questionnaire is distributed among two groups of participants such as
one who uses IMS and the other who doesn‘t use IMS. There were wide ranges of
participants including contractors, architects, project managers, engineers, site
managers, quantity surveyors, and specialist contractors. Descriptive statistics was used
to make the inferences from the response. Out of the 50 construction related firms
contacted, only 31 took part and completed the survey. 32 out of the 50 surveys were
given out to the various professionals by hand, only 30 were returned. Eighteen 18 were
sent by e-mail, of which only one 1 was completed and returned by email. Overall, this
survey received a 62% response rate from the various construction related professionals.

Findings and Discussion

Despite the range of companies participating, and their sizes, the majority of the
participants were sure of their company use of some form of IMS technology. However,
not all IMS technologies in the South African market have communication functions.
Many companies used IMS for planning only or planning and cataloguing only. It was
therefore necessary, for the purpose of our analysis, to compare those companies using
dedicated IMS tool against those using other forms of media as their primary formal
communication medium such as email and messenger.

Figure1: Primary Communication Medium of participants

According to Figure 1, laptop and desktop is a major communication medium. Email

proved to be the commonest communication medium, followed by IMS technology. In
the survey response, most companies preferred to select a number of options as they did
not have a single primary formal communication medium.

53
 Figure 2: Existence of poor information flows among the stakeholders

The non IMS users believed that the ―flow of information‖ is a major issue, as shown in
Figure 2. On the other hand, IMS users felt that the flow of information is acceptable.
Hence, the IMS technology improves the communication of important information
between stakeholders and the management team.

Figure 3: Poor notifications of changes and updates

The Non IMS users felt that the notification process, of changes and updates, existed on
sites and they were waiting long periods of time before they received any notification,
as seen in Figure 3. However, IMS users felt that the notification of important changes
and updates were appropriate and they did receive them on time.

Figure 4: Experience difficulty in keeping track of changes and updates

From the result depicted in Figures 4 and 5, users that used IMS as a communication
tool experienced less difficulty in cataloguing and keeping track of their project‘s
updates and changes, as opposed to those companies which did not use IMS. This
further implies that IMS, as a communication tool, did have an effect on the solving the
problem of keeping track of changes and updates in project information, which includes

54
updates in drawing and specifications. Further, firms using IMS technology received
information on time more often than firms not using IMS as depicted in Figure 6. These
results were extremely significant to this study in that they show that the use of an IMS
may not drastically improve the delivery of information and instructions, but IMS does
definitely play a major part in ensuring information was received on time.

Figure 5: Experience difficulty in obtaining revised drawings and other documents

Figure 6: Construction Instructions are received on time

The following time management indicators and its relationship with communication
were also investigated in the study however, due to the minimal sample sizes there
doesn‘t exist any significant conclusions based on the study results.

Revisions of drawings occur due to the complex nature of the construction industry, as
discussed in the literature review, and occur mainly due to lack of information along
with a difficulty in communication. The Figure 7 and 8 signify that the drawing
revisions and the delay in the overall time of a project due to revisions was independent
on whether or not the company used an IMS programme, thus if there are many
revisions in a project, use of an IMS might not entirely eliminate time delays but may
enable more efficiency in communicating and dealing with these changes between
parties. This could be assisted by more efficient notification and data transfer, which
would allow for parties to act on these changes more rapidly, avoiding reworks and
therefore improving a project‘s delivery time.

Further Figure 9, it is apparent that of the responses received, no participant believed

their projects were on time. However, the difference in the delayed time ranges of
companies using IMS and not using IMS significantly showed that nearly double the
projects using IMS were completed, between 0% and 10%, than projects not using IMS.

55
On the other end of the scale, it was noted that nearly 3 times more companies, not
implementing IMS, finished their projects with over a 20% delay, at 33%, than
companies using IMS technology, at 10%. The final realization is that, of the subjects
surveyed in this study, there was a delay in all projects taking, or that have taken, place
in the greater Gauteng area. Companies using IMS managed to reduce their delays
significantly by using such technology, in comparison to the surveyed companies that
did not implement IMS.

Figure 7: Large amount of drawings are revised during the construction phase

Figure 8: Revisions of drawings caused delay in project delivery

Figure 9: Project time delay relative to its planned duration

56
Conclusions and Further Research
The present study may not make strong conclusions about the topic as the sample sizes
and the statistical analysis are not rigor in nature. However, the study can pave a
platform to understand the insights related to IMS implementation and its utilization as
a communication and time management tool in construction projects. From the present
study, IMS technology improved important for the exchange of information, data and
other, between the stakeholders and the management team. IMS played a major part in
ensuring effective information and communications management. In the greater
Gauteng area, as throughout the industry, revisions and reworks were leading to time
delay, one of the causes of which was inefficient communication of project information.
There is no relationship existence identified between the use of IMS and project time
improvement. Although IMS technology may not have been able to eradicate time
delays, it did have a significant effect on reducing the time hindrance of projects,
assuming other external effects were ignored. However, it was hard to identify the small
and medium companies that use IMS technologies. Future study with more samples
may post a different result in validating the existence of the relationship between the
IMS and better time management. One of the major reasons listed as the non-use of IMS
among the small and medium companies were popularity and its return on their
investments. Further research could be conducted to investigate the cost implications of
purchasing IMS technology. In addition the study can also follow a different research
methodology such as case study based research in order to get an in depth understanding
about the interactions and the relationships among the various factors leading to better
time management.

References
Alsayegh, G. (2010), Advantages and disadvantages of using automated data collection
in pavement management system. 1st ed. Carleton: Carleton University.
Alshawi, M. (2007), Rethinking IT in Construction and Engineering. New York:
Taylor& Francis.
Alshawi, M. & Faraj, I. (2002), Integrated Construction Environments: Technology and
Implementation. Construction Innovation, Vol. 2(1), pp. 33-51.
Alshawi, M. & Ingirige, B. (2003), Web-enabled project management: an emerging
paradigm in construction. Automation in Construction, 12(4), pp. 349-364.
Anumba, C.J. & Evbuomwan, N.F.O. (1999) A Taxonomy for Communication Facets
in Concurrent Life-Cycle Design and Construction. Computer-Aided Civil and
Infrastructure Engineering, Vol. 14(1), pp. 37-44.
Barnes, T. & Unteidt, A. (2004), Search Data Center. [Online] Available at:
http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/IMS-Information-Management-
System [Accessed 10 April 2012].
Bertelsen, S. (2004), Construction Management in a Complexity Perspective.
Manchester, University of Salford.
Bowden, S., Dorr A.A., Thorpe, T.B. & Anumba, C. (2006), Mobile ICT support for
construction process improvement. Automation in Construction, Vol. 15(5), pp. 664-
676.

57
Chan, D.W.M. & Kumaraswamy, M.M. (1997), A comparative study of causes of time
overruns in Hong Kong construction projects. International Journal of Project
Management, Vol. 15(1), pp. 55-63.
Chan, S.L. & Leung, N.N. (2001), Prototype web-based construction project
management system, Singapore: National University of Singapore.
Chassiakos, A. & Sakellaropoulos, S. (2008), A web-based system for managing
construction information. Advances in Engineering Software, Vol. 39(11), pp. 865–
876.
Cicmil, S. & Marshall, D. (2005), Insights into collaboration at the project level:
complexity, social interaction and procurement mechanisms. Building Research &
Information, Vol. 33(6), pp. 523-535.
Dubois, A. & Gadde, L. (2002), The Construction Industry as a Loosely Coupled
System: Implications for Productivity and Innovation. Construction Management
and Economics, Vol. 20(7), pp. 621-631.
Gajendran,T. Fitzgerald, N. & Brewer, G. (2004), Information and communication
technology for construction of power generation infrastructure in regional Australia.
In: Proceedings of 1st International Conference on World of Construction Project
Management (WCPM), Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, pp. 50-60.
Kaming, P.F., Olomolaiye, P.O., Holt, G.D. & Harris, F.C. (1997), Factors influencing
construction time and cost overruns on high-rise projects in Indonesia. Construction
Management and Economics, Vol. 15(1), pp. 83-94.
Lottaz, C., Stouffs, R. & Smith, I. (2000), Increasing understanding during collaboration
through advanced representations, Electronic Journal on Information Technology in
Construction, Vol. 5(1), pp. 1-24.
Pannanen, A & Koskela, L.J. (2005), Necessary and unnecessary complexity in
construction. In: The 1st International Conference on Built Environment
Complexity, 11-14 September 2005, Liverpool, UK.
Sadagopan, S. (2004), Management Information Systems. New Delhi: PHI Learning
Pvt. Ltd.
Scott, D., Kwan, M. & Li, H. (2002), Web-based construction information management
systems. The Australian Journal of Construction Economics and Building, Vol.
3(1), pp. 43-52.
Tam, C. (1999), Use of the internet to enhance construction communication: total
information transfer system. International Journal of Project Management, Vol.
17(2), pp. 107-111.
Thomas, N.S., Chen, S.E., McGeorge, D., Lam, K. & Evans, S. (2001), Current state of
IT usage by Australian subcontractors. Construction Innovation Journal, Vol. 1(1),
pp. 3-13.

58
SESSION 1B: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT &
TRANSFER

59
An Appraisal of Technical Skills of Emerging Building
Contractors in Eastern Cape, South Africa
S Makhetha1 and DJ Hoffman2
1&2
Department of Construction Economics,
University of Pretoria, South Africa
Email: seutloali.makhetha@dpw.ecape.gov.za, danie.hoffman@up.ac.za

Abstract:
The research investigates the level of technical skills by Eastern Cape emerging
building contractors and the possible link between availability of skills and likelihood of
contractor insolvency. A quantitative survey method was followed. The study reviewed
related literature and data were collected by means of 72 questionnaires completed by
contractors, consultants and client managers. The study was based on the premise that
industry role players largely agree on technical skills that are considered critical for the
success of the emerging contractor and that lack of such skills increases a likelihood of
insolvency among them. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn from the data
analysis. The research was confined to black-owned contractors in the Amathole region
of Eastern Cape grades (2-5). Consultants and client managers agreed that emerging
contractors lack technical skills, but contractors did not fully agree. All respondents
agreed that lack of technical skills had the likelihood of causing insolvency. Critical
technical skills necessary for emerging contractor success were identified and a link was
established between technical skills and contractor insolvency.

Keywords:
Construction, Emerging contractors, Skills, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Introduction
The Eastern Cape is made up of the two former homelands of Ciskei and Transkei as
well as part of the former Cape Provincial Administration (CPA). The area that was
covered by the former homelands is 70% rural, lacks infrastructure development and
has massive unemployment. 30% of the area that used to be under CPA is urban with
good infrastructure and low unemployment levels (Statistics South Africa).

It would appear that in most former colonized countries, when those countries gained
independence the professional skills in business and construction were in the hands of
colonizers (Wells, 1986: 104). In South Africa, prior to 1994, a lot of non-white people
had limited exposure to the construction industry as business owners. They were
involved in construction mostly as unskilled labourers. After the multiparty elections of
1994 the government of the day faced the problem of poor infrastructure (roads,
hospitals, clinics, schools) especially in rural areas; massive unemployment among the
electorate most of whom resided in rural areas; and lack of suitably qualified black
contractors in large enough numbers nationally to handle the infrastructure backlog.

60
To solve unemployment challenges, boost the economy and address the infrastructure
backlog problem, government began to encourage the participation of non-white owned
firms in the construction industry. The CIDB (Construction Industry Development
Board Act No 38, 2000) was established as an Act of government whose main aim was
to transform the industry by:

 Providing strategic leadership to construction industry stakeholders for stimulation

of growth, reform and improvement of the construction sector

 Ensuring that socio economic objectives of the country were met through tendering
processes which favoured contractors from historically disadvantaged groups. This
included companies owned by women, youth and the disabled.

The introduction of the CIDB Act transformed the construction industry and encouraged
many people from previously disadvantaged groups throughout the country to register
construction companies (Khosa, 2000). Small contractors could tender without
competing with large established contractors. According to (South Africa Yearbook,
2000: 256), it is estimated that the failure rate of SMEs (under which emerging
contractors fall) is between 70% and 80% in South Africa. The Eastern Cape emerging
contractors were assumed to be contributors to the national failure rate statistics due to
lack of skills.

In this context, this particular study examined the apparent failure of emerging
contractors, especially those in the Eastern Cape Province, to survive, to grow and to
prosper was evaluated. The research investigated the technical skills required of
emerging building contractors in the Amathole region of Eastern Cape and the possible
link between such skills and the likelihood of experiencing insolvency. The relevant
technical skills entail: General building (bricklaying, concreting, plastering, carpentry,
erection of scaffolding, plumbing and electrical installation). They also include
scheduling of work and overall site supervision skills. Essentially, the questions asked
in the study include:

 To what extent do emerging contractors in the Eastern Cape possess critical

technical skills to succeed in construction?

 To what extent does lack of technical skills in the opinion of stakeholders increase
the emerging contractor‘s likelihood of experiencing insolvency?

It is important to note that in South Africa the central government remains the biggest
employer (CIDB, 2007) and the infrastructure programme provide a platform to engage
emerging contractors in real work. According to Qongqo and Milford (2007), 75% of
the national budget for infrastructure development is spent on civil engineering works of
which 20% are awarded to small contractors (grades 2-4). The remaining 25% of the
budget is spent on general building of which 12% are awarded to small contractors.

Literature Review
It is accepted that the South African economy and the quality of life of its citizens
depend heavily on the supply and efficient operation of infrastructure (Lawless, 2007).

61
The Eiselen Commission report (1951) considered that black education should be an
integral part of a carefully planned policy of segregated socio-economic development
for the black people. Through Bantu education, the apartheid government ensured that
natives received a kind of education that would ensure that they provided manual labour
to white industries (Christie & Collins, 1982). Certain professional careers (including
technical) in the public and private sector were preserved for the white community prior
to 1994.

Lawless (2007) observes that it was only after independence (1994) that a high number
of students from previously disadvantaged groups studied civil engineering and other
building related courses. Even then there was a high dropout rate in both technical
colleges and universities due to poor proficiency in mathematics and science subjects
among new students. Dlungwana and Rwelamila (2004) argue that there is a need for
development of contractors‘ skills and knowledge in order to build capacity to grow
businesses through technical and managerial skills. Hauptfleish, Lazarus, Knoetze and
Liebenberg (2007) identified formal training and mentoring of contractors together with
total quality management as being crucial to contractor success. They noted that
accelerated development of emerging contractors fails to bring about the desired results
due to the fragmented nature of training.

Lombard (2006) states that the local South African construction industry can benefit
from improved quality control practices. According to Lombard, South Africa spends
R60 billion annually on construction projects. However, the cost of rework due to poor
quality of the finished product is estimated at 10% of the construction spend. This being
a direct result of technical skill challenges within the construction industry. The
construction industry is susceptible to failure and insolvency due to an unregulated entry
level (Ntuli & Allopi, 2009). According to the CIDB (2004), the decline in demand for
construction products over the past decades, and associated uncertainty, has seen a
reduction in skills training since the 1980s, and the closing down of industry training
institutions in the 1990s.

Research Methodology
A quantitative approach was followed. 72 industry role players were asked to respond to
a predesigned questionnaire. There were four possible responses for the respondents to
choose from in relation to the questions raised: absolutely disagree, disagree, agree and
absolutely agree. The CIDB Act 38 of 2000 defines an emerging enterprise as ―an
enterprise which is owned, managed and controlled by previously disadvantaged
persons and which is overcoming business impediments arising from the legacy of
apartheid.‖ Emerging building contractors are regarded as emerging enterprises.
According to CIDB prescripts, contractors at grades (1-5) are the ones regarded as
emerging (CIDB, 2007). The research targeted contractors within grades 2-5 range
because the grade 1 level is heavily congested and the bulk of contractors at this level
have not yet completed any projects since registration.

Sixty contractors were approached to contribute to the exercise. These contractors based
in the Amathole region were considered to be a fair representation of the existing
situation in the other five regions of the Eastern Cape (rural and urban). Fifteen Eastern

62
Cape based consultants from the disciplines of quantity surveying; architecture and
engineering were equally approached. These consultants are normally involved in
numerous projects undertaken by various emerging contractors at any given time. Ten
questionnaires were distributed to project managers involved in implementation of
DRPW infrastructure projects that were mostly undertaken by emerging contractors.

In terms of the field work, sixty questionnaires were sent to contractors in grades (2-5)
and forty-seven responses were received. This equates to a 78% response rate. 22% of
these contractors had a post school construction qualification. Nineteen questionnaires
were also sent to consultants who practice within the Amathole Region. A total of 15
responses were received resulting in a response rate of 79%. Fourteen questionnaires
were sent out to managers in the public sector and ten of them responded (response rate
equate to 71%).

Findings and Discussion

Data from all the respondents pertaining to questions is contained in summary form in
Table 1 and Figure 1.

Table 1: Do emerging contractors in the Eastern Cape possess requisite technical skills

Variable Absolutely Absolutely

disagree Disagree Agree
agree
V15 Basic building skills 5 22 34 11
V16 Advanced building skills 12 36 16 8
V17 Site supervisory skills 5 25 31 11
V18 Construction experience 3 31 20 15
V19 Occupational Health and
14 26 23 9
Safety skills
V20 Training courses in new
13 33 19 7
materials and products
V21 Ability to assess finished
10 25 26 9
product quality
V22 Ability to assess building
9 23 30 9
material quality

63
 Figure 1: Technical skill possession among emerging contractors

Considering the individual skills variables, the responses which are in agreement with
the question 1 range from 33% - 62%, while responses which are in disagreement range
from 38% - 67%. Of the seven technical skills variables on the questionnaire, the
respondents agreed that the contractors possessed four of the required technical skills,
disagreed that the contractors possessed three of the technical skills, and were neutral on
one.

Table 2: Technical skill possession - summary of ratings

Variable Absolutely Agree/absolutely

disagree/disagree agree

V15 Basic building skills 38 62

V16 Advanced building skills 67 33
V17 Site supervisory skills 42 58
V18 Construction experience 49 51
V19 Occupational Health and Safety skills 56 44
V20 Training courses in new materials and products 64 36
V21 Ability to assess finished product quality 50 50
V22 Ability to assess building material quality 45 55
Overall (%) 51 49

Agreement and disagreement responses are almost equal indicating that the question 2
was not supported. This necessitates further analysis per respondent category.

64
 Figure 2: Technical skill possession among emerging contractors

Responses from the three respondent categories show that:

 The client and the consultants disagreed with the statement. Out of eight
disagreement responses, seven are above 50% (60% - 90%) with the exception of
one skill being below 50% per category (30% - 33%).

 The contractors agree that Eastern Cape emerging contractors possess requisite
technical skills. The disagreement responses are below 50% (29.8%- 48.9%) for all
skills with the exception of one skill - advanced building skills (55.3%). This
therefore means that contractors believe that they have the requisite skills.

Table 3: Technical skills linked to possible insolvency among emerging contractors

Variable Absolutely Disagree Agree Absolutely

disagree agree
V23 Basic building skills 0 4 26 42
V24 Advanced building skills 0 14 33 24
V25 Site supervisory skills 0 5 28 38
V26 Construction experience 0 5 30 36
V27 Occupational Health and Safety
1 15 29 26
skills
V28 Training courses in new materials
2 19 31 20
and products
V29 Ability to assess finished product
0 6 37 29
quality
V30 Ability to assess building material
0 8 35 29
quality

The second question evaluates the extent to which lack of technical skills among
emerging building contractors (grade 2-5) has the likelihood of leading to insolvency.

65
The data that were recorded for the responses to this particular question are indicated in
Table 3 and Figure 3. The responses which are in agreement (absolutely agree and
agree) range from 70.8% - 94.4%, while those which are in disagreement (disagree and
absolutely disagree range from 5.6 % 29.2%). It is notable that the respondents
substantially agree with the statement.

From the above analysis, it can be concluded that all stakeholders agreed to a significant
extent that lack of technical skills among emerging contractors (grades 2-5) has the
likelihood of causing them to experience insolvency.

Figure 3: Likelihood of contractor insolvency due to shortage of technical skills

Conclusions and Further Research

The contractors, consultants and client that took part in the study were not in agreement
on the question of possession of requisite skills by emerging contractors. Of note is that
both the client and consultants do not perceive that emerging contractors possess
supervisory skills and construction experience. On the other hand, contractors claim that
they possess these requisite skills including ability to assess material and finished
product quality.

The views of consultants and client are supported by a different study by Lombard
(2006): according to him, the cost of rework resulting from poor quality of the finished
product is estimated at 10% of the construction spend. The fact that the contractors
believe they have the requisite skills will not motivate them to pursue skills training. It

66
is however encouraging that all stakeholders including contractors are aware that lack of
technical skills will significantly increase emerging contractors‘ exposure to insolvency.

The respondents have made it clear that technical skills are essential in construction so
as to assist in the growth of emerging contractors. The minimum entry levels for
registration in CIDB should be reviewed to ensure that emerging contractors have the
minimum basic construction skills (bricklaying, carpentry and plumbing). It is also
recommended that government should cluster projects and procure the services of big
contractors (grades 8-9) to (technically) mentor emerging contractors on a management
capacity (for an agreed fee). This would entail imparting technical skills on live projects
under the supervision of an experienced contractor from project commencement up to
completion stage.

References
Christie, P. & Collins, C. (1982), Bantu Education: apartheid ideology or labour
reproduction. Comparative Education, Vol. 18(1), pp. 59-75.
Construction Industry Development Board (2004) SA Construction industry status
report-2004: Synthesis review on the South African construction industry and its
development. Pretoria: CIDB
Construction Industry Development Board with the Department for Public Works
(2007) Skills for infrastructure delivery in South Africa: the challenge of restoring
the skills pipeline. Pretoria: CIDB.
Dlungwana, W.S. & Rwelamila, P.D. (2004), Contractor development models that meet
the challenges of globalization - A case for developing management capability of
local contractors. Proceedings of CIB International Symposium on Globalization
and Construction, Bangkok, Thailand, November 2004, pp.1-12.
Hauptfleish, D. Lazarus, S.J. Knoetze, D. & Liebenberg, S. (2007), An integrated
emerging contractor development model for the construction industry: practical
implementation and statistical quantification. Pretoria: CSIR.
Khosa, M. (2000), HSRC. SA. Infrastructure Mandate for Change 1994-1999.
Lawless, A. (2007), Numbers & needs in local government: addressing civil
engineering-the critical profession for service delivery. Midrand: SAICE.
Lombard, F. (2006), Managing the quality of engineering on large construction projects
in the South African context. MBA Treatise, University of Pretoria.
Ntuli, B. & Allopi, D. (2009), Factors associated with insolvencies amongst civil
engineering construction firms in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In: Proceedings of
the 28th Annual Southern African Transport Conference, South Africa, 6-9 July.
pp.364-372.
Wells, J. (1986), The Construction Industry in Developing Countries: Alternative
Strategies for Development. Kent: Billing and Sons.

67
 Exploring the Nature of Communication Skills When
Executing Construction Projects in South Africa
R Pretorius1, FA Emuze2, C Adendorff3 and B Botha4
1&4
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: Brink.Botha@nmmu.ac.za
2
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment,
Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa
Email: fidomy@gmail.com
3
NMMU Business School,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: powerhouse@alfresco.co.za

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of communication
between project parties during the construction phase of project delivery in South
Africa. The acquisition of primary data was done with the aid of a structured
questionnaire. It was observed that project parties often lack required skills to
effectively communicate. The substantial increase in specialisation among
subcontractors is perceived to add to communication inefficiencies in construction. For
example, mistakes were often observed when converting received production
information into the required formats for different site purposes. In addition, projects
have become more complex as a result of technological advancement and the industries
dependence on specialist subcontractors. Construction industry participants should thus
endeavour to possess the minimum required skills needed for effective communication.
It is essential that all production information within a fast-track environment be accurate
and disseminated without delay as to reduce unnecessary incremental costs.

Keywords:
Communication skills, Construction Management, South Africa

Introduction
Ahuja et al. (2009) note that effective communication is critical to project success in the
construction industry, especially when the industry consist of a plethora of participants
that include contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and
general workers. Adding to this difficulty is the fact that industry participants can be
scattered around the world thus making face to face interaction troublesome. Gorse and
Emmitt (2009) also highlighted that it is essential that all participants possess the
required competence in communication skills so as to be able to contribute to decision
making and problem solving processes that are crucial for successful project
completion.

Chua et al. (2003) suggest that project success is dependent on the accuracy and
reliability of the production information as well as the degree of conformance or

68
adherence to the production information. Any deviation from or inaccuracy of the
production information caused by lack of effective communication will cause time
delays, which increases costs. In an environment where there is a high demand for fast
tracking of construction processes along with other added coordination difficulties any
obstruction of the critical path of the construction schedule and processes cannot be
allowed (Shohet & Frydman, 2003). The problem is nicely summarised by Duyshart et
al. (2003) when they say ―with the combination of increasingly complex building types,
increasing numbers of outsourced project participants, tightly programmed fast-track
construction methods and a global competitive marketplace, the ability to deliver
profitable projects on time and within budget is becoming a significant challenge.‖

The Problem statement

The construction industry is highly diversified, multi-disciplined and consist of various
occupations and disciplines. Further, an increase in project complexity, and the increase
in communication inputs provides a platform for the occurrence of problems pertaining
to information sharing. Thus, the problem statement assumed for the study state that
―ineffective communication between all stakeholders during project execution leads to
inefficiencies and client dissatisfactions in construction.‖ As a result, the study is aimed
at enhancing soft skills related to communication among project parties in South Africa
by evaluating its nature.

The Significance of Communication in Construction

It is essential that all project parties possess the required competence with regard to
communication skills so as to be able to contribute in the decision making and problem
solving processes, especially during fast-track construction projects (Kasim et al.,
2005). This is so since construction workers are perceived not to have the required
communication skills to proficiently deal with project complexities. In effect,
communication skills development within the construction industry will greatly enhance
the achievement of successful project completion (Gorse & Emmitt, 2009).

Cook (2010) believes that face to face informal communication is an integral skill all
business people especially managers should have. According to Cook (2010), most
managers are not even aware that they do not possess the required level of
communication skills and as a result are not doing anything to remedy the problem.
Cook (2010) goes further to suggest certain standard required for communication skill
amongst managers. These include:

 The massage should be clear and easily understood;

 The message should be complete and contain all the information required to convey
understanding;

 The message should be free of errors which includes both spelling and grammar;

 The message should be in the format most conducive to the receivers use, and

69
 The message should enhance and promote good relations between the sender and
receiver.

The degree of communication skills practiced by construction industry constituents has

a great impact on the quality of production working plans and information. The project
can become a complete failure without adequate production information as this is what
sets the benchmark for cost, quality, and time standards of the project (Ahuja et al.,
2009). The project success is dependent on the accuracy and reliability of the production
information as well as the degree of conformance to the production information (Chua
et al., 2003). According to Xie et al. (2010), the lack of proper communication practises
and procedures will lead to communication system overload that could delay the
production and distribution of production information, which in turn will delay all other
construction activities.

This is particular important when a project is being delivered through the fast track
route. Effective communication within the fast track project environment is of critical
importance as poor communication increases the risk of having to rework or even to
scrap work that has been done. Any delays either by having to wait for the information
or having to redo an activity because of incorrect information can compromise the
schedule, which increases the risk of late completion (Ahuja et al., 2009). The size of
the project that is being fast tracked to shorten the completion time also contributes to
the lack of or inaccuracy of the production information as the task of coordination and
communication between critical project participants are considerably more difficult in a
large project environment (Shohet and Frydman, 2003).

In particular, the fast track construction methods often go hand-in-hand with appropriate
design assumptions. Construction management contractors with detailed design
experience are employed to provide suggestions of detailed design / execution for
detailed designers and they are thus responsible for the management of the detailed
design process (Jingchun & Song, 2009). Shohet and Frydman (2003) opine that one of
the key factors of project success hinges on the construction managers ability to
communicate with the other major party such as the design team. This is why it is
important that construction managers should be able to design, plan, schedule and
coordinate sufficiently. Because one of the responsibilities the construction manager has
is to coordinate the construction process, they will thus do well to develop or cultivate
basic design capabilities as to be able to better facilitate the design process as well as to
provide pioneering answers to design difficulties on site (Shohet & Frydman, 2003).

Research Method
The primary data were acquired with the administration and distribution of a structured
questionnaire. The survey can be described as a descriptive or normative survey as
explained by Leedy & Ormrod (2010) since the acquisition of information such as
characteristics, opinions, attitudes and experiences pertaining to one or more groups was
utilised. Most of the questions that were asked were based on the 5 point Likert scale.
The survey was conducted amongst the member of the Gauteng Master Builders
Association (GMBA).

70
The members were purposively selected due to two reasons. Firstly, the study was
conducted at the BSc (hons) level with the intent of introducing the principal
investigator to the intricacies of the research process. And secondly, the selection was
equally done based on logistical considerations. The twenty-one (21) respondents
include general contractors, subcontractors and specialist subcontractors. A 100%
response rate was achieved through the hand delivery and collection method that was
used for the field work.

The questionnaire consists of both close-ended and open-ended questions. The open-
ended question allowed the respondents to make general comments related to the
subject area. The close-ended questions, which were in Likert scales, addressed
communication related issues in terms of skills, project complexities and information
that are necessary for construction production.

Findings and Discussion

The findings show that 61.9% of the respondents agreed / strongly agreed that there has
been an increase in the specialisation of trades in the industry, especially among
subcontractors. In fact, 66.7% of them were of the opinion that most projects completed
in the last decade in South Africa have involved quite a number of subcontractors and
trade suppliers. The increases in the number of project parties have given rise to
increased informational requirements on most projects according to 80.9% of the
respondents. These perceptions were reinforced when 95.2% of the respondents contend
that effective communication between participants is of critical importance to
completion of projects.

In particular, 28.6% and 42.9% of the respondents note that project participants often
find communication a bit difficult because of differing level of required skills among
them. When the respondents were asked to indicate the participant that performs worst
in terms of communication based on their site experiences, subcontractors were cited
the most. 52.4% of the respondents suggest that the increased specialisation by
contractors / subcontractors have led to a concomitant increase in the number of
specialist required for project completion and subsequent informational requirements
that may not go well.

As indicated in Table 1, most of the respondents concur that project complexity related
issues could beget informational complexities. The respondents observed that there has
been an increase in the complexity of projects of late and this may be due to either
increased clients expectations or advances in technology. 61.9% of the respondent
support these views when they say that fast track construction projects are the most
prone to information deficiencies.

71
 Table 1: Perceptions of project complexity related issues

Statement Response %
Unsure Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
There has been an increase in the
0.0 0.0 19.0 14.3 52.4 14.3
complexity of projects
High complexity project require
increased communication efforts 0.0 0.0 0.0 19.0 81.0 0.0
required for project completion
Advances in technology increases
0.0 9.5 14.3 33.3 38.1 0.0
project complexity
Higher client expectations add to
0.0 14.3 19.0 33.3 33.3 0.0
project complexity

The perceptions of communication skills related issues expressed by the respondents

show that indeed there appears to be a major scope of improvement. This is because
81% of the respondents either strongly disagreed or disagreed that enough is being done
in the form of training to cultivate, maintain and develop communication skills amongst
construction industry participants; 90.5% of them reasoned that the industry will
benefit from setting communication standards and procedures to be adopted by all
project parties when completing a project; and 76.2% agreed or strongly agreed that
higher standards of education amongst industry participants at all levels will ease the
required communication practices for successful project completion.

Table 2: Perceptions of communication skills in construction related issues

Statement Response %
Unsure Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
There is enough being done in the
form of training to cultivate, maintain
and develop communication skills 0.0 42.9 38.1 9.5 4.8 4.8
amongst construction industry
participants
The construction industry utilises set
standards and procedures with regard
0.0 19.0 28.6 42.9 9.5 0.0
to communication practices for
project participants
The construction industry will benefit
from setting communication
standards and procedures to be
0.0 0.00 0.00 9.5 61.9 28.6
adopted by all professional
participants when completing a
project
Higher standards of education
amongst construction industry
participants at all levels will ease the 0.0 14.30 0.00 9.5 42.9 33.3
required communication practices for
successful project completion

72
Table 3 that shows the perceptions of the respondents concerning production
information related issues indicates that lack of information at the time it is needed may
have occurred in the projects that they have executed. This deduction is corroborated by
71.4% of the respondents that opined that production information is not always received
in the correct format that is most conducive to what the construction industry participant
will be using the information for, although only few of them agreed / strongly agreed
that participants often make mistakes in converting received production information into
the required format.

Table 3: Perceptions concerning production information related issues

Statement Response %
Unsure Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
Production information is always
received in the required format for 0.0 33.3 38.1 14.3 9.5 4.8
the use of all project parties
Project parties often make mistakes
in converting received production
0.0 4.8 28.6 57.1 4.8 4.8
information into their preferred
format

In brief, all the respondents agreed / strongly agreed that effective communication is of
critical importance for achieving client satisfaction in construction. However, only 15 of
them offered general comments pertaining to the discourse. Salient comments amongst
the lot include:

 Communication is a major issue for various reasons: Architects take on too many
projects and lose focus too easily; information/drawings/diagrams are often copied
and pasted between projects without checking the detail first; this is often incorrect
and if the supplier is not sharp, tenders are incorrectly priced, incorrect goods are
manufactured – loss in time and money; some architects do not understand certain
regulations and therefore spec items incorrectly, for instance, fire and health and
safety; project management companies have been brought in to fill that
communication gap; this is a huge expense for the project but does have a positive
influence on communication between all parties. Due to economic reasons, major
players are trying to save a buck by not using this service as much, so it‘s back to
ways that do not work; and egos also seem to get in the way of communication.

 Failures: State decreased ability to communicate project deliverables due to skills

drain; smaller contractors & subcontractors unwilling to update communication
technology; and alterations to standard contract conditions.

 Advances: Small standards in electronic communication. For example, web based

information portals for the issuing & receiving of information.

 Electronic communication to the construction industry is very important for the

success of the project in every sense, good profit and delivering your project in time.

73
 The level of communication standard is adequate for effective communication as
taught by tertiary educational institutions but the implementation or adherence to the
standard that is the problem. Uninformed clients wanting to save money in the
wrong places also pose a problem and as such are unwilling to appoint adequately
qualified people to do the job which adds to difficulties in project completion.
Communication is of critical importance but can only be achieves if all involved
have the required skill and knowledge to communicate.

 Most off the time the contractors labour force are the problem areas, but it also
arises that other clients and role players do not understand the industry and
environment they are in.

 It is important to rather over communicate than to under communicate. Everybody

concerned should be informed of all changes. Written confirmation of verbal
instructions is very important.

The aforementioned shows that construction industry stakeholders should be aware of

the importance of effective communication to project completion and the construction
industry as a whole. For example, ineffective communication between all stakeholders
could lead to inefficiencies and client dissatisfactions. In this context, it can be
recommended that stakeholders should:

 Clearly define and explain the roles and responsibilities of all parties in the project
environment.

 Clearly indicate how the defined roles and responsibilities relate to each other in the
project environment, and

 Establish communication skill development programmes for all level of construction

industry participants.

Conclusions and Further Research

This study was undertaken to ascertain the nature of communication among project
parties in South African construction. The study focused on factors such as
subcontractor specialisation, technological advancement, level of education amongst
participants, and production information transfer processes in order to establish their
effect on project completion.

Although the quantitative data was based on a purposive sampling method and thus,
limited by most issues concerning explorative studies, it nevertheless providing some
insights that could be useful for the industry. Principally, the findings show that
production information may be marginalised if communication skills are not up to the
expected standard among project participants. The use of numerous subcontractors with
different levels of communication skills and abilities tend to expose a project to
execution headaches, especially if the delivery is fast tracked.

74
Because of increases in client demands, technological advancements and proliferation
of subcontracting in the industry, issues pertaining to communication skills should
therefore be given attention by project stakeholders.

Acknowledgement
The support of the NMMU-cidb CoE that is hosted by the BECR is hereby
acknowledged.

References
Ahuja, V., Yang, J. & Shankar, R. (2009), Benefits of collaborative ICT adoption for
building project management. Construction Innovation, Vol. 9(3), pp. 323-340.
Chua, D.K.H., Shen, L.J. & Bok, S.H. (2003), Constraints based planning with
integrated production scheduler over internet. Journal of Construction Engineering
and Management, Vol. 129(3), pp. 293-301.
Cook, M.I. (2010), The effectiveness of communication in the South African
construction industry. BSc (Honours) Treatise. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University.
Duyshart, B., Walker, D., Mohamed, S. & Hampson, K. (2003), An example of
developing a business model for information and communication technologies (ICT)
adoption on construction projects – the national museum of Australia project.
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 10(3), pp. 179-192.
Gorse, C. & Emmitt, S. (2009), Informal interaction in construction progress meetings.
Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 27(10), pp. 983-993.
Jingchun, F. & Song, X. (2009), Research on the construction management organisation
management model of IT project based on fast-track-method. In: Proceedings of the
2nd International Conference on Intelligent Computation Technology and
Automation, Washington DC, IEEE, pp. 414-418.
Kasim, B.N., Anumba, J.C. & Dainty, A.R.J. (2005), Improving materials management
practices on fast-track construction project. In: Khosrowshahi, F. (ed) 21st Annual
ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2005, SOAS, University of London.
Association of Research in Construction Management, Vol. 2, pp. 793-802.
Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (2010), Practical research: planning and design. 9th
Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Shohet, I. & Frydman, S. (2003), Communication patterns in construction at
construction manager level. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,
Vol. 129(5), pp. 570-577.
Xie, C., Wu, D., Suo, F. & Hu, X. (2010), A case study of multi-team communications
in construction design under supply chain partnering. Supply Chain Management:
An International Journal, Vol. 15(5), pp. 363-370.

75
 Towards more Effective Management of House
Construction Projects
P Utting
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying,
Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
Email: uttingpl@yahoo.com

Abstract:
This paper presents a cost effective approach to the management of house construction
based on the identification and levelling of skills resource requirements for each activity
throughout the project, and the minimizing of waste. Each activity, its labour and
materials usage and costs, is identified in conjunction with the contractor. The manager
levels and smooth labour resources, and manage resource usage within the duration of
the project. The paper reports on the findings of a case study whereby the manager
supplies all the materials ahead of time and the contractor supplies all the labour
requirements according to a collaborative revised schedule where the labour resource is
levelled and smoothed. Managing the resource usage resulted in nearly forty per cent
reduction in labour costs, completed within budget and in three months rather than the
five months estimate. This approach provided a learning curve for the emerging
contractor who also acquired new skills for himself and his team. The model has only
been applied in one study but is applicable to all construction on various projects. It is
especially relevant to affordable house construction projects where more quality houses
can be produced within a given budget and time.

Keywords:
Construction management, House construction, Resource levelling, Waste minimization

Introduction
The manner in which construction activities are being undertaken has seen dramatic
changes over the past few years. Not only is new technology invading construction
sites, but also the procurement and management of construction projects are evolving.
Other industries around the world have been applying new ways of thinking very
successfully; therefore construction in South Africa should not fall behind.

A New Zealand study by BERL (Nana, 2003) shows that 10% efficiency gains in
building and construction results in at least 1% increase in GDP (Gross Domestic
Product). Furthermore, their study shows that such efficiency gains lead to reduced
economy-wide production costs, enabling better competitiveness of goods and services.
These efficiency gains have a positive impact on every other economic sector in the
economy. It is uncertain whether this 10% gain has been achieved or is achievable in
South Africa.

If South Africa (SA) has to take advantage of the rising demand for low to mid-priced
houses in this country, it has been suggested that SA needs to implement more efficient
construction practices (Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), 2010). This effort
will require better and more efficient construction practices to maintain overall

76
operating margins, as this segment generally has lower margins and a shorter
construction cycle. This paper presents an example of a cost effective approach to the
construction of houses based on the identification and levelling of the skills resource
requirements for each activity, and careful management throughout the project. It is of
particular importance to the small and emerging contractors.

Traditional construction approaches

The trends in construction technology reveal a very mixed and ambiguous picture. Little
has changed in the use of the materials and techniques since the introduction of
mechanization to construction over a hundred years ago. However, incremental changes
and improvements are actually occurring in traditional materials and techniques, such as
bricklaying. Failure to recognize the impact of various innovations and adapt to
changing environments has unfortunately forced many organizations out of the
mainstream of construction activities (Hendrickson, 2008). Lack of effective
management, especially during their early stage, is a major cause of failure for small
and medium sized contractors (Thwala & Phaladi, 2009).

Traditional project management in construction has sought the efficient utilization of

labour, material and equipment. Improved labour productivity could be pursued
continually by those responsible for cost control of constructed facilities. New materials
and material handling provide ample opportunities for cost reduction. New equipment
and innovative methods makes possible the introduction of wholesale changes in
construction technologies (Hendrickson, 2008). But have these opportunities been
implemented?

Case study
The owners of a property in Durban North had waited eleven years for transfer of the
title before they could commence development of their property. In 2006 the couple set
aside an amount of R400 000, had plans drawn up and submitted to the Metro. They
planned to add another storey in two phases, but by the time the plans were approved
four years later, building costs had more than doubled, but the now retired were no
longer in a position to borrow any extra money.

In the first phase the outbuilding was left incomplete by a contractor with R15 000
outstanding of a R135 000 contract. The owners completed the building and moved into
the new flat while the second phase was being built. During the second phase the main
building would be extended by 1.8m to add en suites to two of the existing bedrooms
remove the roof and slab over the whole area with 1.2m balconies protruding around
three sides. A new storey would be built and the roof replaced. The additional area
amounted to 160m2.

In 2010 the estimated completed costs were R576 000 (at R3600/m2 in Durban North)
and for labour-only R230 000 (40% of completed cost). Quotes were obtained from
reputable builders with at least five years‘ experience, one of whom was a recent
‗Builder of the Year‘.

77
 Table 1: Quotes obtained for house renovations in Durban North, 2010

Contractor Quote Duration Comments

A R625 000 5 months Complete
B R500 000 5 months Complete
C R375 000 5 months Excluding fittings, windows and sliding doors
D R331 500 5 months Labour + construction materials
E R290 000 5 months Labour only
F R235 000 5 months Labour only
G R180 000 5 months Labour only
H R158 000 5 months Labour – excluding plumbing, electrical, gutters

The quotes shown in Table 1 were all outside the remaining finance available from the
owners. Most of the quotes were based on the costs for building in upmarket Durban
North, except for Contractor G whose quote was applicable for anywhere in the greater
Durban area. Furthermore, all submissions expected that the project would take five
months to complete. Depending on the experience of the contractor, it was found that to
a greater or lesser extent planning was carried out as follows:
• development of a schedule of activities,
• assignment of labour resources to each activity, and
• development of a bar chart for the project.
From the Owner‘s knowledge and experience the time estimates were excessive. Other
construction professionals confirmed that with proper planning and management, phase
two could be completed in about three months. New ways to improve productivity
should focus on minimizing waste – waste of time, money and materials (Rogers &
Banoo, 2004). Planning more efficient operations for construction projects remains, but
there are limits to such tactical planning and it only optimizes the particular process.
What is needed, however, is to aim for an improvement in productivity by an order of
magnitude if possible (Nana, 2003). Strategic planning should, therefore, identify the
overall process and investigate potential options along which improved goals may be
found on the basis of available resources (CETA, 2011). With the benefits of today's
high technology, some alternatives have good prospects of success because they can
take advantage of the efficiency of both the human mind and software algorithms
(Utting, 1992).

New construction techniques

The South East Centre for the Built Environment (SECBE) has identified ten best
practice approaches to assist an organization to benefit from the enormous changes that
are taking place in the construction industry (SECBE, 2010). They report that
companies implementing best practice consistently report significantly higher profits,
increased customer and employee satisfaction, improved safety and productivity and
reduced environmental impact. Three of these key business practices have the potential
to leverage significant added value and shape the direction of the industry to manage the
overall project process, including procurement, partnering and lean construction, and
could be adapted for more effective management of house construction.

Procurement, the procedure of establishing the most suitable technique for managing
the construction project, suggests that improvements in the management of projects
could provide the reduction in project completion time that would lead to lowering in

78
costs. To guarantee the timeous delivery of a project, new forms of contractual
arrangements are needed to ensure all key parties work together as early as possible. For
example, ―better forms of selection and contract arrangements are replacing lowest price
tendering and lump sum contracts‖ (CCG 2010).

Partnering, a management system based on a collaborative approach to working, has

been demonstrated that by working cooperatively it is possible to provide much greater
value for money for the client, better profits for the companies involved, better quality
and more certainty of project completion (CCG, 2010). Collaboration requires a move
from the traditional adversarial approach that is common in the construction industry.

Lean Construction, an approach to managing production activity, systematically seeks

to reduce or remove ―any processes that add cost but do not add value‖ (SECBE, 2010).
This approach maximizes value provided to the customer while minimizing waste in the
design, construction and use. It has been estimated by SECBE that 30-40% of
construction activity does not add value for the client. The five principles of Lean which
are relevant to this project are (SECBE, 2010):

• specify value from the customer‘s perspective;

• identify and integrate the processes that deliver value;
• make value flow by eliminating bottlenecks and disruption;
• produce only what is wanted when it is wanted; and
• pursue perfection through continuous improvement.
Integrating these three practices, procurement, partnering and lean construction,
throughout the life of the construction project, and eliminating factors that cause delay
or disruption such as competitive tendering, waiting for materials, multiple handling of
materials, reworking due to defects and so on (Womack & Jones, 2003), leads to the
conclusion that there is actually nothing new beyond minimizing waste and getting it
right first time.

Model for efficient house construction

The essence of the best practice approaches applied to house construction is that a
model needs to be developed; one that can be jointly managed by both the client and the
contractor with the least wastage of resources. For this to be effective it needs to
recognize the limitations of emerging and small contractors in terms of management
sophistication and skills capacity, by minimizing the changes to the traditional
approaches (Olatunji, 2010). From discussions with each of the contractors who quoted
for the house renovations (Table 1), planning tends to be carried out manually in a linear
manner resulting in an inefficient use of labour resources and problems in ensuring the
right amount of materials are in the right place at the right time. A manager is
considered to be competent, however, if these activities can be applied in the work
situation.

The model developed herein modifies the traditional approach taken by the contractors
by developing a schedule of activities; assigning labour resources to each activity, and
development of a critical path based bar chart for the project, with the addition of
levelling of labour resources through aggregation and rescheduling, and adherence to
the bar chart to the completion of the project.

79
It is found, however, that project scheduling by small and medium contractors is more
easily advocated than carried out in practice as project scheduling is quite often
regarded as a frustrating exercise and adhering to the schedule can be even more
daunting. Still more demanding, therefore, will be project scheduling when the available
resources are limited, and resource levelling is a basic requirement to prepare a valid
project schedule, especially when carried out manually.

Too often construction managers complain that they are burdened with projects with
near impossibly short deadlines for completion. One of the main reasons is that when
performing project scheduling, the construction manager will try to schedule most tasks
sequentially, whereas the project manager will generally have to combine certain tasks
to make optimum use of available labour and plant. To overcome this problem, it is
obvious that both project managers and construction managers should cooperate in the
scheduling and resource levelling, making effective use of critical path software.

Case study contract

Due to the unsatisfactory completion of the first phase, the owners decided to manage
the second phase themselves. The husband has construction management experience
(but was pressed for time) and the wife is at home full time and had overseen and
purchased the extra materials required to finish the first phase.

Contractor G had a team of eight workers with mixed skills available full time for the
duration of the project. He was prepared to provide his team of eight for R16 000 per
fortnight, including his overheads and profit, giving a total of R174 000 for 5 months.
The Owner reckoned he could reduce the time to three months if the owners managed
the project, much to the disbelief of the Contractor. The following Sunday the Owner
and Contractor G sat in front of MS Project and the contractor broke the contract down
into meaningful tasks, each with his initial estimate of the duration, materials and the
labour requirements. As expected, the initial time came to five months with a set of
sequential activities.

In this project, the labour team consisted of a mix of carpenters, plumbers, plasterers,
bricklayers, electricians and so on who could double as labourers as and when the need
arose. Contractor G said that he would be available as a ninth labour unit from time to
time as necessary. Subcontractors would be brought in during peak activity such as
pouring concrete. The Owner levelled the labour resource by moving tasks around and
adjusting the order of doing things. Many tasks were able to be adjusted to run
simultaneously and the estimated durations of other tasks were altered proportionally
with labour content. The new labour levelled network was now 91 days – from an initial
150 days.

The Contractor was happy with the new figure but felt happier if the total time could be
adjusted to 100 days (Figure 1). This was agreed and a suitable simple contract drawn
up and signed. Work commenced on 16 June. The scheduled completion time was 4
October but the contract was extended an extra fortnight to allow for completion of
Phase 1 and other extras the owners introduced. The Owner ensured all materials were
available on site ahead of time, and the Contractor adhered to the schedule, finishing on
time and budget. All parties were happy with the outcome: full cooperation, no hassles,

80
no waste of time or materials, and the owners were able to able to enjoy their new
development within their initial R400 000 limit.

Figure 1: Labour Resource after levelling and smoothing

Evaluation
The paper reports on the findings of a case study whereby the manager supplies all the
materials ahead of time and the contractor supplies all the labour requirements
according to a collaborative revised schedule where the labour resource is levelled and
smoothed, with many activities carried out in parallel rather than sequentially. Simple
management of the resource usage resulted in nearly forty per cent reduction in labour
costs, completed within budget and in three months rather than the five months
estimate.

Conclusions
The approach used in the case study provides a learning curve for the emerging
contractor who also acquired new skills for himself and his team. The contractor has
purchased a computer and been enabled to use simple resource levelling and smoothing
to utilize his labour force more efficiently and effectively. He can now quote more
competitively in the secure knowledge that the contract can be completed within his
quoted time and price. His team are now enhancing their skills to become qualified
artisans.

The model has only been applied in one study but is applicable to all construction on
various projects. It is especially relevant to affordable house construction projects where
more quality houses can be produced within a given budget and time.

The knowledge that underpins this example has produced an efficiency gain of nearly
forty per cent. If we can take this knowledge, nurture it, share it and apply it throughout
the construction industry we could witness a significant change in the way construction
activity is carried out. This is not only in the form of new techniques and technology,
but also in the way that construction projects are procured and managed. Such a gain in
efficiency could have a dramatic impact on the GDP (Nana, 2003).

81
References
Aiyetan A.O. (2010), Influences on Construction Delivery Time, PhD thesis, Nelson
Mandela Metropolitan University.
CCG (2010). The Client‟s Charter. Construction Client‘s Group, Confederation of
Construction Clients, www.clientsuccess.org.uk/. [Accessed 1 September 2012].
CETA (2011), Strategic Plan of the Construction Sector Education and Training
Authority 2011-2012,Pretoria: CETA.
De Bruyn, C. (2008). ‗Construction industry‘s contribution to GDP continues to grow.‘
Engineering News, 12 September 2008.
Hendrickson, C. (2008), Project Management for Construction, Pittsburgh, PA:
PMBook.
Lean Construction Institute. www.leanconstruction.org. [Accessed 1 September 2012].
Nana, G. (2003). Assessment of the Economic Impact of Efficiency Improvements in
Building and Construction. Independent research undertaken by Business and
Economic Research Ltd (BERL) for BRANZ.
Rogers D.E.C. & Banoo, I. (2004), National Cleaner Construction Strategy, Prepared
for National and Regional Workshops, Government of the Republic of South Africa,
8 November 2004.
SECBE (2010). An Introductory Guide to Best Practice in Construction.
www.secbe.org.uk/documents/introductory_best_practice_guide.pdf. [Accessed
1 September 2012].
Thwala W.D. & Phaladi, M.J. (2009), ‗An exploratory study of problems facing small
contractors in the North West province of South Africa‘, African Journal of
Business Management Vol.3 (10), pp. 533-539.
TIPS (Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies) (2010). Case Study – The Construction
Industry‘s Path towards a Low Carbon Trajectory, December 2010.
www.climateriskandopportunity.co.za/%5Cdownloads%5CClimate_Risks_&_O
pps_Construction_Case_Study_201012.pdf. (Accessed 1 September 2012).
Utting, P.L. (1992), Engineering change in a New South Africa, Pietermaritzburg: Natal
University Press, 1992.
Womack, J. & Jones, D. (2003). Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in
Your Corporation, New York: Free Press.

82
 Organisational Behaviour as a Pillar of a Mature
Quantity Surveying Business
P Oosthuizen
Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management,
University of the Free State, South Africa
Email: oosthuizenpm@ufs.ac.za

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the possibility and search for an initiation
point for development. Development should be directed at a main goal which could be
called maturity. In order for a quantity surveying business to strive for maturity, the
composition of a hypothetical mature business should be known. The question of what
the pillars of a hypothetical mature quantity surveying business should be could then be
pertinent. The research for this study is primarily based on a qualitative literature
review which is supported by a quantitative empirical analysis. Forty eight national and
international quantity surveyors participated in the study. The literature research set the
foundation for this research and identified organisational behaviour with individual
processes, social processes and organisational context as three proposed dimensions.
The value of this research is based on the support that it may offer future researchers to
create a maturity model, which could serve as a benchmark for quantity surveying
businesses. The fact that this research mainly focused on South African conditions
could be seen as a limitation. The information from this study could however be applied
to international conditions in further research. Implementing organisational behaviour
principles in quantity surveying businesses could contribute to positive growth towards
maturity.

Keywords:
Business, Maturity, Organisational behaviour, Quantity surveying, South Africa

Introduction
The ability to understand, appreciate, and effectively leverage human capital could be
seen as critical in most industries, especially the construction industry, which includes
the quantity surveying profession. A strategic approach to organisational behaviour
focuses on these issues. A reader in general sociology, published as early as 1964, with
the title ―Social organisation and behaviour‖ already viewed the social organisation as
one involving differentiation and integration of values, among other, cultural norms,
socialisation, interpersonal influence and reference group behaviour. Accordingly, every
enduring social group might have to deal with recurring and ever changing problems if
it wants to accomplish its goals and survive in its environment. It might furthermore
have to maintain cooperation among its members, prevent internal conflict from getting
out of hand, organize whatever material resources it needs and manage relationships
with outsiders (Simpson & Simpson, 1964). From this reader it is clear that an
organisation was seen in the 1960‘s as a gathering of individuals, who were expected to
interact with ―outsiders‖ and work together in order to realise the organisations‘ goals.

83
Where individuals interact on a professional level, this view might still be relevant
today.

Lussier (1996) states that the term human relations mean ―interactions among people”.
He further points out that the goal of human relations is to create a win-win situation by
satisfying employee needs while achieving organisational objectives. The win-win
situation occurs when the organisation and the employees get what they want. Lussier
(1996) then mentions that an organisation is a group of people working together with
the vision to achieve an objective or objectives. Lussier (1996) further states that, when
individuals and groups interact, their collective behaviour constitutes the organisation‘s
behaviour. Organisational behaviour could then be described as the collective behaviour
of an organisation‘s individuals and groups. In more resent literature, Hitt, Miller and
Colella (2009) introduce their readers to organisational behaviour with the view that it
involves the actions of individuals and groups in an organisational context. This view
correlates with the view of Lussier (1996), Simpson and Simpson (1964), Kreitner and
Kinicki (1995), and Johns (1996).

Hitt et al. (2009) are of the opinion that managing organisational behaviour focuses on
acquiring, developing, and applying the knowledge and skills of people and that the
strategic organisational behaviour approach rests on the premise that people are the
foundation of an organisation‘s competitive advantage. An organisation might have
exceptionally high-quality products and services, excellent customer service, best-in-
class cost structure, or some other advantages, but all of these could be described as
outcomes of the capabilities of the organisation‘s people, also known as its human
capital. Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) state that it does not matter how sophisticated an
organisation‘s strategy is, human capital could inevitably still be seen as the key to
success. Hitt et al. (2009) also mention that, if human capital is organised and managed
effectively, the knowledge and skills of the people in the organisation drive sustainable
competitive advantage and long term financial success. The strategic approach to
organisational behaviour, therefore, involves organising and managing the people‘s
knowledge and skills effectively to implement the organisation‘s strategy and gain a
competitive advantage. Hitt et al. (2009) support Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) and
Lussier (1996) that individual, interpersonal and organisational factors determine the
behaviour and the ultimate value of an organisation‘s people.

Lussier (1996) differentiate between individual- and group behaviour and explains that
individual behaviour refers to the actions, thoughts and feelings of individuals within
the organisation, while group behaviour consists of the actions of two or more people
while interacting with each other. Organisational behaviour is described as the
collective behaviour of an organisation‘s individuals and groups. Hitt et al. (2009)
maintain that factors such as the ability to learn, the ability to be self-managing,
technical skills, personality characteristics, and personal values are important to
individuals. These factors represent, or relate to, important capabilities. At the
interpersonal level, factors such as quality of leadership, communication within and
between groups, and conflict between and within groups are noteworthy. These
determine the degree to which the capabilities of individuals are unleashed and fully
utilised within an organisation. At the organisational level, the culture and policies of
the organisation are among the most important factors, as they influence whether the

84
talents and positive predispositions of individuals are effectively leveraged to create
positive outcomes. Three levels of behaviour within an organisation follow.

Individual processes
Learning and perception
Hitt et al. (2009) noted that when individuals first enter an organisation, they bring with
them their own unique experiences, perceptions and behaviours. These patterns of
behaviour could have developed because they have helped these individuals cope with
the environment around them. When these individuals are introduced to a new
organisation or environment they may need to learn new behaviours that should make
them effective in their new setting. The organisation should therefore be acquainted
with the principles and processes that govern learning.

Hitt et al. (2009) define learning as a process through which individuals change their
behaviour, based on positive and/or negative experiences in a situation. Johns (1996)
defines learning as relatively permanent change in behaviour potential that occurs due to
practice or experience. Both Hitt et al. (2009) and Johns (1996) refer to learning as a
change in behaviour due to experience. Employees who could effectively learn from
experience, and help others to do so, could contribute positively to an organisation‘s
human capital and therefore contribute positively to its capacity to develop a sustainable
competitive advantage. Learning could, however, be problematic if an employee does
not perceive people, tasks and events accurately.

Hitt et al. (2009) define perception as a process that involves sensing various aspects of
a person, task, or event and forming impressions based on selected inputs. Employees
are constantly exposed to a variety of sensory inputs that influence their perceptions.
Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) define perception as a mental and cognitive process that
enable people to interpret and understand their surroundings. Kreitner and Kinicki
(1995) refer to reading as an example that involves recognition of visual patterns
representing letters in the alphabet, and state that recognition of objects could be one of
perception‘s major functions. Learning could be the result of perceiving through
experience. People perceive experiences with their senses. In the quantity surveying
profession employers could help employees to formulate the correct perceptions about
the profession and industry.

Personality, attitudes, intelligence, and emotions

Personality describes a person‘s most prominent or dominant characteristics. Hitt et al.
(2009) define personality as a stable set of characteristics representing the internal
properties of an individual, which are reflected in behavioural tendencies across a
variety of situations. These characteristics are often referred to as traits and could be
given names such as dominance, assertiveness, and neuroticism. Johns (1996) defines
personality as a relatively stable set of psychological characteristics that influence the
way an individual interacts with his or her environment.

Lussier (1996) mentions that personality types affect human relations and is of the
opinion that people with similar personality types tend to get along well at work, while

85
opposite personalities don‘t tend to get along well. Personality conflicts could have a
negative effect on human relations which could result in the ending of human relations
and have a negative effect on the growth of the organisation. It could also be important
to note that a person‘s attitude towards the work, the work environment, or towards
management could also have an effect on the human relations within the organisation.
Hitt et al. (2009) and Johns (1996) define attitude as a persistent tendency to feel and
behave in a favourable or unfavourable manner towards a specific person, object or
idea. Unfavourable attitudes in the work environment could have a negative influence
on any organisation. Management should identify and address negative attitudes to
ensure harmonious human relations. Clear and regular communication could be
important in this regard.

Employers and employees, like any human being, have emotions and emotions
therefore play a big role in everyday organisational behaviour. Hitt et al. (2009)
mention that organisational scholars studied the role emotions plays at work. It was
found that, according to these studies, organisations have become more concerned with
the emotions of their employees. Hitt et al. (2009) define emotions as complex
subjective reactions that have both a physical and mental component. Anger, happiness,
anxiety, pride, contentment, and guilt are all emotional reactions. Emotions could
therefore directly affect one‘s behaviour. It would seem most likely that positive
emotion would always lead to high performance. Research has, however, shown that
negative emotions could serve as a motivator. Research on creativity has found that
positive emotions could increase creativity while negative emotions could lead to
greater creativity (Hitt et al., 2009). It seems that emotions could be used to the benefit
of an organisation as long as it is controlled. Uncontrolled emotions might, however,
have awkward consequences.

Motivation
Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) refer to historical research which revealed that employees
tend to be more motivated, committed and satisfied when they feel as if they are
significantly contributing to their business‘s success. Managers should understand these
psychological processes if they want to successfully guide employees towards
accomplishing organisational objectives. The following equation was derived from the
definition given by Hitt et al. (2009):

“Performance in a favourable environment = f (Ability x Motivation)”

A person‘s level of performance is thus a function (f) of both his/her ability and
motivation in a favourable environment.

One of the most popular motivation theories, frequently referred to in the ―hierarchy of
needs theory‖, was proposed by Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow, people are
motivated by their desire to satisfy specific needs. Maslow arranged these needs in
hierarchical order. Lower-level needs must be substantially met before higher-level
needs become important, according to Maslow. According to Maslow‘s theory, each
need is ―pre-potent‖ over all higher level needs until it has been satisfied. A ―pre-
potent‖ need is one that predominates over other needs, for example, a person at the
social and belongingness level will be most concerned with rewards provided by

86
meaningful relationships and will not be so concerned with esteem related rewards such
as public recognition or large bonuses. It follows that a satisfied need is no longer a
motivator (Hitt et al., 2009). Maslow‘s needs hierarchy theory is one of existing theories
attempting to identify what motivates individuals. The content of theories of motivation
could generally be associated with identifying the specific factors that motivate people.
The basic implications of these theories suggest that managers should take individuals‘
needs into consideration when trying to decipher what motivates them.

Groups, Teams and Social Processes

Businesses and organisations consist of inter alia human capital or people or
individuals. Individuals could be organised into groups or teams to perform certain
tasks. Within these groups or teams social interaction between the individuals could
occur and leadership might be essential.

Leadership
Leadership has been defined in many ways, and most definitions emphasise the concept
of influence. Hitt et al. (2009) define leadership as the process of providing general
direction and influencing individuals or groups to achieve goals. Lussier (1996) defines
leadership as the process of influencing employees to work towards the achievement of
objectives. Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) define leadership as influencing employees to
voluntarily pursue organisational goals and Johns (1996) defines leadership as the
influence that particular individuals exert upon the goal achievement of others in an
organisational context.

In all four definitions the words ―influencing‖ has been used and in three of the four
definitions the words ―to achieve goals‖ where used. It could then be argued that
leadership involves the process where employees should be influenced to achieve goals.
Hitt et al. (2009) highlight two leadership approaches. The one is called transactional
leadership. They define transactional leadership as a leadership approach that is based
on the exchange relationship between followers and leaders. Kreitner and Kinicki
(1995) might define transactional leadership more clearly as the focus on interpersonal
interactions between managers and employees. In contrast to this approach,
transformational leadership involves motivating followers to do more than what is
expected, to continuously develop and grow, to increase their level of self-confidence,
and to place the interests of the unit or organisation before their own (Hitt et al. 2009).
Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) call transformational leaders, charismatic leaders and
define charismatic leaders as leadership that transforms employees to pursue
organisational goals over self-interest.

Communication
According to Hitt et al. (2009) the need for communication pervades organisations.
They also mention that jobs cannot be adequately accomplished, goals cannot be met,
and problems cannot be solved without adequate communication. Kreitner and Kinicki
(1995) are pertinent that every managerial function and activity involve some form of
direct or indirect communication, and managerial decisions and organisational policies

87
are, therefore, ineffective unless they are understood by those persons responsible for
enacting them. Communication is defined by Hitt et al. (2009) as the sharing of
information between two or more people to achieve a common understanding about an
objective or situation, while Johns (1996) defines communication as the process by
which information is exchanged between a sender and a receiver. Lussier (1996) defines
communication as the process of a sender transmitting a message to a receiver with
mutual understanding. Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) define communication in six words
as ―interpersonal exchange of information and understanding.‖ One could simplify the
definition to as little as four words as ―interpersonal exchange of information.‖
Communication could be described as effective if the message from the sender was
understood by the receiver.

Lussier (1996) introduced various communication channels, namely oral, written, non-
verbal, etc. Various studies have been done on this subject, which fall beyond the scope
of this paper. The question whether effective communication could contribute to an
organisational maturity is relevant. To determine whether communication within an
organisation is effective or not, could be done through a communication audit. Hitt et al.
(2009) mention that it could be important to analyse the organisation‘s communication
needs and practices through periodic communication audits for establishing effective
communication. According to Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) management experts have
noted that effective communication could also be a cornerstone of ethical organisational
behaviour.

Decision-making
Hitt et al. (2009) and Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) believe that decision making by
individuals and groups have some strategic importance since decision making could
form part of the day-to-day activities of individuals and groups within an organisation.
The decision making process might look obvious but could be vital for continuous
growth and maturity. According to the decision making process the first step is to
define the problem, and to make sure the problem identified is the real problem. The
second step is to identify the decision criteria, which requires the decision maker to
determine exactly what is important in solving the problem. The third step is to gather
and process information to understand the decision context better and to discover
specific alternatives that might solve the problem, which is the fourth step. The next
step in the decision making process involves evaluating all relevant alternatives and
choosing the alternative which seems to satisfy the criteria the best, thereby solving the
problem in the best manner possible.

The decision making process does, however, not end when the decision has been made.
The decision must be implemented, and the decision maker must follow up and monitor
the results to ensure the adopted alternative solved the problem (Hitt et al. 2009).
Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) also refer to two types of managerial decisions, namely
programmed, which is ―repetitive‖ or ―routine‖ decisions, and ―non-programmed‖
which is novel and unstructured decisions. Decision making could be described as the
essence of management.

88
Conflict, Negotiation, Power and Politics
Conflict is defined by Hitt et al. (2009) and Johns (1996) as the process in which one
party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another
party. Conflict could either be functional or dysfunctional for organisational
effectiveness. Functional conflict leads to creativity and positive change. Dysfunctional
conflict detracts from the achievement of organisational goals. Causes of conflict could
be ascribed to among other structural causes (for example, increased specialisation),
communication problems, cognitive factors (for example, differing expectations) and
individual differences.

Often negotiations could be required to resolve the conflict. Managers may act as a
third party, using mediator- and, if necessary, arbitrator roles to achieve a negotiated
settlement. In many cases power might have played a role in causing the conflict.
Power could be described as the ability of those who hold it to achieve the outcomes
they desire (Lussier, 1996). It could be argued that nothing would be accomplished in
organisations if individuals did not exercise power. The hunger for power in an
organisation could lead to organisational politics. Political behaviour could be carried
out through a wide range of tactics (Kreitner & Kinicki, 1995). The extent to which a
politician is successful in achieving his or her own goals depends on political skills (Hitt
et al. 2009). The question is, ―how does conflict, negotiation, power and politics
influence the success of the organisation?‖

Organisational context
Organisational design and culture
Organisational structure could be described as the formal system of work roles and
authority relationships that govern how associates and managers interact with one
another. Strategy plays an important role in organisational structure, since the
organisational structure determines the manner in which an organisation divides its
labour into specific tasks and achieves coordination among these tasks (Johns, 1996).
Corporate strategy corresponds to the emphasis placed on growth and diversification in
an organisation. Other factors that could play a role in the organisational structure, is the
external environment, technology, and the organisational size.

Change and development

Plato once said, ―Change takes place no matter what deters it‖ (Lussier, 1996).

Organisations could encounter many different forces for change which could come from
the external environment or from the internal environment (Johns, 1996). Kreitner and
Kinicki (1995) mention that there are four key external forces for change: demographic
characteristics, technological advancements, market changes, and social and political
pressures. Internal forces for change could come from both human resource problems
and managerial behaviour/decisions. Johns (1996) mentions that probably the best
motivation for change could be increased competitiveness. Kreitner and Kinicki (1995)
agree by mentioning that ―increasing competition is forcing businesses to shape up or
ship out.‖ It seems that organisational change could be part of any organisation‘s life
cycle. The organisation that copes better with change could reach maturity faster.

89
Empirical Study
The three proposed dimensions as well as organisational behaviour as a proposed pillar
of a hypothetical matured quantity surveying business where tested by means of an
empirical study.

Data Accumulation Process

The majority of questionnaires were issued to respondents by means of electronic mail
while other respondents were issued with a hard copy. Electronic mail proved to be
more challenging since the researcher never knew whether the questionnaire reached the
relevant person. A pre-empted quantity of 70 questionnaires was distributed of which 48
respondents successfully replied within the allowed window period of 30 days. A
success response rate of 68.5% was achieved.

Profile of respondents
A database of quantity surveyors was compiled from the authors‘ personal
acquaintances. An interesting observation when retrieving the questionnaires was that
13 of the 48 successfully returned questionnaires (27%) were completed by professional
quantity surveyors situated in foreign countries. Although the researcher‘s perspective
could be as a South African, the international responses could be seen as a valuable
indication of what professionals in other countries perceive as maturity pillars of a
quantity surveying business. ―Organisational Behaviour‖ where proposed as one of the
pillars of a mature quantity surveying business. The three dimensions identified gave
sustenance to the proposed pillar. The questionnaire first defined the term
―organisational behaviour‖ for unambiguousness and then challenged the respondent to
value his/her opinion. Table 1 lists the different dimensions with the average results for
each dimension divided by 5. The percentages in the last column indicate the
respondents‘ approval with the dimensions. Higher percentages indicate a stronger
feeling towards the importance of the dimension and vice versa.

Table 1: Organisational Behaviour: Average

[C] Organisational behaviour Average from 48

respondents
i. Individual Processes 3.90 / 5 78%
ii. Groups, Teams and Social Processes 4.10 / 5 82%
iii. Organisational Context 3.60 / 5 72%
Average 3.86 / 5 77%

From the table, it is clear that the majority of the respondents felt that the second
dimension: groups, teams and social processes, are very important with 82%. The
dimension with the lowest percentage is organisational context, with a favourable
percentage of 72%.

Question 4 in the questionnaire was a ―balancing‖ question. The main purpose of the
question was to test the respondents‘ understanding of the preceding questions as well

90
as to finally weight the validity of the proposed pillar. The respondents were of the
opinion that ―organisational behaviour‖ should be one of the maturity pillars of a
quantity surveying business with an average response of 3.40 out of 5. That is a
favourable average percentage of 68%. Figure 1 proposes human relations as a pillar of
a mature quantity surveying business with the aforementioned as dimensions of the
pillar.

Figure 1: Dimensions of organisational behaviour

The literature research which set the foundation for this research, identified
organisational behaviour with individual processes, social processes and organisational
context as three proposed dimensions. The empirical study supported the literature
proposal that organisational behaviour could be seen as a pillar of a mature quantity
surveying business. Implementing organisational behaviour principles in quantity
surveying businesses could contribute to positive growth towards maturity. The value of
this research is based on the support that it may offer future researchers to create a
maturity model, which could serve as a benchmark for quantity surveying businesses.

References
Barak, M.E. (2005), Managing diversity toward a globally inclusive workplace.
California: Sage.
Hitt, A.M., Miller, C.C. & Colella, A. (2009), Organisational behaviour: a strategic
approach. 2nd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Johns, G. (1996), Organisational behaviour: understanding and managing life at work.
4th ed. London: HarperCollins College Publishers.
Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (1995), Organisational behaviour. 3rd ed. Chicago: Irwin.
Lussier, R.N. (1996), Human relations in organisations. 3rd ed. New York: Irwin-
McGraw-Hill.
Simpson, R.L. & Simpson, I.H. (1964), Social organisation and behaviour. New York:
John Wiley and Sons.

91
 Construction Management Pedagogy in the Y-
Generation Era in South Africa: An Exploratory Study
FA Emuze1 and WM Shakantu2
1
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment,
Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa
Email: fidomy@gmail.com
2
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: Winston.Shakantu@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
The paper shows that as the type of student entering tertiary institutions changes, there
is need to move from traditional ways of instruction to those more suited to this type of
student. The purpose of the study was to examine if indeed a move away from the
traditional ways of instruction can enhance teaching and learning in the study area. The
literature review focused on the effective ways of teaching and learning in tertiary
institutions. Enquiries with the third and fourth year degree construction management
students were used to corroborate the findings in the literature and provide further
insights into the plight of Y-generation students. Although limited by sample size, the
findings of the enquiry show that most current students are Y- generation learners, who
are visually inclined, expect information instantly and use information and
communication technology extensively. It is therefore necessary, for facilitators to
consider a blended type of pedagogy, which embraces both traditional active lecturing
and online (e-learning).

Keywords:
Construction Management, Blended Learning, e-Learning, Pedagogy, Students, Y-
generation, South Africa

Introduction
The aging academic can be viewed as a chalk and board, and recently power point
oriented educator, while the Y - generations are mainly students born after 1979
(Genrich, Roberts, Cater-Steel & Low, 2004; Wilson & Gerber, 2008). Essentially, Y-
generation students absorb everything in short segments; they tend to have short
attention spans and must be entertained; it is important to provide them with challenging
work that really matters; they must be allowed some flexibility in scheduling their
study; assessment must be thoroughly balanced; students should be encouraged to
establish mentoring relationships with tutors; academics should consistently provide
constructive feedback in tutorials and assignments; and academics should create a
comfortable, low stress environment in the classroom (Genrich et al., 2004). In brief,
the seven distinguishing traits of the Y- generation reported in the United States of
America (USA) include (Wilson & Gerber, 2008):

92
 Special - unlike the older generations, the Y- generation are a huge demographic,
and one that was eagerly anticipated by their parents. They are even the ―largest,
healthiest, and most cared-for generation in American history;

 Sheltered – they are protected from harm as a dense of structure of new regulations
now guards children and adolescents;

 Confident – they are optimistic about their future prospects, particularly their
economic standing, and they often equate good news for themselves with good news
for their country;

 Team-oriented – they have long worked in task groups and are skilled in
collaborative effort that are encouraging the development of strong team instincts
and tighter peer bonds;

 Achieving – they respond best to external motivators and are highly rationalistic,
making long-range plans and thinking carefully about their future in terms of tertiary
education, salaries and employment trends;

 Pressured – they are convinced that competition with others makes the world better,
and success is the natural outcome of effort; in other words, pressure is what keeps
them constantly in motion, and

 Conventional – they are not only willing to accept their parents‘ values as stated, but
also they are starting to think that they can apply the values, and someday run the
show, a whole lot better.

Wilson and Gerber (2008) went to introduce strategies for working with the Y-
generations in the academia after evaluating their characteristics. The strategies inter-
alia, include clarify the essentials when preparing syllabi, assignments and evaluation
instruments; build in significant possibilities for student initiative and creativity; provide
opportunities for selection of options and working in teams; from the start help students
to understand and manage stress; use modules, flexible deadlines, pre-planned workload
reductions and grade-checking mechanisms; and develop course elements that either
mimic the structure of video games or include actual gaming exercises (Wilson &
Gerber, 2008).

Given that secondary school education, perceived knowledge, frequency of use, attitude
to using computers, and academic performance differ amongst Y- generation and older
generation students (Genrich et al., 2004), this paper addresses the challenge by
conducting a research so as to chart a pathway out of the learning puzzle. The objective
of the study is to corroborate the perception that methods of pedagogy is in need of
enhancement in order to improve learning among students. This is based on the premise
that the agony suffered by the aging academic (academics older than 55 years) can be
addressed by understanding the features of the generational gaps between students and
their lecturers. In brief, there appears to be a growing gap between student expectations
and what higher institutions are delivering at a wider level in terms of resources and
employee engagement (Ojiako et al., 2011).

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Synopsis of the Diverse Pedagogy in Higher Education
In pedagogy, the educational focus is on transmitting the content of a subject matter in a
teacher controlled environment, and in andragogy, the educational focus is on
facilitating the acquisition of, and critical thinking about, the content and its application
in real-life practical settings (Pew, 2007). Pew (2007) noted that in pedagogy, educators
assume responsibility for making decisions pertaining to what, how and what is learnt
by students. On the other hand, andragogy is reported to be the art and science of
helping adults learn. In the androgogical model, there are five characteristics that
include (Pew, 2007):

 Letting learners know why something is important to learn;

 Showing learners how to direct themselves through information;

 Relating the topic to the learner‘s experiences;

 Student may not learn until they are ready and motivated to learn, and

 Students need to be helped to overcome inhibitions, behaviours and beliefs about

learning.

Richardson (2003) suggest that looming over the concerns and critiques of
constructivist pedagogy is the realisation that constructivism as a learning, development
or meaning-making theory indicates that students make meaning from activities
encountered in a transmission model of teaching such as lectures (direct instruction) and
non-interactive media. They noted that a constructivist classroom provides students with
the chance to develop deep understandings of the material, internalise it, and understand
the nature of knowledge development.

According to Sheets (2005), diversity pedagogy theory (DPT) is a set of principles that
point out the natural and inseparable connection between culture and cognition. In
effect, to be effective as an educator, you must understand and acknowledge the critical
role culture plays in the teaching process. Sheets (2009) observe that DPT requires
educators to observe the cultural behavioural patterns of their students in order to
identify individual and group competencies and skills; and then, use the knowledge that
is gained to guide their teaching decisions. The aforementioned suggest that there are
different ways of pedagogy and each way should be tailored to the need of the
beneficiaries (students). Ojiako et al. (2011) noted that in conformance with both
transformational and social learning theories, educators need to broaden learning
experiences so as to properly facilitate change project management students from
simple recipients of knowledge to creator of knowledge. For example, Ojiako et al.
(2011) suggest that educators need to embrace a different way of teaching by allowing
engagement in project-based modules, where students are allowed to become proactive
problem solvers and critical thinkers

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Blended Learning in Higher Education
Because the Y- generation students often do not function as expected by the aging
academic, the gap between both generations tends to widen. Universities that recognised
the need to address the Y- generation dilemma have thus introduced the concept of
Blended Learning at their institutions. Garrison and Vaughan (2008) define Blended
Learning as the thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online learning experiences so that
the strengths of each are blended into a unique learning experience. They contend that
Blended Learning is a fundamental redesign that transforms the structure and approach
to teaching and learning.

The main feature of Blended Learning is that a significant portion of the activities occur
in person (personal contact) and online. Lecture, problem-based learning, cooperative
learning, and other methods of teaching can be superimposed on the blended framework
(Garrison & Vaughan, 2008). For instance, blended courses could have between 30 and
79% of activities online, face-to-face courses can include up to 29% of online activities,
and fully online courses can include up to 20% of face-to-face activities (Allen, Seaman
& Garret, 2007). However, the ability to link or blend what occurs in each medium so
that online and face-to-face activities reinforce each other to create a single unified
course could be a challenging process (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008).

To be succinct, Zhao, Lei, Yan, Lai and Tan (2005) observed that instructor and
students, students and their peers, and students and content are essential elements in
establishing the value of a blended course‘s design. They further noted that blended
courses report more positive outcomes than courses that are entirely synchronous or
entirely asynchronous.

Research Strategy
The characteristics mentioned earlier make it difficult for the Y - generation students to
function as expected by the aging academic; thus creating an even growing generational
gap. To understand how the gap could be narrowed, a case study was undertaken at a
South African university. The study concentrated on pedagogical methodologies of the
academic and the way construction management students received them.

The method used for generating the primary data is explorative in nature. The structured
questionnaire was emailed to all registered construction management BSc (construction
studies) and BSc (Hon) (Construction Management) students at the university. The
sampling method could be construed as purposive in nature (Springer, 2010). At the end
of a two week period that did not yield a single response, printed copies of the
questionnaire were distributed among 3rd and 4th year students. Perhaps, because the
students were aware of the voluntary participatory nature of such endeavours, they
decided not to get involved until a personal contact was made with them. In any case, 29
questionnaires were completed and returned by the 3rd and 4th year students, out of a
total number of 40 students.

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Table 1 shows that majority of the students that participated in the study can be
considered to be Y- generation students. In particular, only 1 student that was born in
1971 belongs to the X- generation when the classifications put forward in the literature
is considered. In other words, 28 of the students that took part in the student were born
between 1985 and 1992; while 1 student declined to indicate his / her age.

Table 1: Year of birth of students

Year Number of Students

1992 1
1991 7
1990 13
1989 5
1985 1
1971 1

Findings and Discussion

When asked to rate the extent that certain traits contributes to their academic
performance in construction management programmes, on a scale of 1 (minor) to 5
(major) as indicated in Table 2, 27.6% of the students perceived the contributions of
their secondary school educational background to be major. 20.7% of them also rated
the contributions of the mode of study (either traditional / interactive) as major. It is
however notable that the students can be deemed to perceive the contributions of all the
listed traits (secondary school educational background, perceived knowledge of
computers, frequent use of computers, attitude to the use of computers and mode of
study) to be more of major than minor since the least mean score (MS) recorded was
3.31.

Table 2: Contributions of certain traits to academic performance

Traits Minor ……………………Major MS Rank

U
1 2 3 4 5
Mode of study (traditional /
0.0 0.0 13.8 24.1 41.4 20.7 3.69 1
interactive teaching)
Secondary school educational
0.0 0.0 10.3 44.8 17.2 27.6 3.62 2
background
Perceived knowledge of
3.4 3.4 10.3 34.5 34.5 13.8 3.46 3
computers
Frequency of use of computers 0.0 0.0 13.8 34.5 44.8 6.9 3.45 4
Attitude to the use of computers 0.0 3.4 13.8 37.9 37.9 6.9 3.31 5

With MS of 4.28, it can be said that most of the students that took part in the study
perceived that interactive teaching with technology influence their academic
performance significantly in the construction management programmes (Table 3).
Although less preferred to interactive teaching mode, the traditional method of teaching
in the classroom was equally highly regarded by the students.

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 Table 3: The influence of teaching mode on academic performance

Teaching mode Minor………………………Major MS Rank

U
1 2 3 4 5
Interactive teaching with
0.0 0.0 6.9 3.4 44.8 44.8 4.28 1
technology
Traditional teaching in the
0.0 0.0 10.3 37.9 34.5 17.2 3.59 2
classroom

Apart from choosing the teaching mode that may have influenced their academic
performance the most, the students were also given the opportunity to indicate their
perceptions concerning strategies that could enhance the use of technology for
improving teaching and learning in construction management related modules. As
indicated in Table 4, ‗involve students in developing and using new technologies, and
‗teach using multimedia formats and case presentations‘ stood out among the lot. With
the exception of ‗avoid / limit traditional lecture formats‘, it was observed that the other
strategies that included ‗provide opportunities to be present without multitasking‘ and ‗
identify technology-free times and push students to be present‘ were rated as either near
major or major contributors to the improvement effort.

Table 4: Strategies that could enhance teaching and learning

Strategies Minor……………………Major MS Rank

U
1 2 3 4 5
Involve students in developing and
3.4 0.0 0.0 17.2 37.9 41.4 4.25 1
using new technologies
Teach using multimedia formats
0.0 0.0 0.0 20.7 51.7 27.6 4.07 2
and case presentations
Provide opportunities to be present
10.3 0.0 3.4 44.8 24.1 17.2 3.62 3
without multitasking
Identify technology-free times &
3.4 0.0 10.3 34.5 34.5 17.2 3.61 4
push students to be present
Avoid / limit traditional lecture
0.0 10.3 20.7 44.8 17.2 6.9 2.90 5
formats

The students were then asked to indicate if they were familiar with the Blended
Learning Gateway that is available on the university portal. It is notable that only 13 of
the students confirmed that they were familiar with the Blended Learning Gateway.
This suggests that 16 students had not access technologies such as e-Pal, LIS, M-Learn,
Moodle, SharePoint; and tools such as Camtasia, Respondus, Turnltln, that were
available in the gateway. In addition, on a scale of 1 (minor) to 5 (major), the students
were able to show the extent that the technologies or tools have contributed to improved
academic performance in construction management programmes.

It is notable that 69.2% of the students that have made use of the gateway perceived the
contributions of ‗SharePoint‘ to be major, while the MSs of other technologies / tools
indicate a minor rather than a major contribution (Table 5). The Microsoft SharePoint is
a web application platform typically associated with web content management and
document management systems according to the Wikipedia (2012a). At the university
SharePoint collaboration site, which is available to all students and lecturers /
instructors, 4200 modules and 7239 site collections were hosted. On the average, 33000

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page views occur per day on the SharePoint. When visiting the university SharePoint
site, students were presented with a list of links to the module sites that they have
enrolled for; while lecturers / instructors will find links to the sites that have been
created for the modules that they teach. In brief, the university SharePoint platform is
mainly used for document management and learning content distribution, and ‗blog‘ for
discussion.

Table 5: Contributions of blended learning technologies to academic performance

Technology / Tool Minor …………………………………Major MS Rank

U
1 2 3 4 5
SharePoint 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.7 23.1 69.2 4.62 1
LIS 33.3 33.3 0.0 25.0 0.0 8.3 2.25 2
M-Learn 25.0 33.3 8.3 16.7 16.7 0.0 2.22 3
e-Pal 7.7 38.5 15.4 23.1 15.4 0.0 2.17 4
Respondus 25.0 50.0 0.0 8.3 8.3 8.3 2.00 5
Moodle 36.4 36.4 9.1 9.1 9.1 0.0 1.86 6
Camtasia 33.3 50.0 0.0 8.3 8.3 0.0 1.63 7
TurnItIn 33.3 50.0 0.0 16.7 0.0 0.0 1.50 8

The students that have utilised the Blended Learning Gateway were further requested to
mention construction management modules that could benefit from the technologies /
tools available on the portal. The 13 students that have used the gateway noted that
modules such as construction management, production analysis, and building science
courses that include materials and methods, environment and services as well as
structures could benefit from the use of the Blended Learning Gateway. In particular,
one student was of the opinion that lectures that have limited site visits should
incorporate innovative approaches in order to improve learning and understanding for
learners.

In general, given that the student that was born in 1971 says ‗I am not really familiar
with the concept‘ and another student that was born in 1990 equally opined that ‗I am
not familiar with it, just know about it‘, it can be argued that the alternative approach to
pedagogy is not enshrined in the fabrics of the university yet. It may therefore be
necessary for concerned parties (lecturers and students) to promote the use of the
Blended Learning Gateway of the university as most of the tools are advantageous to
learning in the construction management discipline. For instance, TurnItln is an
internet-based plagiarism-detection service created to check documents for originality.
The results can be used to detect plagiarism or in formative exercises, help students
learn how to avoid plagiarism and improve their writing capacity (Wikipedia, 2012b).

The fact that majority of the students that participated in the study were born after 1984
necessitate a reorientation of pedagogy approach by academics in the university.
Perhaps, the recommendations of Wilson and Gerber (2008) may be helpful in terms of
learning improvement at the university. The construction management students may
thus benefit from enhanced clarity of both course structure and assignments;
participation in course design; pre-planned measures to reduce stress; and a rigorous
attention to the ethics of learning. Since the Y - generation is reported to be technology
savvy and advanced in readiness to use new technologies, flexibility and adaptability
are required to successfully work with them according to Eckleberry-Hunt and

98
Tucciarone (2011). Eckleberry-Hunt and Tucciarone (2011) noted that having a better
understanding of Y - generation‘s life experience will assist educators who confront the
obvious challenges and frustrations synonymous with them. This is based on the
premise that in order to develop desired human, conceptual and technical skills, what is
required for the effective teaching of project management is an approach that resides at
the intersection of ‗transferable skills and e-learning environments‘ (Ashleigh et al.,
2012).

Conclusions and Further Research

The study contend that as the type of student entering tertiary institutions changes, there
is need to move from traditional ways of instruction to those more suited to this type of
students. Effective ways of teaching such students that are popularly referred to as Y -
generation were thus examined and highlighted.

The literature and empirical findings support the argument that Y - generation students
prefer interactive mode of teaching with technology to the traditional classroom mode.
Although only about 45% of the students that took part in the study were familiar with
the Blended Learning Gateway available at the university, their perceptions of courses
that could benefits from its use were insightful. Most of the students were of the opinion
that lecturers‘ use of strategies such as teaching using multimedia and case presentations
would enhance teaching and learning significantly.

Base on the findings of the literature and empirical study, it can be argued that
academics ought to understand the characteristics of Y- generation students and utilise
these to narrow the expectations gap between both groups. In particular, teaching and
learning related to construction management modules that are not limited to production
analysis, materials and methods and environment and services can be improved at the
university and related institutions. In other words, by understanding the generational
gap, academics could make efforts to ‗pitch‘ their teaching at the level of most Y -
generation students. However, the arguments put forward in this paper are limited in
terms of methodological issues that pertain to similar explorative studies. Thus, the
findings of this study can be considered to be a frontrunner to a future research
endeavour.

Acknowledgement
The substantial backing that was received from the NMMU-cidb CoE is hereby
acknowledged.

References
Allen, I.E., Seaman, J. & Garrett, R. (2007), Blending in: the extent and promise of
blended education in the United States. Needham, MA: Sloan Consortium.
Ashleigh, M., Ojiako, G.U., Chipulu, M. & Kai Wang, J. (2012), Critical learning
themes in project management education: implications for blended learning.
International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 30(2), pp. 153-161.

99
Eckleberry-Hunt, J. & Tucciarone, J. (2011), The challenges and opportunities of
teaching ―generation Y‖. The Journal of Graduate Medical Education, Vol. 3(4),
pp. 458-461.
Garrison, D.R. & Vaughan, N.D. (2008), Blended learning in higher education:
framework, principles, and guidelines. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Genrich, R., Roberts, D., Cater-Steel, A. & Low, E. (2004), Connecting with the Y
Generation: an analysis of factors associated with the academic performance of
foundation IS students. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology,
Vol. 1, pp. 1073-1088.
Ojiako, G.U., Ashleigh, M., Chipulu, M. & Maguire, S. (2011), Learning and teaching
challenges in project management. International Journal of Project Management,
Vol. 29(3), pp. 268-278.
Pew, S. (2007), Androgogy and pedagogy as foundational theory for student motivation
in higher education. Insight: A Collection of Faculty Scholarship-Student
Motivation, Vol. 2, pp. 14-25.
Richardson, V. (2003), Constructivist pedagogy. Teachers College Record, Vol. 105(9),
pp. 1623-1640.
Sheets, R.H. (2005), Diversity pedagogy: examining the role of culture in the teaching-
learning process. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Sheets, R.H. (2009), What is Diversity Pedagogy Theory? Multicultural Education, Vol.
16(3), pp. 11-17.
Springer, K. (2010) Educational research: a contextual approach. New Jersey: John
Wiley & Sons.
Wikipedia (2012a) Microsoft SharePoint [online]. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SharePoint [Accessed 2 May 2012]
Wikipedia (2012b) TurnItin [online]. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnitin [Accessed 2 May 2012]
Wilson, M. & Gerber, L.E. (2008) How generational theory can improve teaching:
strategies for working with the ―millennials‖. Currents in Teaching and Learning,
Vol. 1(1), pp. 29-44.
Zhao, Y., Lei, J., Yan, B., Lai, C. & Tan, S. (2005) What makes the difference? A
practical analysis of research on the effectiveness of distance education. Teachers
College Record, Vol. 107(8), pp. 1836-1834.

100
Comparison of Different Approaches in the Teaching,
Learning and Assessment of Construction Engineering
Courses in South African Higher Education Sector
S Nompunga
Department of Built Environment,
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
Email: nompungas@cput.ac.za

Abstract:
The work reported in this paper attempts to indicate some issues affecting the design,
implementation and assessment of a lesson in Engineering education and its impact to
the learning activity. This study is a critical analysis of the literature relating to the
theory behind teaching, learning and assessment (TLA) materials for successful
enhancement of learning in a Higher Education Institution in relation to the South
African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the NQF. The study suggests that in
South Africa, legislation establishes beyond doubt that on-going teaching and learning
must be undertaken by persons holding qualifications registered by the National
Qualifications Framework (NQF). To realise their full potential as educators,
professionals need to understand the theory behind TLA and also need forms of support
that are tailored to helping them meet the challenges of teaching in the changing South
Africa. Future research may explore further details of industry‘s role and expectations
from this study and to draw recommendations on means that may be effective to the
quality of learning.

Keywords:
Assessment, Higher education, Learning, Teaching

Introduction
The paper describes the underlying theoretical perspective of the approach as well as
how it has been implemented based on evaluation and application of theories on
teaching and learning and the author‘s experience as a teacher for 11 years. Academics
in higher education can no longer teach in ways that were appropriate in the past. The
paradigm has shifted from the dissemination of knowledge to a focus on the learners
and how to facilitate the best learning outcomes for them (Walkington et al., 2001). Too
often teaching is seen as having a beginning and an end. In reality it is a complex
process of planning, implementing, evaluation, feedback and feed forward which is
sometimes necessary to create better understanding for learners.

Learning is also seen as two way traffic between teacher and students. This is supported
by Dewey (1993) in his concept of seeing ‗Teachers as learners‟, „teachers as
researchers‟ and „teachers as practitioners‟. Teachers continue to learn and adapt their
practice to meet the needs of all the stakeholders in the education experience. The
mission of engineering changes when its dominant problem no longer involves the

101
conquest of nature but the creation and management of a self-made habitat. To adapt to
this new habitat, engineers have to retool, starting with their understanding of
engineering education (Williams, 2003). Anecdotally it appears that many people think
that their professional careers depend on the kind of professional education they hold. If
asked explicitly, it appears that most professionals assimilated more complex skills by
means of practical in-house activity rather than formal education.

The education of engineers must therefore take place in a real life context. Real life
context creates a big chance of experience compared with the situation where students
have to deal with the problem of integrating theory gathered from the institutions of
higher learning in their professional practice. The research has shown that this type of
transfer is difficult and that students starting in their profession have the feeling that
they are not sufficiently prepared for their jobs. The literature suggests that there is a
gap between the theory from the universities and practice in the construction industry.
This, therefore, creates a great demand for teachers to understand teaching methods,
how students learn, how to assess, as well as the requirements of industry in order to
bridge the gap.

Teaching
Teaching in higher education can be described as the sharing of knowledge from teacher
to students to create better understanding, although it is acknowledged that sometimes
teachers learn from students, hence the term sharing. In order to give a clear explanation
on teaching, it becomes necessary to give the personal philosophy of teaching. It
underpins thinking and is about attitudes individual values and preparing a teaching
portfolio is considered as a way to stimulate the development of a philosophy. The
question to ask so as to give an explanation of what teaching is, why one teaches the
particular way?

Richlin and Cox (1994) explain the teacher‘s role as that of guiding the learning process
within the diverse area of knowledge in his/her field. It also involves selecting the
approaches that should effectively communicate the knowledge to students. Teaching is
then effective when it supports the activities appropriate to achieving the curriculum
objectives, thereby encouraging students to adopt a deep approach of learning which is
discussed in detail later in this paper. The teacher‘s responsibility is to know the content
very well and expound it clearly.

The development of knowledge and theories necessary for professional practice in

educational setting requires a willingness and capacity on the part of the teachers to
think critically about their practices in their specific contexts. Ramsden (1992) focuses
on improving teaching in higher education, and identifies characteristics for improving
the student‘s experience of higher education. Out of those characteristics he then
develops some principles of effective teaching, which include:
 Interest and explanation:
 Concern and respect for students and their learning;
 Appropriate assessment and feedback;
 Clear goals and intellectual challenge;
 Independence, control and active engagement, and

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 Learning from students.

While this is by no means exhaustive it is a useful focus for teachers to reflect on in

terms of their teaching practices. Teachers should recognise the characteristics of good
teaching and look into attaining them. According to Fox (1983), teaching theories fall
into four categories, namely:
 Transfer theory – because the subject material is viewed as commodity to be
transferred to the student‘s minds;
 Shaping theory – which treats teaching as a process of moulding students to a
predetermined pattern;
 Travelling theory – which treats a subject as a terrain to be explored with hills to be
climbed for better viewpoint, with the teacher as the travelling companion or expert
guide, and
 Growing theory – This focuses more attention on the intellectual and emotional
development of the learner.

These theories are reflected by, and interact with, students‘ views of the learning
process. Whichever theory a teacher uses to help him/her think about the process it will
affect the strategies the teacher uses. This therefore qualifies the statement made under
this sub heading in trying to describe the teaching as the process of sharing knowledge
to create better understanding. The basics of good teaching are summarised in Table 1
as abstracted from Chickering and Gamson (1987). Chickering and Gamson (1987),
refer to the activities in the table as the ―survival kit‖ designed to help educators manage
the many challenges they face.

Table 1: Survival kit

Activity Interpretation
1. Encourage contact The most important factor in student motivation and
involvement is frequent contact.
2. Develop reciprocity and cooperation among Working with others often increases involvement in
students learning.
3. Use active learning techniques Relate to past experiences and application to daily
lives.
4. Give prompt feedback Students need help assessing existing knowledge and
competences.
5. Emphasize time on task Time management is critical for students and
professionals alike.
6. Communicate high expectations Expecting students to perform well becomes a self –
fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold
high expectations of them and make extra efforts.
7. Respect diverse talent and ways of learning Students need the opportunity to show their talent and
learn in ways that work for them.
(Source: Chickering & Gamson, 1987)

Although Fleming (2001) outlines teaching styles as expert, authority, entertainer,

facilitator, and delegation, there appears to be no single style of teaching that is suitable
for all cases because teachers need to become more aware of the various tools and
methods available to them, so they can think and evaluate their own teaching constantly

103
to challenge themselves to meet the needs of their students and the industry they operate
in. The fact of the matter here is the matching of the teaching style to the targeted type
of learning with the consideration of the NQF level.

Teaching now takes place differently than in the past, therefore teachers should be
flexible in their teaching so to deal with the present factors in current and specific
situations. According to Hollins (1999), there are two components of teaching namely
‗Perception‘ and ‗Practice‘. He defines perception as the results of a reciprocal
relationship between an individual‘s experiential background and values, and the
competence of the teacher which is the ability to understand how learning is occurring
from a holistic perspective. Practice is then seen as the individual‘s perceptions and
involves the process of sequence of mental operations and its focus. It is therefore
fundamental that the teacher integrate the component of effective teaching as the
individual modifies his/her perceptions through experience and subsequently shapes
teaching practice to be relevant.

Learning
A teacher‘s role consists of guiding the learning process within the diverse areas of
knowledge in his/her field. It also involves selecting the approaches that should
effectively communicate this knowledge to learners (Richlin & Cox, 1994) The most
important responsibility of a teacher therefore in the learning activity is to engage
learners in such a way that they manage their own learning. For a student to take
responsibility for managing learning and for choosing how to learn requires a teacher
who understands the expectations of the industry and the teacher‘s design of the
learning activity and the explanation of the outcomes of the design.

A number of studies have revealed that different students adopt different styles of
learning and have different approaches and attitudes to the learning process. Marton and
Saljo (1976) focussed on how students approach the task of learning and categorised the
approach as ‗surface‘ approach and ‗deep‘ approach then concluded that the ‗deep‘
approach is more likely to lead to a more fundamental and long lasting understanding.
Biggs (1999) states that the deep approach arise from a felt need to engage the task
appropriately and meaningfully, while the surface arises from an intention to get the
task out of the way with minimum trouble, while appearing to meet requirements. The
design therefore of a learning opportunity that encourages students to adopt a ‗deep‘
approach is encouraged.

In the construction industry each project is unique; this means that each project is totally
different from one another since there is a separation of site from the head office and the
temporary nature of a project team, taking their members from many different
organisations demands people who are self-reliant, adaptable and capable of inspiring
and working within teams. This therefore creates a demand for candidates who are
independent and free thinkers capable of solving problems under these conditions.
Therefore in order to encourage active learning teachers must concentrate on the key
concepts, not just in isolation, but also demonstrate the way the components link
together especially in the work place scenario.

104
As the industry calls for students with team skills, the author encourages learners to use
cooperative learning since he calls for students to formulate groups of two and let them
report back and motivate to the whole class on a certain aspect within the assignment
chosen by the teacher. This is described by Landis (1995) as the learning technique
sessions that can be incorporated into lecture sessions or as the instructional basis for an
entire course. Johnson et al. (1991) report that cooperative learning promotes the use of
higher level reasoning strategies, and critical thinking than competitive or
individualistic learning strategies do.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used instrument in
education today for understanding the role of individual differences in the learning
process (Schroeder, 1993). However the MBTI does not really pick up the preferences
of students as to how they have to come to grips with the process of learning basic
concepts in construction engineering education as is evident in the work of Schroeder
(1993). Students prefer to be involved with immediate, direct, first hand experiences
rather than learning basic concepts first and applying them later on.

Assessment
SAQA (1999) defines assessment as “ the structured process of identifying, gathering
and interpreting evidence about a learner„s achievement in order to assist learner
development, improve the process of learning and teaching and make judgements about
the learner‟s achievement of outcomes in relation to registered national standards and
qualifications.”

Assessment is seen as the most powerful lever teachers have to influence the way the
students respond to courses and behave as learners. The teacher‘s job is to support
students by aligning the teaching methods, assessment tasks and classroom climate to
acquiring the kinds of skills and understanding that is required (Biggs, 2001). Here,
teaching methods and strategic assessment will foster a deep learning approach to
students which is the preferred approach to learning at higher education level.

The main aims of assessment can be described as to improve teaching and to increase
learning. Biggs (1999) states that assessment has six (6) main functions which he
describes as:
 Capturing student‘s time and attention;
 Generating appropriate student learning activity;
 Provide timely feedback which students pay attention to;
 Helping students to internalise the discipline‘s standards and notions of quality;
 Marking: generating marks or grades which distinguish between students or which
enable pass/fail decision to be made, and
 Quality assurance: providing evidence for others outside the course to enable them
to judge the appropriateness of standards of the course.

When designing the assessment for learners, it is important to take into consideration
the above mentioned six main functions of assessment from Biggs (1999) and the seven
questions in assessment design from Brown (2001), which includes:

105
1. What are the outcomes to be assed?
2. What are the capabilities/skills (implicit or explicit) in the outcomes?
3. Is the method of assessment chosen consonant with the outcomes and skills?
4. Is the method relatively efficient in terms of student time and staff time?
5. What alternatives are there? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
6. Does the specific task match the outcomes and skills?
7. Are the marking schemes or criteria appropriate?

The cross checking on these functions and questions helps the teacher not only to
construct assessments that give students opportunity to receive feedback, but also make
the assessment relevant to the real world of construction. Therefore the assessment that
encourage and require students to engage with problems will also encourage the
students to use and apply their learning, facilitating the deep approaches. It is important
that an assessment is designed to assess both the outcomes and the competency of
learners that is why the criteria need to be given to learners upfront.

Reflection and Evaluation

In conventional teaching and learning, learning is completely teacher-centred. It is more
of what Biggs and Tang (2007) referred to as ‗fill-up-the-tanks‘ model of knowledge
acquisition. It is teacher-centred rather than students. Students are encouraged to be
passive learners. Typically students are given a problem example during lecture. The
teacher explains how to work through the example based on a template solution
prepared by the teacher. Students contribute nothing to the exercise and later are given
homework or more examples and they are expected to study the worked examples after
class in order to grasp the technique for developing the solution. Most students see the
teacher as the knowledgeable experts who expound information that they have to adsorb
and during exams report back accurately (Biggs & Tang, 2007). In the conventional
teaching and learning students have limited learning activities that could enable them to
clarify their own thoughts, reflect on concepts and apply effectively the concepts to the
new emerging problems.

Therefore the teaching, learning, assessment materials and the understanding of the
industry expectations help the teacher in trying to bridge the gap between the theory
from the institutions of higher learning and the practice in the industry. This has been
heavily endorsed by the student responses in the follow up session after completing the
assessment since they reported that it gives them the opportunity to have linked learning
experience. It was also evident that more effort was put in by the students since the
quality and the relevance of the content were of a high quality standard after the pilot
evaluation.

Research Methodology
The research employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to obtain
supportive data for this work. This paper describes and analyzes pedagogy for teaching
and the learning process. This class is third year level of Construction Management
subject with 141 students. The age groups of these students start from the youngest at 19

106
years and the oldest at 40 years, whilst the majority are at their early twenties. The
demographic of the class are given in the table below which is representative of the
entire South African population.

A student experience online survey was also conducted where students were informed
about the objectives of the survey and participation in this survey was voluntary,
confidential and anonymous. The pilot assessment was also identified which took into
consideration the response on industry needs and expectations when compiling the
assessment. This pilot assessment helped to gauge the students understanding after the
presentation of the module and was followed up by the feedback session after marking.

Table 2: Gender of Construction Management 3 class 2012

Male Female Total number

113 28 141

The class is the actual sample size that is the only construction management third year
class at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. This sample is made of students
from the main steam and the extended curriculum stream that have successfully
completed the second year practical experience and theory as a prerequisite, the
completion of the practical experience and the size of the class therefore made this third
year construction management class to be appropriate for this study. The online survey
was voluntary and was put on Blackboard, which is accessible to all students with the
deadline for the completion of the survey and their marks for the pilot assessment were
uploaded into the institutional marks administration system that contains the class list.

A total of 102 (73%) responses were received before the deadline for the online survey,
compared the 141 students who wrote the pilot test. This high response in the pilot test
was due to the fact that the test had a 15% weighting towards the student‘s year mark
and was compulsory for all while the online survey was voluntary.

Findings and Discussion

In order for the learning process to take place in a professional discipline and to be able
to apply classroom knowledge to practice, teaching and learning have to move away
from the conventional teacher-centred to student-centred approach as well as class
atmosphere which require application of the theory. In the primary data acquisition
process, the general findings indicate that:

 Students do not always perceive the course work in the same way as lecturers do,
and that this has a significant influence on the quality of student learning, and

 Students still preferred direct face-to-face teaching and easy access to support staff
as when required.

In brief, industry needs and expectations as well as the teaching method and how
students learn, are key aspects of context that must be carefully considered if one wishes
to create a learning environment that encourages the use of conceptual approaches.

107
Conclusions and Further Research
Teaching, learning and assessment materials are complex, since one factor is always in
interaction with one another and will never work in isolation. It is only in the context of
the other that each has meaning. The conclusions that could be drawn from the analysis
of the data suggest that the conventional approach to teaching and learning typically
focus on what teachers teach rather than what students will learn. This approach usually
ends up making teaching and learning teacher-centered rather than student-centered.

However, the inputs of the industry to the university curriculum design is important and
teachers need to understand the variety of learning styles, needs and outcomes that
require a personalized approach to teaching and learning. Further research is necessary
in order to identify the expectations of the stakeholders in the construction industry and
the role that construction engineering education can play so that the expectations can be
met.

Acknowledgement
The author wishes to express his gratitude to Prof C. Winberg, his colleagues and
students in the Fundani Centre for their comments, inputs and valuable feedbacks.

References
Biggs, J. (1999), Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
Biggs, J. (2001), The reflective institution: assuring and enhancing the quality of
teaching and learning. Higher Education, 41(2), pp. 221-238.
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007) Teaching for quality learning at university. Buckingham:
Open University Press / McGraw-Hill Education.
Brown, G. (2001), Assessment: a guide for lectures, Assessment Series 3, LYSN
Generic Centre.
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987), Seven principles for good practice in
undergraduate education, The Wingspread Journal, 9(2), special insert (10 pages
long).
Dewey, J. (1993), How we think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reactive thinking to
the Educative process. Boston: Heat and company.
Fleming, N.D. (2001), Teaching and Learning Styles, VARK strategies. Christchurch,
New Zealand: Author.
Fox, D. (1983), Personal theories of teaching. Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 8(2),
pp. 151-164.
Hollins, E.R. (1999) Pathways to success sin school, culturally responsive teaching.
London: Lawrence Eribaum.
Johnson, D.W., Johnson R.T. & Smith, K.L. (1991), Cooperative learning: increasing
college faculty instructional productivity, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No
4, Washington DC.
Landis, R.B. (1995) Studying in Engineering: A round map to a rewarding career. Los
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Marton, F. & Saljo, R. (1976), On qualitative differences in learning outcome and
process. British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 46 (9/11), pp. 115-127.
Ramsden, P. (1992), learning to teach in Higher Education. London: Routledge.
Richllin, L. & Cox, M. (1994), Improving the teaching and learning connection. Journal
on Excellence in College teaching, Vol. 5(1), pp. 1-6.
Schoeder, C.C. (1993), New Students –New Learning Styles. Change, Vol. 25(5), pp.
21-26.
South African Qualifications Authority (2001), Criteria and guidelines for assessment
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Walkington J., Christensen H.P. & Kock H. (2003), Developing critical reaction as part
of teaching training and teaching practice, European Journal of Engineering
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Chronicle, MIT Press.

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SESSION 2A & 2B: INUSTRY PHENOMENA 1 & 2

110
The Construction Industry’s Accessibility to Physically
Disabled Construction Workers: A State-of-the-Art
Review
AJJ Sparling1 and MH Issa2
1&2
Department of Civil engeneering, University of Manitoba, Canada
Email: umsparla@cc.umanitoba.ca, mohamed.issa@ad.umanitoba.ca

Abstract:
Although there has been a significant push in recent years to ensure workplace
accessibility to physically disabled employees, the Canadian industry‘s ability to
accommodate physically disabled workers remains limited. This paper reviews the
literature surrounding workplace physical accessibility, focusing on two main categories
of papers: guidance and research papers. The review involved collecting, sorting,
grouping and analysing these papers in order to determine the strengths and limitations
of existing literature and opportunities for future research. The review focused on
identifying the laws, regulations, guidelines and best practices enacted in Canada, the
US and internationally and on analysing research papers based on the specific region
where the research was conducted, the nature of the hosting organization, specific
industry, worker type, and physical disability investigated. The review showed that
although there are regulations in place to ensure the employment of disabled people,
little research has been conducted on how to make buildings accessible during
construction. Little is known about the current level of integration of people with
disabilities in the construction workforce, however there is agreement on the need to
include them as part of this workforce. This review is meant to pave the way for
research aiming to assess construction organizations and sites‘ accessibility to
physically disabled workers.

Keywords:
Accessibility, Construction Industry, Physical Disability

Introduction
In recent years, there has been a strong push towards making workplaces accessible to
people with disabilities. Several countries now have legislation regulating workplace
accessibility and the integration of disabled employees to the workforce (e.g. US
Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990; UK Disability Discrimination Act, 1995;
Canada Human Rights Act, 1985 and Employment Equity Act, 1995). Nevertheless,
little is known about the level of integration of people with disabilities in the
construction industry. The industry has long been associated with workplace injuries
that can lead to permanent disabilities and to workers leaving the industry every year,
thus the need to make those workplaces more accessible. Making them more accessible
to physically disabled workers would also make them safer workplaces to both abled
and disabled workers (Mackelprang & Clute, 2009).

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Although much work has been done to develop evaluation systems for the accessibility
of public buildings and spaces (e.g. Porter et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2007) and assess and
improve various workplaces (e.g. Allaire et al., 2003; Zolna et al., 2007), little of this
has been done within the construction industry. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to
determine the state of research in the field of workplace accessibility, specifically
accessibility to construction sites. Additionally, a large representative sample of
research and guidance papers from Canada, the US and the UK on the subject of
workplace accessibility and accessibility evaluation were collected and analysed. In the
context of this paper, ‗disabled people‘ only refers to people with physical disabilities
(i.e. mobility and dexterity issues, colour blindness or hearing impairment).

Research Methodology
Research Papers
Since this is a relatively new research field, a broad base of sources was investigated.
The search involved scouring the databases Scopus, Geobase, Inspec and Compendex
using the keywords ‗accessibility‘, ‗universal design‘, ‗barrier free‘ and ‗workplace‘.
Relevant papers were found in journals pertaining to architecture, business and
management, civil engineering, computer science, geography, health science, law,
optical engineering, social sciences and social work. A number of construction
management journals (e.g. Construction Management and Economics; ASCE journal of
Construction Engineering and Management) were also examined, with not many
relevant papers found. Table 1 shows the criteria used to accept or reject research
papers.

Table 2: Criteria for accepting a research paper

Papers were accepted if their focus was on one or
more of these three criteria:
 Making a workplace accessible to physically
disabled workers
 Investigating the effects of making a workplace
more accessible to physically disabled workers
 Measuring/ evaluating a building‘s accessibility
Papers were rejected if they did not meet any of
the criteria in the left-hand column or their focus
was on one or more of these five criteria:
 Workplace safety
 Accessibility of private dwellings or public
spaces
 Mental disabilities
 Accessibility of computer interfaces
 Work published prior to 1990

This search yielded a total of 61 research papers. Accepted papers were given a cursory
reading to analyze them according to the dimensions in Table 2. These dimensions are
discussed in their respective section of the analysis.

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 Table 3: Dimension for the analysis of research papers

Dimensions Section Associated figure

Year of publication 3.1.1 Figure 1
Country of origin, data origin, host organization 3.1.2 Figure 2
Paper subtype, method of measuring accessibility 3.1.3 Figure 3
Database used, journal type 3.1.4 Figure 4
Worker type, industrial sector 3.1.5 Figure 5
Personnel vs. environment 3.1.6 -
Type of disability 3.1.7 Figure 6
Building lifecycle phase 3.1.8 Figure 7

Guidance Articles
The review involved standards, guidelines, acts and regulations pertaining to workplace
accessibility, found either through search engines such as Google or through official
government sources (e.g. Canadian Human Rights Act, 1985; Disability Discrimination
Act, 1995; Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990). A search of the United Nations (UN)
as well as the Manitoba government websites also yielded guidelines for discussion.

Findings and Discussion

Research Articles

Year of Publication
Figure 1 below shows the distribution of research papers per year of publication.

Figure 1: Distribution of research papers per year of publication

Of note in Figure 1 is the sudden peak of papers in 2003 which also marks the year
when research contributions from countries other than the US and UK started to appear.
However this peak is not caused by those new contributions as the majority of 2003
papers were from the US.

Country of Origin, Data Origin and Host Organization

Figure 2 below shows the distribution of research papers per country of origin. The
country of origin was determined to be the location of the first author‘s host
organization. Figure 2 also shows the origin of the data used in the paper.

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 Figure 2: Distribution of research papers per country of origin
Figure 2 shows how the US, UK and Canada seem to be the leaders in accessibility
research. A closer analysis reveals a significantly larger proportion of Health Science
journal papers from North America in comparison with other regions and a small
proportion of civil engineering papers across all regions, highlighting therefore the need
for more research on accessibility in civil engineering. Most papers reviewed (78.5%),
were produced by academic authors in a university setting.

Paper Subtype and Method for Measuring Accessibility

Approximately 52.5% of the papers reviewed were scientific studies whereas 31% were
literature reviews. The remaining papers comprised case studies and Master theses.
Figure 3 below shows the distribution of scientific study papers per research method
used in those papers.

Figure 3: Distribution of scientific study papers per research method used

Approximately 56.5% of the scientific studies used surveys and interviews, most of
which were with employees (e.g. De Jonge & Roger, 2006) rather than employers (e.g.
Newton & Ormerod, 2005), with a few including both (e.g. Hernandez & McDonald,
2010).

A large portion (42.5%) of papers described models, frameworks or metrics that could
be used to quantify and measure buildings‘ accessibility. Eighteen percent of the papers
used metrics (e.g. Wang et al., 2010), 13% developed frameworks (e.g. Afacan &
Erbug, 2009), and 11.5% developed models (e.g. Wu et al., 2007). Of those models,
some were meant for the evaluation of finished buildings (e.g. Wu et al., 2007), and

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some for use during the design process (e.g. Bouchlaghem et al., 2005). None focused
on the construction phase.

Database Used and Journal Type

Eighty-two percent of all papers were found using Scopus. Approximately, 47.5% were
found exclusively on Scopus whereas 34.5% of all papers were found on multiple
databases. Approximately, 10% were found using online search engines such as Google.

The review involved categorizing papers according to the field of the journal in which
they were published, as shown in Figure 4. The categories of Optical Engineering,
Private scientific, Interdisciplinary and Non-Journal were added to the University of
Manitoba library subject list to properly categorize all journals. Figure 4 depicts the
diversity of the scientific fields undertaking the subject of workplace accessibility.
Many of these fields include more than one journal.

Figure 4: Distribution of research papers per journal field

The large proportion of health science journal papers suggests a lack of research into the
application of knowledge in other scientific fields. These journals focused mainly on
either rehabilitation (e.g. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research) or assistive
technology (e.g. Assistive Technology) and not on measures needed to make a
workplace more accessible. A small number of papers were also published in Civil
Engineering journals (e.g. Construction Management and Economics). However, most
of them focused on the design of buildings so that the finished product is accessible
(e.g. Lansley, 2001). Newton and Ormerod (2005) was the only one to focus on the
accessibility of construction sites.

Worker Type and Industrial Sector

Figure 5 below shows the distribution of papers according to the type of worker
discussed therein. The vast majority of the papers fell into the ‗All/Unspecified‘
category, which includes papers that survey a wide range of workers (e.g. Zwerling et
al., 2003), or papers that cover methods of measuring accessibility, not necessarily in
the workplace (e.g. Afacan & Erbug, 2009). The remaining papers focused on office
and labour workers with the labour category further subdivided into manufacturing and
construction. Papers that focused on a specific industry did not necessarily focus on a
specific worker type.

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 Figure 5: Distribution of research papers per worker type
Since few papers focused on a single workplace type, they were grouped by industrial
sector: goods producing or service producing. Even so, the vast majority of papers did
not focus on a single industrial sector. These papers included survey papers covering a
wide range of workplaces (e.g. Zwerling et al., 2003) and papers describing methods for
quantifying accessibility, not necessarily in the workplace (e.g. Afacan & Erbug, 2009).
Only 11% and 9.5% focused on goods and service producing industries respectively.

Personnel versus Environment

Research papers were also categorized according to whether they focused on the
personnel (i.e. workers) or the physical environment. Papers in the personnel category
(15%) focused on the training of employees, employer policy and corporate attitude
(e.g. Schur et al., 2009). A larger percentage (44.5%) focused on the physical
environment itself and on assistive technology (e.g. Porter et al., 2004; Butterfield &
Ramseur, 2004, respectively). This focus on making workplaces accessible to all makes
it easier for people with disabilities to be integrated into the workplace as well as
improves the quality of these workplaces for able-bodied workers (Mackelprang &
Clute, 2009). The remaining 41% did not focus on either.

Physical Disability Type

Figure 6 shows the distribution of research papers according to the type of physical
disability investigated.

Figure 6: Distribution of research papers per physical disability type

As can be seen, few papers focused on a specific type of disability. Many in the ‗All‘
category focused on making buildings accessible to all (e.g. Wu et al., 2007) or on

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surveying a group of people that do not have one specific type of disability (e.g. De
Jonge & Rodger, 2006; Zwerling et al., 2003). Aspects often overlooked included
accessibility to the colour blind and people with hearing impairments, highlighting the
need for more research on those aspects.

Building Lifecycle Phase

Figure 7 below shows the distribution of papers according to the building lifecycle
phase discussed therein. The papers in the N/A category involved research investigating
accessibility without examining practical applications (e.g. Wang et al., 2010; Gewurtz
& Kirsh, 2009).

Figure 7: Distribution of Research Papers per Building Lifecycle Phase

Of the papers focusing on buildings, the phase most commonly analyzed is that of
Operations and Maintenance (O&M). Approximately 16.5 % focused on incorporating
accessibility into buildings‘ design. Only 3 papers in total focused on the construction
phase, 2 of which investigated the integration of persons with disabilities into the
construction workforce (i.e. Newton & Ormerod, 2005; Tshobotlwane, 2005). Future
research needs therefore to investigate the accessibility of buildings over their entire
lifecycle, including the construction phase in particular.

Guidance Articles
Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom all have acts, now firmly engrained
in their law system to protect the rights of workers with disabilities; the Employment
Equity, 1995 (EEA) and Human Rights acts, 1985 (HRA), the Americans with
Disabilities act, 1990 (ADA) and the Disability Discrimination act, 1995 (DDA),
respectively. These acts require employers accommodate disabled workers

In Canada, the EEA outlines situations in which discrimination is inappropriate, as well

as recourse for workers and the penalties for infringement of the act. The HRA, on the
other hand defines what constitutes discrimination and enacts the Human Rights
Commission (HRC) to oversee it. While these acts treat disability as one of many other
types of discrimination, including discrimination based on disability, gender, race and
creed, the DDA and ADA focus specifically on disability. They both outline the duties
of employers, penalties for non-compliance and regulations for the accessibility of
specific public spaces. However, only the UK has enacted a National Disability Council
(NDC), like Canada‘s HRC to oversee the act. Both the DDA and ADA have a clause
exempting small businesses (20 and 15 employees or less, respectively) from the act.

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All three countries also have construction standards that specifically address
accessibility for people with disabilities. In the US, the ADA Standards for Accessible
design is a separate document that outlines specific technical information for a large
variety of structures. Canadian and British standards (CSA and BSI, respectively) both
provide subsections that relate to accessibility: the CSA B651-04 Accessible design for
the built environment in Canada and the BS 8300:2009 Design of buildings and their
approaches in the UK. Both are fairly comprehensive but, unlike their American
counterpart, they do not refer directly to their respective disability discrimination act.

Several guidelines are also available to further aid in the design of accessible structures.
Though not legally binding, they can help designers come up with the best possible
design. The guidelines reviewed originate from a variety of sources, including the UN,
the US and Manitoba (e.g. SOLIDERE & United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia, 2004; U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, 2002; Government of Manitoba, 2000).

Current Construction Accessibility Research

A total of 3 papers (1 conference papers, 1 journal paper and 1 master thesis)
investigated construction site accessibility. Tshoboltwane (2005) surveyed both
construction industry employers as well as employees with disabilities in South Africa.
Respondents agreed over how disabled people have a role to play in the construction
industry. However, most construction companies did not have formal procedures
regulating the employment of disabled people. A similar survey of large construction
company managers in the UK by Newton & Ormerod (2005) found similar results,
highlighting the lack of data on the actual number of disabled people working in the
construction industry. Another survey of construction skills development facilitators by
Smallwood and Haupt (2008) showed agreement over the importance of integrating
disabled people into the construction workforce.

Newton and Ormerod (2005) were however cautious to point out that disabled people
could not be employed in all construction environments and carry out job functions such
as ―ladder climbing, walking on rough ground, tunnelling, working at height, working in
confined spaces, working on the railways…‖. However, taking into account the above
list, there remains much work that could be accomplished by a workforce inclusive of
disabled people.

Conclusions and Further Research

A significant amount of research has been conducted to help increase the accessibility
of workplaces to physically disabled workers. The US has so-far been the leader in
developing methods of making buildings accessible and quantifying this accessibility
during the design and O&M phases. However, the accessibility of construction sites to
disabled workers is a subject that has largely been left out of this field of research.

Current legislation in Canada, the US and the UK state that medium and large
companies must make accommodations for disabled people and not discriminate against
them. Given that no work has been done to investigate potential accommodations in the

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construction industry, little recourse is left to the disabled worker who wants to work in
the industry.

Current research in the field of construction accessibility suggests there is a place for
disabled workers in the construction industry, however little is known about what is
actually being done to secure that place. There is little empirical evidence on the
number of disabled workers and the jobs they are currently involved in. Moreover, most
construction companies do not have set procedures for dealing with disabled workers.
Further research is therefore needed to properly assess the state of accessibility in the
construction industry, the ultimate aim being to integrate a portion of the workforce that
has been largely neglected by research and practice.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge NSERC for their financial support towards the
completion of this research.

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 Rethinking Construction: The Transformational
Change Strategy of a Biophilic Construction Site
Experience
RN Obiozo1 and JJ Smallwood2
1&2
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: s21448269@live.nmmu.ac.za, John.Smallwood@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
A construction site devoid of nature constitutes an ergonomics risk deleterious to health
and productivity. The paper reports on an exploratory study specifically conducted to
determine: how an aesthetic experience could activate a positive mood state, and foster
spontaneous behaviour in an argument for the biophilic experience, which is the innate
emotional affiliation of all humankind to nature; as a particular aesthetic approach that
directs this spontaneous behaviour towards the sustainability agenda in construction.
The methodology used is a survey of the literature, with a case study approach and
focus group study, involving a construction site study of the biophilic experience on an
on-going construction site in Nigeria. Results indicate the biophilic experience
capitalises on the distinctive latent motivational aspects of the sustainability discourse
cultivating its potential in terms of activating transformational change in construction.
The biophilic concept when implemented could curb psycho-traumatic stress disorder in
construction workers resulting from lack of contact with nature, and enhance health,
performance and consequently productivity. The study is limited to a specific
construction site case study in Edo State, Nigeria. Construction Management has to
involve the sustainable transformational change strategy of a biophilic construction site
concept to enhance health, performance, and productivity in construction.

Keywords:
Biophilia, Construction, Ergonomics, Productivity, Wellness

Introduction
Biophilic interventions on construction sites is a component of ‗green ergonomics‘ that
involves sustainable pro-nature intervention as a free wellness resource that assists
workers in managing their lives more effectively (Dul & Ceylan, 2011; Thatcher, 2012),
and also a health interceptor and healthy source of rejuvenation of the mind and body,
both spiritually and physically (Jones, 2002; Bender, 2007). It is geared primarily as a
wellness intervention to assist staff in resolving any personal difficulty which may
jeopardize either personal well-being and/or work performance; also providing different
forums to pro-actively address those issues that could impact on a balanced life and
optimal well-being of people working in the industry and their ability to deal with the
social impacts of psycho-traumatic stress factors, which according to Mthelane et al.
(2008) and Smallwood (2006) could result from site accidents; sometimes unavoidable,
or could also be due to negligence.

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The construction site impacts on wellness and performance at various structural levels.
At individual level the state of sites impact on the health and well-being of workers, at
organisational level, the state of sites affects the overall performance of an organization
– cost, environment, health and safety (H&S), productivity, quality, and schedule
(time). At industry level, the state of sites may result in people leaving the industry, or
people selecting other industries in preference to the construction industry. At national
level, efficient construction realizes, inter alia, cost effective development and
production facilities (Smallwood, 2003). Ringen et al. (1995) state that construction
workers build, repair, renovate, modify and demolish structures. These activities involve
work that may vary from fully mechanized activities to hard physical labour
(Smallwood & Haupt, 2000). Worksites are sometimes isolated locations and at other
times they may be in the midst of heavy traffic. Furthermore, in the Netherlands, as
elsewhere, there may be as many as 20 different trades‘ people from as many as 18
different subcontractors on one construction site at any point in time undertaking their
own specialized section of works (Deacon 2004).

The need to ameliorate these factors and engender multiple conflict resolution through
enhanced communication and interaction among workers (Jones, 2002; Thatcher, 2012),
gives rise to the objective of the study which is to specifically explore how a site
specific aesthetic experience such as the biophilic experience that involves building an
emotional capacity within the organization could activate positive mood states aimed at
developing spontaneous behaviour towards sustainability at the construction site /
workplace environment that is therapeutic, while adding sorely needed psychosocial
value to the construction workplace interface.

The extensive literature survey indicates that a similar study has not been conducted
elsewhere in construction management and a pilot study is hereby conducted on a
temporary construction site with a focus group study as methodology to determine the
viability of the research interest and its applicability to construction sites with
significantly positive results that is destined to have far reaching impact on construction
management body of knowledge (CMBOK), spurring further research establishing
biophilic design concept as an integral of sustainable construction sites.

Wellness, Construction Ergonomics and Workplace Performance

The concept of ‗workplace performance‘ means a workspace whose explicit objective is
to support the performance of work: a performing workspace is designed to optimise
worker productivity (Vischer, 2006; Dul & Ceylan, 2011). Growing knowledge about
environmental effects on building occupants‘ productivity and morale is creating a need
to integrate workspace considerations into core business decision making. Increasingly,
managers are required to make decisions that affect the quality of environments in
which people work (Vischer, 2006).

Construction workers are exposed to ergonomics risks that differ markedly from general
industry relative to H&S (Deacon, 2004). Workers are exposed to a variety of health
hazards namely musculoskeletal strain from the adoption of uncomfortable working
positions (Smallwood & Haupt, 2000), noise resulting in noise induced hearing loss
(NIHL); skin diseases from close contact with resistant materials, respiratory irritation

122
from dirt, fumes and gases, as well as developing more serious diseases related to
exposure to asbestos and other fibro genic materials (Ringen et al., 1995, Smallwood &
Ehrlich, 2001; Deacon, 2004). It is because of high incidence of accidents and fatalities
throughout the world that the construction industry has often been incorrectly termed
‗inherently dangerous‘. However, it should rather be stated that the industry is a highly
hazardous one where hazards may be identified, mitigated or eliminated (Smallwood &
Haupt, 2000).

Wellness, Nature Elements and its Effects

As the post-recession world economy slowly takes shape, those organizations that
choose to follow this path are more likely to boost workforce productivity, drive
business performance and realize core strategic goals (World Economic Forum, 2007;
Dornan, 2010). Recently, in the present stressful society, people are looking for
relaxation and healing. Introducing nature elements into indoor / outdoor workplaces
may reduce workers‘ stress and fatigue feelings. Because humankind has been evolved
in nature, people may feel peace and tranquillity when in contact with nature (Miyake,
2003).

Ulrich (1984) examined the records on recovery from gall bladder surgery to determine
whether assignment to a room with a window view of a natural setting might have
restorative influences. Twenty three surgical patients assigned to rooms with windows
looking out on a natural scene in the form of a small grove of trees, had shorter post-
operative hospital stays, received fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses notes
e.g., ―patient is upset,‖ ―needs much encouragement to do breathing exercises‖, and
tended to have fewer minor post-surgical complications such as a persistent headache or
nausea. Moreover, another twenty three matched patients assigned to rooms with the
brick wall view required far more injections of potent narcotic pain drugs e.g. synthetic
morphine equivalents. Ulrich suggests that the natural scene had comparatively
therapeutic influences. However, in a further interpretation of the study, Miyake (2003)
suggests that the brick wall view deteriorated human natural restorative abilities,
because it is highly stressful for inpatients.

Biophilia Hypothesis, Green Ergonomics and its Relevance to Construction

Wilson (2001) who proposes the Biophilia hypothesis says that ―Beauty is in the eye of
the gene.‖ Furthermore, a deep genetic sequence may be hard to erase despite a person‘s
efforts to be technically independent from nature and the natural environment (Wilson,
2001; Bird, 2007). Humans are a species with as much need for the natural environment
as any other (Wilson, 1984; Bird, 2007), however, they are also a social species that
thrive in towns and cities and have prospered with the use of technology. Neither
technology nor cities can replace the need for the natural environment. It is necessary to
maintain a balance. By disconnecting from the natural environment, humans have
become strangers to the natural world which has challenged the sense of identity, and in
some more subtle ways has had a significant effect on mental health (Bird, 2007). The
biophilia hypothesis explains how over 1 million years a genetic imprint has become
established that can relate to the savannah-like environment where humans have spent
over 95% of their development (Bird, 2007).

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A synergy exists between biophilic design concepts and green ergonomics (Thatcher,
2012). The dual objective of ergonomics as formulated in a common description of the
discipline by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) in 2000, as optimization
of human well-being and overall system performance, can assist in lessening the human
environmental impact factor (Dul & Ceylan, 2012). In a definition by Hedge (2008),
green ergonomics focuses on development of human systems that integrate fully in a
sustainable way with the natural environments and is used to describe endeavours that
ergonomics should engage in to ensure a usable, effective, efficient, healthy and safe
intergenerational future that incorporates a pro-nature view. The scope of green
ergonomics is based on these two factors: conserving, preserving and restoring nature;
and humans benefiting from nature (Thatcher, 2012). This firmly establishes biophilia
as a component of green ergonomics and an integral aspect of sustainable construction
sites (Thatcher, 2012). In the position paper ‗The Sprouting of ‗Green‘ Ergonomics‘
published in the Human Factor for Ergonomics Society (HFES) Bulletin, Hedge (2008)
states that this factor has very recently been added as a required point in green building
and sustainable sites initiatives for the highly valued certification by Leadership in
Environment and Energy Development (LEED).

The Sustainability Agenda

A sustainably organised construction site is socially and environmentally compatible
with the natural environs within and around the site; given the key sustainable biophilic
concept of adopting the planting of foliage plants, wherever possible, such as in pots,
planters, and in the ground wherever it occurs in the site or master plan at the onset of
construction and not the end, which could definitely assist in mitigating the effects of
greenhouse gas emission, aside from the direct positive impact on health and wellness
of workers. The South African Minister of environmental affairs estimates greenhouse
gas emission will quadruple in South Africa by 2050 (SAICA, 2009) as elsewhere in the
world, albeit, in different proportions. The King III act of Company responsibility in
South Africa states under its principle 1.2: Report on Code of Conduct Act of South
Africa, that the board should ensure that the Company acts and is seen to be a
responsible corporate citizen, defining in two salient points; The company should not
undermine the sustainability of the social and natural environment, and as part of
corporate citizenship the company should be sustainable and should enable future
generations to meet their needs (SAICA, 2009). The report highlights the importance of
the concepts of integrated sustainability and social transformation, as a factor leading to
a lasting concentration on the effects of business on society and environment, stating
that the success of companies like construction companies in the 21st century is likely to
involve; the natural environment; social environment; political system, and global
economy (SAICA, 2009).

The Aesthetic Transformational Change Strategy of the Biophilic Experience

towards Sustainability Behaviours
The Biophilia concept has the potential of a naturalistic pervasive form of aesthetic
work experience, in acting as an emotional cue for individual transformational change
towards sustainability in an organisational context (Jones, 2002). It capitalises on what
is proposed through the biophilia hypothesis as humankind‘s biological base attraction
or emotional affinity for certain aspects of the natural environment (Wilson, 1984;

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Ulrich, 1993; Kellert, 1997; Jones, 2002). Moreover, such an appropriate aesthetic
experience activates workers‘ positive emotional mood states. It is argued that this
positive mood state could build the emotional capacity of workers to proactively
respond to multiple spontaneous sustainability behaviours, to resolve any intra- or inter-
organisational, social, environmental and financial conflicts. Finally, an important
aspect of the biophilic experience is its potential emancipatory and pluralistic quality
which it could achieve through a continuous process of workers reflecting upon sharing
and negotiating knowledge around the emotional, cognitive and behavioural impact of
different biophilic artefacts or elements (Jones, 2002).

It is worthy of note that biophilic design is not just about greening, nor a design fad or
trend, but a design philosophy based on biological theory and supported by data from
both psychological and health research (Taylor 2007). It is a framework developed from
biophilic theory; which states that contact with nature is essential to human health and
wellbeing; to reconnect humans and nature within the built environment, involving
organic design and vernacular design principles to interior and exterior environments
(Kellert, 2005). Biophilic design concept as applicable and adaptable to construction
sites as much as possible include: day lighting and natural ventilation; organic forms
and natural materials; visual diversity and views to nature; and access to plants, both
inside and out. These features are closely tied to familiar ideas of energy conservation
and renewable materials (Novitsky, 2009; Timberlake, 2011). Harmonious organic
forms symbolise abundance, security and formative free space. Creative development
imagination and strength of expression are made possible (Jordan, 2012), and each of
these factors are site specific (Taylor, 2007). The underlying focus of biophilic design is
on restoring connections to nature. Because innate human affinity exists for other living
things, biophilic design presents the perfect ‘life friendly‘ application for construction
sites. Biophilic Design matters because it can offer the best possible scenario for
providing healthy, inspirational spaces at construction sites (Fleetmeyer & Wildenberg,
2010).

Related Construction Site Interventions: Feng Shui principle for Wellness and
Performance
Biophilic Construction site intervention is best likened and linked to Feng Shui
principles for wellness and performance. Feng shui is best described as the art of living
in harmony with the environment, and is concerned with the harnessing of energies
around us (Webster, 1998; Gerstung & Melhase 2000). Benefits of feng shui include
enhanced happiness, contentment and abundance. Literature indicates that feng shui
related interventions in the work place have reversed the negative effects of dark
colours, a cluttered work place, and generally depressive conditions, resulting in
improved morale, reduced staff turnover, and increased production (Gerstung &
Melhase 2000; Smallwood, 2003; 2006). Ch‘i is the universal life force that is found in
all living things. However, it can be negative or beneficial. When activities are done in
an optimum manner then beneficial ch‘i is present. A range of aspects impact on ch‘i:
entrances; plant layout in terms of the relationship between offices, production areas,
and materials stores; interior layout of such areas; freedom of movement, and
environmental factors such as physical surroundings, lighting, noise, temperature, and
ventilation (Smallwood 2003 & 2006).

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Pre–Biophilic Construction Sites (devoid of nature): Impact on Wellness and
Performance
According to Contact Africa (Smallwood, 2003), improving site conditions is one of
five areas identified as key objectives for 2003 by the Strategic Forum for Construction
in the UK (Strategic Forum for Construction, 2003). With respect to perceptions
regarding construction sites, the British public were asked where they would like to
work, and why, during a poll conducted by pollster YouGov (Construction Manager,
2003) - building sites identified by 24 % of respondents, achieved a ranking of second
out of seven places in terms of where people would least like to work. ‗Work is
physically exhausting‘ and ‗sites are exposed to the elements‘ predominated among
eleven possible responses, followed jointly by ‗sites are dangerous‘ and ‗the work
culture is harsh / aggressive‘, and then ‗building sites are dirty‘ (Smallwood, 2003).

Case Study: Proposed Indoor Sports Hall Complex; University Of

Benin, Edo State, Nigeria-On-going Construction (Field Survey,
August 2011)
The methodology adopted for the study is a case study entailing a construction worksite
analysis in the form of an assessment of the effect of the introduction of the biophilic
design concept and orientation on site workers after the introduction of the biophilic
design concept and orientation to the on-going construction site by the management
through focus group interview of workers and management. The case study construction
site is the Proposed Indoor Sports Hall complex still under construction at the time of
the survey, which is a sports facility project initiated by University of Benin (UNIBEN),
Edo State, Nigeria, as part of the preparation and renovation of sporting facilities for the
hosting of the 23rd event of the Nigerian Universities Games Association (NUGA)
games, held on March 16-23, 2011(NUGA, 2011).

Study Background
The site was chosen as a biophilic construction worksite model for this research, on
invitation by the Project Architect during the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria
(ARCON) Colloquium of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), held on April
2011, at Abuja FCT (Federal Capital territory), Nigeria, after presenting a paper on
biophilic landscape-inspired construction worksites. Listening to the paper, the project
architect for the Indoor Sports Hall complex, UNIBEN, also the chairman of the
Nigerian Institute of Architects, Edo State Chapter, Nigeria, at that time, realized that
his on-going construction project was an ‗un-intended‘ case study model of what he
called a ‘prophecy‘. He applied the term ‗un-intended‘, because it was not in the
original plan for the construction site and not his idea; but a surprise project
management idea by the project foreman, which was incomprehensible to him prior to
the presentation, hence the term ‗prophecy‘. The Project Architect also represents the
Client‘s position being a member of the Project Development and Facilities
Management Team and Staff of the University.

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Assessing Effects of Contact with Nature on Construction Site Workers – Post
Biophilic Orientation
Photographic illustrations Figures 1 and 2 of the Proposed Indoor Sports Hall Complex,
University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State, Nigeria showing the green construction
worksite.

Photos 1 & 2: Proposed Indoor Sports Hall, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State, Nigeria showing
the Green landscaped construction project site office and worksite with construction site workers relaxing
after work hours at18:00; and the ongoing construction. Site visit: August 2011. Source: Field Survey.

On-Site Interview
The landscaping of the construction site; which included planting of grass and some
foliage plants (Photos 1 and 2); as reported by the Project Architect was the idea of the
Project Foreman, who thought it a good idea to landscape the site and site offices in-
order to make his workers enjoy being at the worksite, because he believed that it would
enhance their performance, curb absenteeism, while encouraging punctuality and
resourcefulness as well as social interaction. It was an idea not derived from pedagogy;
he certainly has neither heard of biophilia nor applied the concept on other construction
sites before; but out of gut feeling, instinct, observation and experience of the prevailing
local social habit of relaxing in landscaped gardens under gazebos of shades of organic
make up or umbrella trees amongst the Nigerian populace in the evenings after work
hours and at leisure times.

The Project Foreman was asked who would settle the cost of landscaping the worksite
by the Project Architect being his main concern since it was not included in the budget.
The Foreman said that he was not bothered by the cost and was prepared to take care of
the bill saying: ―all I care about is the psychosocial welfare of my workers, to make my
workers feel good being at work and perform better.‖ The architect did agree that the
workers‘ mood and disposition, performance and work-time value did improve with the
landscaping of the site office environment, which according to him gave credibility to
the foreman‘s initiative and construction management foresight.

Interviews conducted with the workers relaxing at the site office during an unscheduled
visit in August 2011; as shown in Photos 1 and 2, after work hours at 18:30, already
dressed for home; confirmed that they usually relax after work at the green landscaped
site office because the green environment was conducive to after work hours
socializing, before heading to their various homes, which was not the case before the
landscaping was done. For this reason, they enjoy being at the worksite, feel appreciated

127
by management, are not in the usual hurry to go home after work, and even spend their
lunch time on site. According to them, the feeling of wellbeing, good mood and oneness
with the site(viewing the construction site as home) and one another, began with the
landscaping of the construction site office, which garden, as they emphasised proudly,
usually looked better tended, than during the first meeting in August 2011, since the
visit was intentionally a surprise.

Implication of Research Findings

A healthy interaction among workers and pleasant work atmosphere; a factor of the
conducive green biophilic construction worksite environment; is thereby encouraged. It
suggests that contact with the natural environment may offer considerable mental health
benefits (Bird, 2007), improved mood and psychosocial (Michener, 2004) values have a
general positive aesthetic effect on construction worksite environment and communities,
giving it a lifelike presence and humanistic value. In essence, this means that the natural
environment has a quantifiable health value (Bird, 2007).

Evaluation of Effects of Foliage Plants on Humans

Research findings from a study conducted by Miyake (2003) demonstrate the significant
effect of foliage plants on humans in the workplace as a result of improving work place
atmosphere. The salient findings from a report based upon many years of research are as
follows: A questionnaire survey of 110 workers in a middle sized electronics firm
employing 1,500 employees showed that around 50% of them benefited from the
presence of plants, i.e., feel eased and refreshed by foliage plants. 81% of workers
believe that it is better to arrange foliage plants at the workplace in an office and/or a
factory (Miyake, 2003). Even if the plants are artificial; their beneficial effects were
also proven. Subjective feelings of fatigue using a check list were conducted before and
after work in a small-sized information firm where no plants were arranged. The same
fatigue check list was applied two weeks later after several artificial foliage plants had
been introduced. Results indicate that workers felt significantly more fatigued after
work when no plants were around them. However, no significant difference was found
between, before and after work, when they worked with artificial foliage plants (Aoki &
Miyake, 2002).

Conclusions and Further Research

Despite the prevailing attitude in society that humans are separate from, outside of, or
above nature and human understanding of the natural environment has developed, the
massive destruction of natural system by human activities has been observed, and a
more enlightened view emerged which recognizes that plants and animals (including
humans) do not exist as independent entities, but are instead, parts of complex and
interconnected ecosystems on which they are entirely dependent, and fundamentally a
part (Taylor, 2007). Nature sounds such as murmuring of streams and songs of birds
may have relaxing effects, especially with foliage plants as a backdrop. Introducing
such sounds into the workplaces and evaluating its effect on workers are also subjects
for further research. People are the organisation and the management of an organisation
is essentially responsible for its people‘s emotional and psychological health, therefore,

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the demanding work environment in the construction industry should be managed by an
adequate employee assistance programme (EAP) (James et al., 2012), which includes
incorporation of a ‗biophilic construction worksite orientation‘ as proposed in this
study.

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 Notoriety Behaviour in Construction: Lessons from
Malaysia
R Takim1, RM Nordin2 and AH Nawawi3
123
Centre of Postgraduate Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia,
Emails: rtakim59@yahoo.co.uk, jeyarz@yahoo.com, hadinawawi@yahoo.com

Abstract:
The construction industry is one of the complex and most people-intensive sectors due
to its fragmented nature. Diverse characteristics of human behaviour affect the attitude
towards corrupt activities. Human behaviour is largely learned from other people and
primarily influenced by culture. Numerous reports have stated that construction as one
of the most corrupt industry worldwide since corrupt practices can be found at every
phases of the construction projects. The purpose of this paper are: to investigate the
opportunities of corrupt behaviour across project phases; and to identify the relationship
between human behaviour and corruption activities. Method A qualitative research
technique was undertaken to conduct this research by means of interviews with seven
(7) respondents from the government agencies who were involved with the Malaysian
construction industry and anti-corruption efforts. The interviews were recorded and
transcribed verbatim for content analysis. Findings The findings revealed that
opportunities for corruption activities occur in all the four phases of construction
projects (i.e. strategy formulation, procurement, construction and completion phase). It
was found that fifty per-cent of the respondents emphasised that opportunities for
corruption occur more often in the procurement phase. All of the respondents agreed
that there is a relationship between human behaviour and corruption activities through
the concept of transparency. This is due to transparency is based on the notion of
integrity that consist of ethical behaviour and good values by an individual. Values The
results of the study would provide valuable information in particular to public
construction projects in Malaysia.

Keywords:
Behavior, Construction, Corruption, Malaysia, Public Projects

Introduction
The construction industry plays an important role in any country‘s economic
development. It establishes the infrastructure required for socioeconomic development,
while being a major contributor to the overall economic growth. This is vital for the fact
that the economic growth of any nation can be measured by the development of physical
infrastructures (Takim & Akintoye, 2002; Abdullah et al., 2004). The construction
process requires the contribution of many different stakeholders (Abdul-Aziz &
Mohmad, 2010). It also involves various processes, different phases of work, and a
great deal of inputs from both the public and private sectors. However, the main
problem that surfaced is the fragmentation of the industry (Abdul-Rahman et al., 2010;
Kenny, 2009). Despite all of the good that the construction industry has done, our

131
industry still receives notoriety for corruption (Jong et al., 2009). Construction is prone
to corruption as it usually involves a large number of participants in a complex
contractual structure that leads to a variety of psychological human behaviour and hence
attitude inclining towards corrupt activities (Stansbury, 2005; Mohd-Nordin et al.,
2012). Corrupt practices can be found at every phase of construction projects that leads
to devastating consequences on the quality of the built environment, project delivery
period, and competitive performance of the construction industry (Sohail & Cavill,
2006; Murray & Meghji, 2009; Taylor & Mawenya, n.d.).

Corruption is a serious problem in many countries and without a doubt it has become a
way of life with its own local version of the term and manifestations (Quah, 1988).
Corruption involves many types of crimes that imply some form of illicit and criminal
behaviour for personal enrichment or in other words; corruption is the violation of
established rules for personal profit and gain (Neelankavil, 2002; Sohail & Cavill,
2006). As cited in Park & Blenkinsopp (2011), corruption occurs as a form of behaviour
breaching the official ethics of public services. According to Mohd-Nordin et al. (2012),
sources of corruption related to human behaviour consist of mentality that is lacking of
integrity and transparency, culture, environment that tolerated corruption, luxurious
lifestyle, and inevitability. Corruption activities may affect negatively to the community
wellbeing for the reason that it is widely recognized as a considerable obstacle to the
efficiency of development aid (Soreide, 2005). This may affect quality of life (QOL)
since QOL is an elusive concept from the assessment of community wellbeing to the
specific evaluation of the situations of individuals or group (Felce & Perry, 1995).

Corruption is a crime of opportunity due to inefficiency, ineffectiveness and incapability

within a governance system (Picci, 2005). Opportunities of corruption in construction
industry lay in the hands of the stakeholders (i.e. government officials, owner, funder,
engineer, constructor, suppliers, lender, and regulatory or permitting agencies).
Corruption takes two individuals to act together in corrupt manner and it occurs due to
those individuals make bad decisions (Jong et al., 2009). Hence, the objectives of this
paper are: to investigate the opportunities corrupt behaviour across project phases; and
to identify the relationship between human behaviour and corruption activities.

Literature Review
Construction is one of the most lucrative sectors despite construction projects being
regarded as intricate and time consuming. The total development of a project normally
consists of several phases requiring a diverse range of specialised services (Murray &
Meghji, 2009). It is estimated that the total size of the global construction market are
around US 3,200 billion per year. Its share of the economy varies from 5 to 7% of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in the developed and advanced developing countries, while
around 2-3% of GDP in lower-income countries (Stansbury, 2005; Kenny, 2009). In
Malaysia, although construction industry accounts for less than 5% of GDP, the industry
has a strong growth push due to its extensive linkages with other industries (Abdullah et
al., 2004). Nevertheless, the construction sector is perceived as one of the most corrupt
sector of the economy of any country across the globe. In Tanzania; contractors pay 10
to 15% of a contract‘s value in bribes which implies the direct losses due to corruption
in construction could be over $60 million (Taylor & Mawenya, n.d.). This is supported

132
by Jong et al. (2009) that claim no one knows the true cost of corruption but it is
estimated that the industry‘s loss to corruption is approximately 10% or $500 billion per
year.

Corruption can be conceptualised as the covert privatisation of government function

since it involves public officials acting in the best interest of private concerns (including
their own) against the public interest (Passas, 1997). As mentioned by Quah (2003),
United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has defined corruption as “the misuse
of public power, office, or authority for private benefit – through bribery, extortion,
influence peddling, nepotism, fraud, speed money or embezzlement”. Montinola &
Jackman (2002) however, reckon that corruption stems from social norms that
emphasize gift-giving and loyalty to family or clan, rather than the rule of laws. Most
mainstream international work on corruption has continued to focus on the public sector
as the principal source and/or location of corrupt activities. Despite corruption is a
phenomenon that affects both private and public sectors, in most cases in practice it is
only the public sector which is investigated and where abuses are publicised (Brown &
Cloke, 2011). Corruption phenomenon is greatly fuelled by huge sums that are involved
in executing construction projects, coupled with a lack of transparency in the entire
procurement process which involved the selection of consultants and contractors
(Taylor & Mawenya, n.d.). Stansbury (2005) listed out 13 features of construction
projects that are prone to corruption. These are: size of the project, uniqueness of the
project, government involvement, numbers of contractual links, numbers of phases,
complexity of the project, lack of frequency of projects, the work is concealed, culture
of secrecy, entrenched national interest, no single organisation governs the industry,
lack of due diligence and lack of integrity. Corrupt practices can be found at every
phases in the construction project (i.e. planning, inspection, design, bid and contract
signing, construction, service delivery, and operation and maintenance) (Stansbury,
2005; Sohail & Cavill, 2006). Hence, it is vital to investigate the opportunities for
corrupt behaviour across project phases.

Table 1 shows the activities, stakeholders and mechanism of corruption across

construction project phases. Since corruption is a crime of opportunity due to
inefficiency, ineffectiveness and incapability, it stretches out within the activities across
the four project phases (i.e. strategy formulation, procurement, construction and
completion). The first phase is the strategy formulation which consists of conception,
inception, feasibility study, strategy & planning, and design. A heavy accent on research
and development (R&D), market analysis, licensing, financial and economics were
required in the conception, inception and feasibility activities (Uher & Loosemore,
2004; Fewings, 2005). The client will articulate his needs and requirements and will
established certain amount of fund for the execution of the project. The project manager
in cooperation with the client will formulate possible development alternatives that can
be accessed through feasibility study (Uher & Loosemore, 2004). Feasibility study can
include investigation of alternative site locations, funding options, design option
appraisal, value enhancement, comparative estimates and life cycle costing with
consideration of project constraints and marketing implication. This is to ensure
affordability, meeting constraints and ensure profitability to the investors (Gould &
Joyce, 2003; Fewings, 2005). Strategy and planning activity determines ways to carry
out and control the project or a preferred development alternative. It includes

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procurement methods, cost, work program, control system, quality management,
organisation structure, design requirement, and construction method which will be
compiled into a project brief (Uher & Loosemore, 2004; Fewings, 2005). In design
activities, the design team will translate project brief into an overall design scheme and
once the design is finalised by the client and approved by the local authorities,
documents will be prepared for contractors to bid for it (Gould & Joyce, 2003; Uher &
Loosemore, 2004). In this phase, opportunities for corruption may arise through
approval of projects (Stansbury, 2005; Sohail & Cavill 2006). For example, approval
may be obtained for unsuitable projects, projects that are overdesigned, or the design is
in favour for a specific contractor‘s technology that may have been done in exchange
for a bribe.

The second phase is the procurement phase. This phase consists of tendering (bidding)
and awarding of project. Procurement is defined as the overall process of finding and
purchasing the materials called for in the contract and hiring the best contractors and
subcontractors to build for the project (Gould & Joyce, 2003; Uher & Loosemore,
2004). According to Sohail & Cavill (2006), activities of bidding and signing of
contract during procurement phase create opportunities for corruption due to lack of
competition or inequitable contract practices; and entertainment money that could
influence on decision-making to select the best bids. Contractors may pay bribe in
return to win the contract through intermediaries such as agents, subsidiaries and
subcontractors in the form of commission. The contractors may hide this bribe in the
formal agreement that often be exaggerated in the scope of work, inflated value
services, and service provided of a lower value than the price agreed (Stansbury, 2005).
Deception and collusion in the award of contract to the favourite contractors could also
involve the client or their representatives.

The third, construction phase starts from site possession until the date for practical
completion, a process of physically erecting the project by putting materials and
equipment into place (Uher & Loosemore, 2004). Opportunities for corruption in
construction phase may occur by agreeing to ‗variations‘ in the contract between
contractors and client or consultants that are responsible for authorising the variations
and approving the cost consequences. Moreover, in this phase it is common to have
projects delayed and the person responsible for agreeing the time and cost effects of
delays are vulnerable to corruption. In addition, the quality of construction is central to a
project. Since a large proportion of the work and materials are concealed as the work
progress, checkers who certified the work is vulnerable to corruption by accepting
defective or non-acceptable work. Both Stansbury (2005) and Sohail & Cavill (2006)
agreed that deceptive practices known as claims inflation occur through falsifying claim
and certification of work done. Besides, opportunities for corrupt practices relate to
cutting corners, ignoring rules and by-passing procedures. The fourth phase is the
completion phase in which owner wants to take over the facility and starts moving in.
Before handing over the completed project to the client, the contractor is required to
fully commission the services of the project and rectifies any defect to the satisfaction of
the client (Uher & Loosemore, 2004). Often in this phase involves complicated
technical issues and problems such as certifications and approval from various
regulatory authorities, inspection reports, and completed change orders. It was agreed
by Stansbury (2005) that a significant amount of false extra cost is added as a

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negotiation margin in many claims. Opportunities for corruption in inspection activities
may arise through bribing the inspector to ensure approval and certification of the work
done (Sohail & Cavill, 2006).

Table 1: Activities, stakeholders and mechanism of corruption across construction project phases.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT PHASES

STRATEGY PROCUREMENT CONSTRUCTION COMPLETION

FORMULATION
 Tendering / bidding  Physical work of  Commissioning
ACTIVITIES  Conception  Award / contract constructing the  Completion and
 Inception signing project handing over
 Feasibility
 Strategy and planning
 Design
 Client  Client  Client
STAKEHOLDER  Client  Project manager  Project manager  Project manager
 Architects  Quantity surveyor  Contractors  Contractors
 Consulting Engineers  Consulting Engineers  Construction  Local authorities
 Quantity surveyor  Architects manager
 Value manager  Planning supervisor  Sub-contractors
 Project manager  Contractors  Suppliers
 Suppliers  Local authorities
 Local authorities  Site supervisors
 Labours / workers
 Secure the award  Agreeing variation to  False claim
MECHANISM OF  Overdesigned /  False scope of work the contract  Bribing inspectors
CORRUPTION overpriced projects
 False service /  Concealing deferred
 Unnecessary projects inflated service value bribes
 Obtain planning  Extortion  Project delays
approval 
 To level the playing Concealing
 Project design to field due to substandard works
favour specific competition  Deception
contractor‘s
 International pressure  Misuse of funds
technology
through offer of aid  Cutting corners,
 Deception ignoring rules, by-
 Collusion passing procedures
 Entertainment  False certification of
work done
Sources: (Uher & Loosemore, 2004; Fewings, 2005; Stansbury, 2005; Sohail & Cavill, 2006)

In addition, construction projects involve a multitude of players that leads to various

psychological human behaviour which could affects the attitude towards corrupt
activities. Individuals come to consider that corruption to be a normal or even
acceptable state of affairs, which has been in place since time immemorial. When norms
such as ‗return a favour when asked‘ or ‗minimize conflict with fellow members of your
community‘ exist in a pervasively corrupt society, they could encourage further
corruption and further promote social ostracism of those who attempt to fight it (Varese,
2000). An underlying assumption is that the values individual have directly affect their
behaviour due to value contain a judgemental elements that reflects a persons‘ sense of
right and wrong (Robbins & Judge, 2011). As for Gire (1999), behavioural production
involves the process of converting the mental representations into appropriate actions
that form as one of the components of attitude besides beliefs and feelings. Apart from
that, according to (Mohd-Nordin et al., 2012), higher transparency can reduce the
opportunities of corrupt acts. In order to be transparent, individual need to instil
themselves with ethics and good values such as honesty. Those good values are the
elements of integrity that comprises from social psychological behaviour. They
emphasised that one of the source of corruption is due to influence for luxurious

135
lifestyle that leads public officials to use their discretionary power for their private
satisfaction. This situation will affect the actual quality of life (QOL) of an individual.
Quality of life (QOL) is regarded as individuals‘ perception of their position in life in
the context of culture and value systems which is related to their goals, expectations,
standards and concerns (World Health Organisation (WHO), 1997). It is a broad ranging
concept affected in a complex way by the person‘s physical health, psychological state,
level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and their relationship to
salient features of their environment. Hence, it is crucial to identify the relationship
between human behaviour and corruption activities.

Research Methodology
The methodology used for this research is based on qualitative research techniques. The
initial method of data collection is by means of semi-structured interview with six (6)
respondents from government agencies who were involved with the Malaysian
construction industry and anti-corruption efforts as shown in table 2. Based on the
designation and professional background of the participants, it is reasonable to infer that
the respondents have sound knowledge on the issues of corruption in construction.

Table 2: Respondents profile

Date Respondent
PI1 18 May 2011 Executive Director Transparency International
(TI) Malaysia
PI2 14 September 2011 Chief Coordinator CIMP, CIDB
PI3 14 October 2011 Manager, Contractors Development Department
(Integrity Program), CIDB
PI4 9 Feb 2012 Director, Private Sector IIM
PI5 21 February 2012 Inspection and Consultancy Division, MACC
PI6 23 February 2012 Senior Assistant Director, Inspectorate and
Integrity Division, JKR

The face-to-face interviews were designed to gather preliminary data on corruption in

Malaysia, particularly in construction industry. The interviews were recorded and
transcribed verbatim for content analysis. Content analysis can be categorised into
content analysis and relational analysis. In this study, a conceptual analysis technique
was adopted in which a concept is chosen as thematic analysis (Busch, et al., 2005).
Thematic analysis is a process for encoding qualitative information and combine
analysis of the frequency of codes with analysis of their meaning in context (Marks &
Yardley, 2004). The data were analysed by means of transcription of information,
identification of a set of theme and categories of themes, level of generalisation of the
observed themes, organising the coding process and finally analyse the results (Yardley,
et al., 2006).

Findings and Discussion

In this section, authors should discuss all the findings emerging from conducting the A
combination of literature review and analysis of the results from the interviews were
used to derive at the findings.

136
Opportunities for corruption across project phases
Table 3 shows the opportunities for corruption across project phases. From the
interviews, most of the respondents (67%) agreed that opportunities for corrupt
activities occur in all phases during the construction project development. As stated by
PI2 “Corruption occurs in almost every phase of a construction project, especially if
there is a need for authorization and approval by certain authorities.”

Table 3: Opportunities of corruption across project phases

STRATEGY PROCUREMENT CONSTRUCTION COMPLETION
FORMULATION
PI1 √ √√ √ √
PI2 √ √ √ √
PI3 √ √√ √ √
PI4 √ √ √
PI5 √ √√ √ √
PI6 √ √ √
*Note: √√ highlighting opportunities is more in particular phase

Fifty per cent (50%) of the respondents emphasized that opportunities for corruption is
more often during the procurement phase. Since activities during procurement are
bidding and awarding of contracts, corruption may arise due to competition, conflict of
interest, collusion, deception and fraudulence. PI1 highlighted that “Compared to other
phases, opportunities for corruption in construction projects are mainly during
procurement project phase.” Hence, the respondents tend to suggest that the
opportunities for corruption may occur across project phases and procurement phase is
the main targeted area.

Relationship between human behaviour and corruption activities

Table 4 shows the results of the interview on the relationship between human behaviour
and corruption. Since transparency is based on integrity which are ethical values that
control individual decisions on corrupt activities, in can be inferred that transparency
can represent human behaviour. This is supported by the statement of PI5 that
emphasised “transparency is correlated with integrity”.

Based on the results, PI3 and PI6 agreed that transparency is seen as good values in
individuals such as honesty, candour and fairness. PI2, however highlighted that by
having transparency, it will create positive behaviour that is fairness. Meanwhile, PI2,
PI4, PI5 and PI6 emphasized that without these good values, individuals may choose to
engage in corrupt behaviour. This is also supported by the black-apple theory that seeks
the cause of corruption in the existence of people with faulty moral character. Accepting
deviance and tractable morality suggest a causal chain from bad character to corrupt
activities by corruption is found in defective human character and a predisposition
towards criminal acts (Otusanya, 2011). These human characteristics may be predicted
through theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The predictors are personal attitudes,
subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control that will propose how a human
action is guided (Francis et al., 2004).

137
 Table 4: Relationship between human behaviour and corruption

Respondents Respondents’ statements

PI1 Transparency and corruption are interrelated.
PI2 Transparency is giving as much information possible which will leads to creating fairness.
PI3 Transparency is honesty, candour, and fairness.
PI4 Corruption in construction should be a lot more manageable if there is a given
transparency in any process of its own procedures.
PI5 Transparency is correlated with integrity. Whenever there is no transparency, the area
will be a weak spot. This weak spot, if not addressed properly, corruption may take place.
PI6 When there is no transparency, it means that there is no honesty and corruption may
transpire.

Since behaviours form part of social psychology that affected by culture, Toor & Ofori
(2008) emphasised that there is a need to promote a positive culture in the construction
industry and to develop individuals who possess positive values and practice high level
of moral and ethical standards. By having this, it is hoped that concept of quality of life
(QOL) can be achieved since QOL is an individuals‘ perception of their position in life
in the context of culture and value systems that are conceptualised through influences
by interactions between personal and environmental factors. QOL is described as
functional status that includes health, jobs, family and other life circumstances that
enhanced by self-determination, resources, purpose in life and sense of belongings (Gill
& Feinstein, 1994; WHO, 1997; Cummins, 2005).

Conclusions and Further Research

In conclusion, this paper attempts to investigate the issue of corruption in construction
with regards to human behaviours. Two important findings of: the opportunities of
corrupt behaviour across project phases; and the relationship between human behaviour
and corruption activities. The findings reveal that opportunities for corrupt activities
(67%) occur at every phase of the construction project and it was found 50% of the
respondents agreed that opportunities is more often in the procurement phase. The
results suggest that more attention needs to be given during the procurement phase to
ensure proper bidding and awarding activities were prepared through a well and a
systematic transparency procedure. Subsequently, all of the respondents agreed that
there is a relationship between human behaviour and corruption activities through the
concept of transparency. This is for the fact that, transparency is based on the notion of
integrity that consist of ethical behaviour and good values by an individual. Therefore,
government needs to pay more attention on developing a healthy construction culture by
promoting honest, ethical and high integrity construction culture by enforcing the laws
and regulations that restrict the malpractice of corruption while instil self-value in
curbing corruption. Since corruption is a result of defective human behaviour, it could
be measured using the black-apple theory and theory of planned behaviour. Considering
these, a further empirical research in the form of in depth interviews with construction
stakeholders in Malaysia is very much required to reveal a more robust finding in the
future.

138
The research presented in this paper is part of an on-going PhD research study at the
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM to develop a framework of
transparency initiative for public construction projects in Malaysian construction
industry. The result of the study could provide an insight into the Malaysian
construction project development and will offer valuable guideline, in particular to
construction industry stakeholders in Malaysia that are looking forward for a more
transparent construction market.

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 Communication between Managers and Workers in
Construction: Perceptions from Eastern Cape Province
FA Emuze1, IM Cook2 and B Botha3
1
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment,
Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa
Email: fidomy@gmail.com
2&3
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: Brink.Botha@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
The purpose of the investigation was to examine issues pertaining to communication
processes in South African construction. Particularly, poor project performance in the
form of cost and schedule overruns, and low profitability as a result of communication
lapses. The primary data were collected through a survey that was conducted with the
use of self administered questionnaires among general contractors (GCs) members of
Eastern Cape Master Builder Association (ECMBA) that are registered in the civil
engineering and building contractors categories. It was discovered that the respondents
perceive that communication problems are prevalent in the construction industry; site
managers communicate more effectively than site workers; and the most significant
contributory factor to communication problems on construction sites is the perceived
language barriers among project participants. The research findings are based on
perceptions of project stakeholders in Eastern Cape. The paper concludes that since
communication lapses contribute to poor project performance, it is imperative to create
awareness with respect to the importance of effective communication between site
managers and workers as well as other project stakeholders so as to forestall poor
project performance.

Keywords:
Communication, Construction, Project performance, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Introduction
The construction industry is a multi-faceted, co-ordination oriented and complex
industry that is rich in cultural diversity that relies on effective communication between
project stakeholders to ensure profits, and by implication the survival of construction
firms. Within the context of the industry, the need for effective flow of information
between management and subordinates that execute the works required cannot be
overemphasised. As an illustration, such communication may often occur from contracts
directors to the construction managers, foremen, team leaders, plant operators, artisans
and general construction workers employed by either the general contractor (GC) or the
subcontractor. In other words, both inter and intra organisational communication often
occurs during the execution of projects.

141
Robbins (2005) identifies the four functions of inter-organisational communication as
the control of workers; the fostering of worker motivation; allowing workers to express
their emotions, and the conveyance of information. This conveyance of information is
undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of construction projects as Burke (2010)
reiterates the fact that in order for projects to succeed, there is always a need to
communicate so as to issue instructions, solve problems, make decisions, resolve
conflicts, and keep all relevant project stakeholder informed. For example, mistakes
made within the construction industry caused by poor communication in the form of
design inadequacies may lead to costly rework and an inevitable reduction in the
possible profits of the construction firm (Love et al., 2008). The communication
directional means illustrated by Robbins (2005) include:

 downward communication (from managers to employees);

 upward communication (from employees to managers), and

 lateral communication (between members of the same work tier).

This paper thus focuses on communication between managers of construction (such as

site agents, foreman, supervisors, and site managers), and the general workers. The
importance of the discourse is underpinned by the assumption that improvements such
as increased construction efficiency, increased worker morale, and increased
organisational profitability that accrues after addressing communication lapses in
construction justifies the efforts devoted to identifying communication problems and
their causes (Emmitt Gorse, 2003). Hence, the overall objectives of the paper include:

 the identification of the standard of instructions given to employees by managers

and the perception of both managers and employees of the standards of
communication present between the two, and

 the identification of misunderstandings or misinterpretation between managers and

employees and the level of construction competencies of both parties.

Literature Review
Emmitt and Gorse (2003) suggest that the industry does in fact display signs of
communication breakdown which negatively affect the construction process. Egbu et al.
(2004) also clearly contend that communication problems have long been an issue
within the construction industry, and this is mainly due to the organisational structure of
the construction industry. Egbu et al. (2004) also went further to say that even with the
existence of a well organised, technologically advanced communication network,
communication breakdowns still take place on a personal level and these breakdowns
are further exacerbated by the size of the construction firm.

Furthermore, they illustrated the fact that most managers have inadequate
communication skills and are unaware of this fact. With regards to the communication
skills of managers it has been shown that communication, especially oral skills, is a key
requirement for success in the business world (O‘Hair 2002 cited by Hargie et al. 2004).

142
This is especially true of the construction industry where the success of a project rely on
the managers‘ ability to communicate effectively with subordinates and other
stakeholders involved in the project. Managerial communication skills thus play a key
role in construction firms either at the strategic or the operational levels. In effect, it is
important to realise that managers communication skills need to meet certain pre-
determined criteria.

Locker and Kaczmarek (2007) identify five important criteria that verbal and written
messages should meet. They suggested that for a manager or worker to communicate
effectively, a range of criteria that include the followings should be met:

 the message must be clear and the intended meaning must be easily understood;

 the message should be complete and contain enough information to allow the
receiver to fully understand what is required of them;

 the message must be correct grammatically, free from spelling errors, have excellent
sentence structure and be altogether accurate;

 the style in which the message is delivered should facilitate ease of understanding
for the receiver and save the receivers time, and

 the message should, wherever possible, build a sense of good will for the receiver
and serve to build a solid relationship between the sender and the receiver of the
message.

Therefore, these criteria have to be met within the types of communication used mostly
in organisations. Van Staden et al. (2007) equally identify the three types of medium
used for communication purposes as oral, written and non-verbal communication. Oral
communication can be in the form of meetings, announcements over an intercom
system and conversations (both personal and telephonic conversations); written
communication can be through e-mail, memoranda, periodic newsletters, reports,
minutes of a meeting and notices placed on the notice board; and non-verbal
communication can be in the form of personal appearance, the individuals‘ attitude, the
individuals‘ facial expressions and the individuals‘ gestures. Thus, oral, written and
non-verbal communication are of vital importance to the effective operation of site
activities. For example, Ochieng and Price (2009) contend that in the United Kingdom,
most project managers make use of workshops and meetings (verbal and non-verbal
communication) as opposed to e-mails and newsletters (written communication). These
managers equally make use of the verbal forms of communication as the manager‘s
perceive that communication on a face to face basis is more effective for achieving their
objectives. However, regardless of the type of medium used in an organisation, there is
a tendency for communication breakdowns to occur.

Aspects of Communication: Language and Culture

Gudykunst (2003) refers to a previous work that suggest that different cultural groups
have varying systems of obtaining and sending meaning, which is more commonly
known as language. Further, Gudykunst (2003) states that the presence of various

143
cultures leads to difficulties in understanding one another and may occasionally lead to
confusion between individuals. Thus, differences in language structure, including
grammar, the meaning of words, varying tense layout and the difficulty of accurately
translating languages all play a role in creating language barriers between individuals of
different cultural groups within construction firms.

Van Staden et al. (2007) allude to the fact that language is an extremely important and
vital aspect of human civilization that facilitate intellectual development, and forms the
basis for the acquisition, implementation and production of knowledge. Van Staden et
al. (2007) also makes reference to the fact that South Africa has eleven (11) official
languages and thus one can deduce from this very fact that as these cultural groups
converge on construction sites around South Africa there will be incidences of
miscommunication including misunderstandings, misinterpretations and a complete lack
of understanding between managers and workers on these sites.

For example, Bovee et al. (2004) suggest that there is a need for individuals to
recognize the fact that cultural differences exist, and that not all the elements of their
culture including their values, perceptions and attitudes are the same as other cultures.
By recognizing the fact that workers and managers on site come from different cultural
groups, individuals can begin to change their sensitivities and methods of interacting to
a degree that engenders effective communication on site.

A case in point is the survey conducted by Tone and Skitmore (2004) that addressed
communication in the construction industry in terms of culture, human resource
management, leadership and communication skills between Australians, other
expatriates and Samoans. The findings indicate that all the respondents to the study
concluded that communication is vital; popular strategies of were used for
communication; the impact that communication barriers have is minimal and these
barriers can be overcome. Further, the three cultural groups have different opinion about
communication improvement. For example, the Samoans claim to suffer from a
managerial lack of awareness due to their culture; the Samoans scored barriers to
communication higher than any of the other cultural groups (Australians and
Expatriates), and the need for non-indigenous managers (Australians and Expatriates) to
improve their cultural competence was identified. When the results of this survey are
compared to the South African construction industry, it can be argued that when
different cultures engage in construction activities, miss understandings can occur.
Though one culture may claim to be aware of the culture of the indigenous people, the
indigenous individuals may not feel that their culture is properly understood. The
reviewed literatures thus show that communication could be a problem within the
context in which it is set up. Particularly, in a multilingual environment failure to
address communication related issues through managerial structures may marginalise
the realisation of targeted objectives.

Research Methodology
The research project, which was undertaken at the BSc (Honours) level, made use of
questionnaires for the procurement of its primary data. The questionnaire was sent to
civil engineering and building contractors that are registered members of the Eastern

144
Cape Master Builders Association (ECMBA). Prior to sending the questionnaires to
respondents, random sampling was employed to select a total number of 365 GCs, so as
to ensure that each member of the population had an equal chance of being selected in
accordance with the guidelines stipulated by Leedy and Ormond (2009). Thus, from a
total number of 88 GCs selected, 31 valid responses were received at the end of the
survey, which equates to a 35% response rate.

The descriptive survey method that entails the elicitation of information regarding a
population by asking their opinions based on past experiences formed the basis for the
presented findings. In particular, the questionnaire design was underpinned by findings
in the literature reviewed. The literature reviewed centred on formulated research sub-
problems that include:

 managers do not convey clear instructions to their subordinates as they lack

adequate communication skills, and

 instructions from managers to subordinates are misinterpreted as subordinates lack

knowledge and understanding of work to be carried out.

Given that this paper presents findings that relied on a descriptive survey method, the
use of mean comparisons is considered appropriate for presenting the results. In this
sense, the likert-scale was used to rate opinions upon which mean scores (MS) were
compared. The range was on extent five – scale as shown below.

 5.0: very important, or always, or very effective, very good, very competent;

 4.0: more than important, often, more than effective, good, more than competent;

 3.0: important, sometimes, or effective, average, competent;

 2.0: less than important, rarely, less than effective, poor, less than competent, and

 1.0: not important, not effective, very poor, not competent.

Findings and Discussion

Table 1 indicates the importance of effective communication between site managers and
site workers as perceived by managers within construction firms. The responses are
tabulated in terms of percentage responses within a range of 1 to 5 and a mean score
ranging from between 1.00 and 5.00. Given that the mean score (MS) is 4.90 and 90%
of the respondents perceive communication to be very important, it can be said that the
findings indicates that in general, the respondents can be deemed to perceive that
effective communication between managers and workers on site is a very important.
However, despite the level of importance expressed by the respondents, Table 2
indicates disparate levels of communication proficiency among construction sites
employees. As indicated in Table 2, the respondents perceive communication
proficiency level of site managers and foremen to be between average to good, while
that of supervisors range between poor to average, and that of general workers is at the

145
extreme end with MS lower than 2.60, which suggest that their communication
proficiency level is deemed to be between very poor to poor.

Table 1: Importance of effective communication between site managers and workers

Response (%)
Mean
Not important…..…………...……………………..Very Important Score
Unsure
1 2 3 4 5
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 90.0 4.90

Table 2: Communication proficiency level of site employees

Employee Response (%)

Mean
Very poor……………………..Very good Rank
Unsure Score
1 2 3 4 5
Site managers 0.0 0.0 3.2 9.7 58.1 29.0 4.13 1

Foreman 0.0 0.0 3.2 29.0 48.4 19.4 3.84 2

Supervisor 0.0 6.5 9.7 38.7 29.0 16.1 3.39 3

General workers 0.0 16.7 46.7 20.0 10.0 6.7 2.43 4

Though Table 3 indicates that the respondents perceive that the medium used for
sharing information on construction site can be deemed to be effective as opposed to
ineffective since the recorded MSs are above the midpoint of 3.00, the gap between the
recorded MSs is notable. Given that the response percentages of 48.4% and 19.4% were
recorded for oral communication, the effectiveness of site managers at communicating
orally with workers can be deemed to predominately range between effective to very
effective; while with MS of 3.06, the effectiveness of site managers at communicating
using written medium can be deemed to be less effective.

Table 3: Effectiveness of communication media used by managers on site

Medium Response (%)
Mean
Not effective….……..…………..Very effective Score
Unsure
1 2 3 4 5
Oral
0.0 0.0 3.2 29.0 48.4 19.4 3.84
Written
0.0 19.4 22.6 19.4 9.7 29.3 3.06

Perhaps, as suggested earlier in the literature, culture and education could contribute
significantly to the above findings. As a multicultural environment, a typical South
African construction site is a conglomerate of different cultures. In specific terms, an
attempt to examine language as a cultural aspect in the investigation revealed that of the

146
one hundred and twenty eight (128) site managers that were on site among the surveyed
projects, only 52% were perceived to be fluent in all languages spoken on site. This
finding effectively calls attention to the fact that language barriers could be playing
major roles in miscommunication and misinterpretation that occurs on site. Possibly, the
use of translator may be able to improve the situation. However, Table 4 indicates that
the respondents perceived that the frequency of site managers making use of translators
for communicating site instructions to be between rarely to sometimes. Should this be
the case, then project sites may be exposed to the downside of ineffective
communication. However, Table 5 suggests that the respondents were of the opinion
that site managers go the extra mile to ensure that workers understand instructions given
to them. With MS above 3.00 (3.42), the respondents perceive that the extent to which
site managers ensure that workers understand instructions given to them can be deemed
to be between sometimes and often.

Table 4: Use of translators to communicate instructions to workers

Response (%)
Mean
Never……………………....…………………...……....Always Score
Unsure
1 2 3 4 5
0.0 9.7 16.1 45.2 22.6 6.5 3.00

Table 5: Extent to which site managers ensures understanding of instruction

Response (%)
Mean
Never………..…………………..………………...……....Always Score
Unsure
1 2 3 4 5
0.0 3.2 19.4 25.8 35.5 16.1 3.42

Nevertheless, despite efforts devoted to understanding of information / instruction on

site, majority of the respondents contend that incidences of miscommunications and
misinterpretations occur on site. In particular, 84% of the respondents made twenty six
(26) general comments relative to the incidences of miscommunications and
misinterpretations that often occur on site. Key elements of the comments focused on
language barriers, lack of understanding of instructions, unclear instructions, and lack of
education. Notably, fifteen (15) general comments have ‗language‘ included as a reason
for the malady. For example, selected comments include:

 ‗Translation of languages; instructions from supervisors to workers in English; from

worker to worker in Xhosa, instructions gets deviated.‘
 ‗Lack of understanding of instruction, language constraints and rushing of work
without comprehension of instructions.‘
 ‗Language problem: workers just do not understand the necessity to listen and
complete tasks.‘

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 ‗Communication barrier creates misunderstanding resulting in misinterpretation
which results in loss of production and profits.‘
 ‗Workers do not understand all languages. The older workers do not understand
English or Afrikaans.‘
 ‗Lack of clear and concise instructions; supervisor believe employees below them
understand no matter what; arrogance big factor; laziness.‘

The respondents‘ general comments were also amplified by the fact that 94% of them
contend that misunderstandings between site managers and site workers often lead to
poor project performance, while 53% of the respondents perceived that site workers are
unable or rather not sufficiently fluent in languages used on construction sites. In
specific terms, Table 6 indicates the respondents‘ perception of the role of
miscommunication in the loss of construction profits. The respondents were of the
opinion that the effect miscommunication has on construction profitability is important.
Supporting this opinion is the importance of language as an aspect of the impact of
culture on communication on site as indicated in Table 7. Table 7 indicates that
language with MS equal to 4.23 is very important, while culture in general is less
important with respect to understanding instructions given to workers on site.

Table 6: Effect of miscommunications on construction profitability

Response (%)
Mean
Not important………………….…………...………Very Important Score
Unsure
1 2 3 4 5
0.0 3.2 12.9 19.4 19.4 45.2 3.90

Table 7: Importance of selected aspects to the understanding of instructions given to workers

Response (%)
Aspect
Mean
Not important….……..Very important Rank
Unsure Score
1 2 3 4 5

Language 3.2 0.0 6.5 12.9 25.8 51.6 4.23 1

Culture 3.2 12.9 25.8 32.3 12.9 12.9 2.87 2

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To be succinct, majority (53%) of the survey respondents made general comments
pertaining to communication in the South African construction industry. Most of the
respondents regarded communication as a very important aspect of a construction
project as one respondent noted that ―no communication skills results in: repetition of
work, over expenditure in terms of labour and material that eventuate in bad profit
figures (loss); while another respondent is of the opinion that the level and effectiveness
of communication changes from site to site and is determined by the abilities and
approach of site managers as those who understand the importance of site
communication and thus implement correct and efficient communication are successful
with their contracts.‖

Further, the revelation that the majority among the respondents deemed communication
to be of high importance; that incidences of miscommunication and misinterpretation
exist in construction; language barriers are the most important factors affecting the
effectiveness of site managers communications with workers; site managers are deemed
to be effective at communicating with site workers and at making themselves
understood; site managers are unable to speak or rather not fluent in all the languages
spoken on site; and site managers sometimes make use of translators to communicate
instructions to workers; support the argument that sub-optimal level of managerial
communication exists within the construction industry. While the limited sample size
will not permit generalisations that could include most contracting entities in South
Africa, it nevertheless provides useful insight about the ‗state of affairs‘ among GCs
based in the Eastern Cape. In addition, the findings of the research support the
assumption that misunderstanding and misinterpretation by subordinates negatively
affects the work to be carried out, and it can even result in low levels of profitability as
94% of the respondents were of the opinion that misunderstanding and
misinterpretations by subordinates always lead to poor performance and contribute
significantly to loss of construction profits.

Conclusions and Further Research

Given that the study examined the effectiveness of communication on construction
project sites with a view to come up with new perspectives, it can be concluded that
there is a major scope for improving communication between managers and workers in
South African construction. It can be suggested that communication on site is an
important aspect of construction, and incidences of miscommunication and
misinterpretation that occur could create rework, delay and poor profitability.

Perhaps, the occurrence of communication breakdowns through misinterpretations and

miscommunications may be ascribed to the perceived language barriers between
managers and workers on site. Though site managers are perceived to be good at issuing
instructions and going the extra mile in ensuring that workers understood the
instructions, the perceived poor levels of communication proficiency among workers
potentially marginalizes the process.

Therefore, it is herein recommended that all project stakeholders must be aware of the
effects that poor communication between site managers and site workers has on the

149
construction process. As this exploratory study has indicated that communication
breakdowns could result in a range of problems, it is imperative to ensure that:

 site employees must become aware of the impact that poor communication has on
the construction processes;

 all site employees need to ensure that when communicating, they employ the best
methods and techniques to allow for effective cross-cultural communication, and

 site managers and workers need to be sensitive to different languages and cultures
on site when communicating, and also respect cultures and languages of the
individuals involved.

Acknowledgement
With sincere appreciations, the support of the NMMU-cidb CoE that is hosted by BERC
is hereby acknowledged.

References
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1st ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Burke, R. (2010), Project management techniques. 5th ed. USA: Burke Publishing.
Cole, K. (2000), Crystal clear communication: Skills for understanding and being
understood. 2nd ed. Sydney: Prentice Hall.
Emmit, S. & Gorse, G. (2003), Construction communication.1st ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
Egbu, C., Ellis, R. & Gorse, C. (eds.) (2004) The practice of construction management.
4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gudykuns, W.B. (2003), Cross-cultural and inter-cultural communication.1st ed.
London: Sage.
Hargie, O., Dickson, D. & Tourish, D. (2004), Communication skills for effective
management. 1st ed. Hampshire: Palgrave.
Leedy, P.D. & Ormond, J.E. (2009), Practical research planning and design. 9th ed.
New York: Pearson.
Locker, K.O. & Kaczmarek, S.K. (2007), Business communication building critical
skills. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Love, P.E.D., Edwards, D.J. & Irani, Z. (2008), Forensic project management: an
exploratory examination of the causal behaviour of design-induced rework. IEEE
Transaction on Engineering Management, Vol. 55(2), pp. 234-247.
Ochieng, E.G. & Price, A.D.F. (2009), Managing cross-cultural communication in
multicultural construction project teams: The case of Kenya and UK. International
Journal of Project Management, Vol. 28(5), pp. 449-460.
Robbins, S.P. (2005), Essentials of organizational behavior.8th ed. New Jersey:
Prentice hall.
Tone, K. & Skitmore, M. (2004), Construction project management in Samoa: A survey
of intercultural communication. Journal of Building and Construction Management,
Vol. 9(1), pp. 3-25.

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Van Staden, E., Marx, S. & Kritzinger, L.E. (2007), Corporate communication. 2nd ed.
Pretoria: Van Schaik.

151
 Indicators for Measuring Neighbourhood Satisfaction
in Subsidised Low Income Housing in South Africa – A
Delphi study
CO Aigbavboa1 and WD Thwala2
1&2
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Email: aigclinton@gmail.com, didibhukut@uj.ac.za

Abstract:
The goal of the paper is to establish the attributes that determines neighbourhood
satisfaction in South Africa‘s low-income housing subsidy scheme ultilising the Delphi
approach. This is because the perception and housing satisfaction of low-income
housing beneficiaries toward their housing condition can be studied by examining their
satisfaction towards the neighbourhood factors. The Delphi method was used where the
views of housing experts were solicited on 26 potential attributes as identified from
literature. Consensus was achieved after three iterative rounds. The expert‘s scored each
attributes on a 10-point ordinal scale of impact significance, where 1-2=No impact and
9-10= very high impact. The scales adapted for consensus were: strong consensus,
median 9-10, inter quartile deviation (IQD) ≤1; good consensus, median 7-8.99,
IQD≥1.1≤2; weak consensus, median ≤ 6.99and IQD≥2.1≤3. The key findings indicate
that there was a good to strong consensus of 19 attributes which were key attributes that
the experts perceived as determinants of neighbourhood satisfaction; while 6 other
attributes had weak consensus, as they were considered to have a lesser impact in
determining residents‘ neighbourhood satisfaction. However, attributes with weak
consensus were the attributes that are highly regarded as core neighbourhood factors in
other housing settings. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the subject
where no consensus has been reached pertaining to indicators for measuring
neighbourhood satisfaction in subsidised low-income housing in South Africa.

Keywords:
Delphi method, Neighbourhood satisfaction, Residential satisfaction, Subsidised low-income
housing, South Africa

Introduction
According to Amerigo and Aragones (1997), numerous studies of residential
satisfaction have mostly been applied to the occupants‘ dwelling units and to its
surrounding neighbourhood. Both have been researched from two points of view:
physical, conforming to equipment and services; and social, referring to the social
linkages established both in communal areas of the building and in the neighbourhood.
However, there seems to be a problem in trying to outline the physical boundaries of the
house and of the neighbourhood. For example, when referring to a house, we should
take into account not only it private space, but also the semi-public spaces immediately
surrounding it (Amerigo, 2002; Amerigo & Aragones, 1997). However, prior to asking

152
which measures might impact reported neighbourhood satisfaction, we need to focus on
the question of what residents define to be their perception of the neighbourhood.
According to Rapoport (1977), the appropriate definition of these areas is very
significant at certain socio-economic levels due to the perceptions they involve.
Rapoport (1977) further argue that spatial perceptions may vary substantially as a
function of variables like social and cultural status. The concept of neighbourhood on
the other hand is even more confusing according to Amerigo and Aragones (1997).
Only few scholars have clearly define to which physical area it involves, while most
other scholars uses terms like community, district, neighbourhood amongst others,
without defining them specifically.

Housing cannot be separated from its surrounding neighbourhood as the level of

acceptance or satisfaction may be more dependent on where the unit is situated than on
its actual or perceived quality in most cases. For instance, Onibokun (1974) argues that,
the habitability of a house is determined not only by the engineering elements, but also
by social, behavioural, cultural, and other elements in the entire societal-environmental
system. The dwelling according to Onibokun may be adequate from the engineering and
design point of view but may not necessarily be adequate or satisfactory from the
inhabitants‘ point of view. Thus Onibokun (1974) established that the house is only one
connection in a chain of factors which determine people‘s relative satisfaction with their
accommodation. Hence, ultilising the Delphi technique, this paper establish‘s the
attributes that determines neighbourhood satisfaction in South Africa. This is because
the perception and housing satisfaction of residents‘ toward their housing condition can
be studied by examining their satisfaction towards the neighbourhood factors through an
exploration of informed expert opionions. The context of the paper is the low-income
housing space in three metropolitan municipality cities in South Africa.

Neighbourhood Satisfaction
Neighbourhood satisfaction refers to occupants‘ overall evaluation of their
neighbourhood. Scholars from many disciplines have examined neighbourhood
satisfaction (Amerigo, 2002; Amerigo & Aragones, 1997; Marans & Rodgers, 1975).
They have used a variety of terminology such as, residential satisfaction, community
satisfaction, or satisfaction with residential communities (Marans & Rodgers, 1975).
The transposable use of these terminologies, in spite of correlations between them is a
problem (Lu, 1999). For instance, Marans and Rodgers (1975) measured satisfaction
with the community, the macro-neighbourhood, and the micro-neighbourhood, and
found that satisfaction with community related more to social factors while satisfaction
with neighbourhood related more to physical factors. The residential environment
includes physical dimensions other than the neighbourhood, such as the dwelling and
the neighbours (Amerigo, 2002); and the community environment includes the social
aspects as well as the physical ones (Marans & Rodgers, 1975).

Previous studies have explored the determinants of residents‘ neighbourhood

satisfaction. Prime amongst these include the works of Bolan (1997), which focused on
the relationship between the characteristics of households and reported neighbourhood
satisfaction. However, this individual-level focus has increasingly given way to studies
focusing on how the local context can also affect residents‘ reported satisfaction (Parkes

153
et al., 2002). Satisfaction with neighbourhood features have been observed as a vital
determinant of residential satisfaction (Vrbka & Combs, 1991) to the extent that,
residents are willing to compromise the inefficiencies within the dwelling unit because
of the satisfaction that is provided by the neighbourhood facilities and features.
Neighbourhood features refer to the location of the dwelling unit, neighbourhood
relations, distance to the shopping areas, distance to the workplace or school, distance to
the police services, distance to recreational facilities secure and clean environment, the
building image and parking facilities amongst others (Aigbavboa & Thwala, 2012). The
neighbourhood and environmental features which are considered for the present study
are public transportation and services, closeness to workplace, secure environment,
incidence of burglary activities, location of dwelling unit, police protection, closeness to
shopping areas, to schools, to hospitals/clinics, to place of worship, street ligthing at
night, friends and neighbours, walkway and access to main roads, privacy from other
neighbours, smoke or dour, physical condition and appearance of the neihgbourhood,
proximity to police services, community hall, street and highway noise, facilities for the
disabled, adequacy of on-street parking (bays) elderly centres, and parking facilities.
Therefore, the present study sought to establish the specific neighbourhood and
environmental features which determines neighbourhood satisfaction in South Africa‘s
low-income housing subsidy scheme.

An overview of the Delphi method

The Delphi technique was originally developed in the 1950s as a tool for forecasting
and problem solving of complex topics at the Rand Corporation by Helmer and Dalkey
(Buckley, 1995). The Delphi method attempt to ‗align‘ the sometimes conflicting
positions of experts into a coherent and unified perspective. The technique is relatively
simple, as it consists of a structured process for collecting and synthesising knowledge
from a group of pre-selected experts by means of a series of questionnaires
accompanied by controlled opinion feedback (Adler & Ziglio, 1996). The
questionnaires are presented in the form of an anonymous and iterative consultation
procedure by means of surveys (postal and/or e-mail). These questionnaires are
designed to elicit and develop individual expert responses to the subject matter and to
enable the experts to reconsider views as the group‘s work progresses in agreement with
the objective of the study.

When to use the method

The Delphi method is mainly used when long-term issues have to be assessed such as
the subject of the current research. This is because it is a procedure used to identify
statements (topics) that are relevant for the future; it reduces the tacit and complex
knowledge to a single statement and makes it possible to judge upon (Cuhls, 2003). On
the other hand, in more complex issues, when the themes cannot be reduced or when
thinking and discussions in alternatives are the major target, the technique is not the
method of choice. Hence, Linstone and Turoff (2002) argue that one or more of the
following properties could lead to the need for the use of the Delphi technique:

 When the problem of inquiry does not lend itself to precise analytical techniques but
can benefit from subjective judgments on a collective basis;

154
 When the research need to contribute to the examination of a broad or complex
problem with no history of adequate communication and may represent diverse
backgrounds with respect to experience or expertise, which is a major premise of the
current research;
 More individuals are needed than can effectively interact in a face-to-face exchange;
 Time and cost to make frequent group meetings is limited;
 The efficiency of face-to-face meetings can be increased by a supplemental group
communication process;
 Disagreements among individuals are so severe or politically unpalatable that the
communication process must be refereed and/or anonymity assured, and
 The heterogeneity of the participants must be preserved to assure validity of the
results, such as the avoidance of domination by quantity or by strength of
personality called the ‗bandwagon effect‘.

The Delphi process and limitations

The method consists of questioning the experts by means of successive questionnaires,
in order to reveal convergence and any consensus there may be. The main stages of this
process which was adaptoed in the present research work: i) Step 1. Determination and
formulation of questions; ii) Step 2. Selection of experts; iii) Step 3. Formulation of a
first questionnaire that is sent to the experts; iv) Step 4. Analysis of the answers to the
first questionnaire; v) Step 5. Formulation of a second questionnaire that is sent to
experts; vi) Step 6. Analysis of the answers to the second questionnaire; vii) Step 7.
Formulation of the third questionnaire that is sent to experts; viii) Step 8. Analysis of
the answers to the third questionnaire and vii) Step 9: Summary of the process and
drawing up of the final report.

A major problem identified by research into the implementation and application of

Delphi surveys has been the tendency for experts to over-simplify particular issues, and
treat them as isolated events. This is particularly the case in forecasting, where experts
tend to think in linear terms rather than in sequential events, where a holistic view that
involves complex chains and associations can be applied. This has led to the
development of techniques such as ‗cross impact matrix forecasting‘, which are
intended to compare a range of ‗possible futures‘ against each other, and to consider the
displacement, substitution and multiplier effects associated with the scenarios identified
by the experts involved (Adler & Ziglio, 1996). However, there have been several
studies (Helmer, 1983) supporting the Delphi method. These studies seem to suggest
that in general, the Delphi method is useful to explore and unpack specific, single-
dimension issues like the present paper objective which is to establish the specific
neighbourhood and environmental features which determines neighbourhood
satisfaction in South Africa‘s low-income housing subsidy scheme.

Research Methodology
A comprehensive methodical literature review was conducted in journal articles,
conference proceedings and relevant housing books. A total of 26 neighbourhood
indicators indicators were identified from the literature. The identified attributes were
characterized as the factors which determine neighbourhood satisfaction and were used

155
to develop a Delphi questionnaire. A panel of experts were selected and participated in a
three round of Delphi process. The expert‘s scored each attributes on a 10-point ordinal
scale of impact significance, where 1-2=No impact and 9-10= very high impact. The
scales adapted for consensus were: strong consensus, median 9-10, inter quartile
deviation (IQD) ≤1; good consensus, median 7-8.99, IQD≥1.1≤2; weak consensus,
median ≤ 6.99and IQD≥2.1≤3.

Literature informed that because experts form the cornerstone of the Delphi technique,
clear inclusion criteria should be applied and outlined as a means of evaluating the
results and establishing the study‘s potential relevance to other settings and populations
(Igbal & Pipon-Young, 2009). Hence, in choosing panellists for this study, each expert
was required to meet at least five of the following minimum criteria of: 1) residency-
have lived or is living in one of the South Africa Metropolitan or District Municipalities
cities; 2) has knowledge of the low-income housing situation in South Africa; 3)
academic Qualification, has been presented an earned degree; 4) experience related to
the low-income or other sustainable development or human settlement context; 5)
employment in a professional or voluntary capacity; 6) influence and Recognition; 7)
authorship of peer-reviewed publications in the field of housing with emphasis on South
Africa; 8) research, has received research funds that support housing development
studies for the low-income group or other human settlement related issues; 9) teaching,
has served as an individual or as a collaborative instructor in the teaching of one or
more college or university courses focusing on the sustainable development or related
field; 10) membership of a professional body so that their opinions may be adaptable or
transferable to the population and k) willingness to fully participate in the entire Delphi
studies.

The adoption of five criteria was considered more robust than the suggested number of
at least two criteria by Rodgers and Lopez (2002). The five minimum criteria were
framed after the four recommendations made by Adler and Ziglio (1996), with the
inclusion of experts‘ residency status, which was considered compulsory for all selected
experts. This was considered significant because experts were required to have a wide-
ranging understanding of the low-income housing context in South AfricaAlso, a
minimum number of five criteria were set because the technique may be undermined if
panellists are recruited who lack specialist knowledge, qualifications and proven track
records in their respective field (Keeney et al., 2001), amongst others.

Panel members were identified from four sources. The first source was from the South
Africa institutions of higher learning faculties, departments, research institutes amongst
others. The second source was the Department of Human Settlement. This is because
they are the ones who are vested with the responsibility of initiation and development of
subsidised low-income housing in the country. Hence their involvement in the Delphi
process was a key consideration. The third source was from various conference
proceedings such as the annually held Built Environment Research Conference hosted
by the Association of Construction Schools of Southern African, Construction Industry
Development Board biannual post graduate research conference amongst others.
Individuals who had frequently appeared as authors or key speakers related to housing
and human settlement issues in these proceedings were identified as potential experts on
the study. The fourth source was the references of individuals who had committed their

156
lives working in the area of sustainable human settlement and housing related issues in
Southern Africa.

With regard to the recruitment process, panellists were recruited via e-mail, with a brief
overview of the study objective. Thereafter, those that consented to the preliminary
invitation were sent a detailed description of the Delphi study; and were requested to
send their curriculum vitae in order to confirm their areas of expertise and to ascertain
whether they met the qualifying criteria. Hence all experts selected for the current study
met a minimum of five criteria‘s set for the study.

From all the sources mentioned above, 55 invitations were sent out. Out of 55
invitations, 17 responded to the invitation; 17 completed the first round and 15 were
retained throughout the study as one panellist could not meet with the demand of the
study while the other was deceased during the course of the study, but had sent through
his opinions for the first round. Therefore, the Delphi study retained 15 active members
during the iterative round. This number of panellists was considered adequate based on
literature recommendations from scholars which have employed the technique
previously (Hallowell & Gambatese, 2010). Based on the above and the fact that the
Delphi method does not depend on the statistical power, but rather on group dynamics
for arriving at consensus among experts, the panel of 15 experts was considered
adequate.

In the first round the experts were asked to rate the impact of the indicators which
determine residential satisfaction in South Africa low-income housing. The second and
third (last) round of the Delphi questionnaire included a qualitative component that
offered experts the opportunity to provide additional feedback in the form of written
comments. After round II and round III, the degree of consensus achieved in the Delphi
process was assessed by calculating the group median, mean, standard deviation and
inter-quartile deviation. The group median was used as a feedback to the experts in the
successive rounds. Each round built on responses to the former round. Experts were
provided with a summary of the series of rounds. This summary included the feedback
to each expert: his or her own score on each item, the group median ratings, and an
abstract of written comments. The experts were then asked to reflect on the feedback
and re-rate each factor in light of the new information. This process was in line with the
Delphi characteristics of: 1) anonymity which encourages honest opinion free from
bandwagon effect; 2) iteration, which allows experts to change their views in
subsequent rounds; 3) controlled feedback which illustrates the dissemination of the
group‘s response, in addition to individual‘s previous response and 4) the effective
engagement of participants who are separated by large distances because it can be
distributed by mail or online (Hasson et al., 2000). This method was therefore
appropriate in validating the core neighbourhood satisfaction indicators identified. The
limitation to this Delphi study was that experts were not allowed to add any other core
factors or indicators as deemed necessary. However, from the extensive literature
review, no factor was considered missing from the identified.

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Findings and Discussion
First, all panel members who participated in the Delphi process were from South Africa.
Two are currently residing at the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality; seven
reside in the City of Johannesburg, four in Ekurhuleni, one in Tshwane and another in
the City of Cape Town. Also, 80% of the experts were male, while 20% were female.
The female experts who were invited to participate declined the invitation because of
the demand on their time as informed hence the dominance of male in the study. From
the 15 experts who completed the three rounds of Delphi, 3 had a Doctor of Philosophy
(PhD) degree, 10 had a Master of Science (MSc) or equivalent degree and 2 others had
a Bachelor of Science or an equivalent degree. All experts were from various fields,
ranging from urban and spatial planning, housing studies, urban and social policy
amongst others. From their curriculum vitae analysis, they are all involved with low-
income housing issues.

In terms of their current occupation, 8 of the experts were employed by Universities of

higher learning, 1 work as a housing practitioner with the City of Johannesburg, 4 were
employed by various Government Departments, 1 in an NGO and another in a research
institution. All expert panellists held various senior positions in their organizations and
were involved in low-income and other housing issues at different levels. The expert
panellist had a cumulative of 284 years of experience. The minimum was four while the
maximum was 32 years with a mean of 18.93 years. The experts especially the
academics have extensively contributed to the body of knowledge in Sustainable
Human Development with vast publications in peer reviewed conferences, journals,
book chapters and books. The experts were professionally registered in various
professional bodies in South Africa and international.

Secondly, from the summary of the comprehensive review of literature highlighted sets
of attributes that are potentially relevant to neighbourhood satisfaction decisions by the
occupants of low-income housing in South Africa. Though the reviewed literatures were
based on studies from the developed countries, these were collectively used to examine
the attributes that determine residential satisfaction in subsidised low-income housing in
South Africa (a developing country). The influence of the attributes on neighbourhood
satisfaction was obtained as a product of the impact on the housing occupants. The level
of impact of the attributes as categorised on the questionnaire was established by
assessing the extent to which the listed attributes will determine the occupant‘s
satisfaction with their neihgbourhood.

Hence, the scores for the listed neighbourhood and environmental characteristics
revealed that from the 26 listed variables, four were scored to have a very high impact
(VHI: 9.00-10.00) in determining residential satisfaction, while, 15 variables had a high
impact (HI: 7.00-8.99) and 7 other variables were scored to have between low to
medium impact (LI & MI: 3.00-6.99). Conversely, none was found not to have an
impact in the determination of residential satisfaction (Table 1). In addition, the IQD
scores revealed that consensus was achieved for a majority of the items (24) with a
score of between 0.00 and 1.00. Nonetheless, consensus was not achieved for two
elements; being the Parking facilities and the Police protection with an IQD score of
1.50 which was more than the acceptable IQD score for the study. Furthermore, the
Parking facilities had mean rating=4.67 and an SD=1.68; while the Police protection

158
factor had a mean rating=7.40 and SD=1.35; showing the level of consistency within the
experts rating of the factors.

Findings from the assessment of the attributes that determines neighbourhood and
environmental characteristics, collaborates the results of a majority of studies on
housing satisfaction in relation to the neighbourhood attributes (Amerigo, 2002; Marans
& Rodgers, 1975) upon which the current study attributes were also based. Closeness to
workplace, public transportation and services and the incidence of burglary activities
were rated as variables with a very high impact as these impacts on the quality of life of
the occupants.

Table 1.0: Neighbourhood and environmental characteristics

Attributes Median SD IQD ≤ 1
Public transportation and services 9 0.70 0.50
Closeness to workplace 9 1.18 0.50
Secure environment 9 0.80 1.00
Incidence of burglary activities 9 0.99 1.00
Location of dwelling unit 8 1.32 1.00
Police protection 8 1.35 1.50
Closeness to shopping areas 8 1.19 1.00
Closeness to schools 8 1.35 0.50
Closeness to hospitals/clinics 8 1.36 1.00
Street lighting at night 8 1.39 0.50
Friends and neighbours 7 1.32 0.50
Closeness to the place of worship 7 1.41 0.50
Walkways and access to main roads 7 0.90 0.50
Privacy from other neighbours 7 0.99 1.00
Smoke or odours 7 1.88 1.00
Physical condition and appearance of the
neighbourhood 7 1.16 0.00
General cleanliness of the neighbourhood 7 0.96 0.50
Proximity to Police services 7 1.32 1.00
Community hall 7 0.90 0.50
Landscape of the neighbourhood 6 1.46 0.50
Closeness to playground and other
recreational facilities 6 1.10 0.00
Street and highway noise 6 1.28 0.00
Facilities for the disabled 6 1.53 1.00
Adequacy of on-street parking (bays) 5 1.39 1.00
Elderly centres 5 1.15 0.00
Parking facilities 4 1.68 1.50

These findings were also found to collaborate with the works of Bjorlund and Klingborg
(2005) findings done in eight Sweden municipalities, where it was found that occupants
neighbourhood satisfaction is related to the their satisfaction with proximity to
commercial areas, proximity to open spaces, less noisy environments with no traffic
congestion, proximity to town centres and a conducive environment. On the other hand
the current study findings did not support the study conducted by Abdul and Yusof
(2006) where it was highlighted that the neighbourhood facility attributes that are most
dominant in determining the level of satisfaction towards housing are low level of

159
satisfaction with the public transport, and lack of parking areas. However, the present
study finding is also consistent with the alternative micro-neighbourhood theory, which
deals with social relationships among neighbours as the present study has shown - Good
relationship with the neighbour. The result from the research further revealed the
complex characteristics of neighbourhood satisfaction as also pointed out by the works
of Amerigo and Aragones (1997), Marans and Rodgers, (1975) and Marans &
Spreckelmeyer (1981).

Therefore, findings from the study revealed that the attributes that determines
neighbourhood satisfaction in South Africa subsidised low-income housing are similar
to other cultural context as revealed by the median scores displaying a strong to good
consensus. These attributes are: closeness to workplace; landscape of the
neighbourhood; secure environment; incidence of burglary; closeness to shopping areas;
closeness to schools; hospitals and places of worship amongst others. Nevertheless,
consensus was not achieved for the Police protection and Parking facilities attributes
which have been found to be a strong determinant of housing satisfaction in other
cultural context (Mohit et al., 2010); despite the evidence from the data that, Police
protection was rated to have a high impact and Parking facilities was rated to have a low
impact. These findings suggests that when a neighbourhood is crime free and there is
the presence of police protection in form of dedicated police post in the neighbourhood,
occupants feel safe and are thus satisfied with the neighbourhood. Likewise, when the
distance occupant‘s commute to their place of work and the availability of public
transport is satisfactory, this will also make them to be satisfied with their
neighbourhood and environment.

Conclusions and Further Research

This paper has examined neighbourhood satisfaction in the context of 26 identified
features as compiled from an extensive literature survey utilising a Delphi approach.
Findings from the study supported work done by previous scholars that satisfaction with
neighbourhood features is a vital determinant of neighbourhood satisfaction to the
extent that residents are willing to compromise the inefficiencies within the dwelling
unit because of the satisfaction that is provided by the neighbourhood facilities and
features. Further findings revealed that there was a high variability amongst the
attributes of Police protection and Parking facilities impact occupants satisfaction with
their neighbour.

In conclusion, the results suggest that the attributes that brings about residential
satisfaction in South Africa‘s low-income housing are similar to the determinants in
other cultural context. Further, neighbourhood satisfaction is assured if there is a
consideration of these factors in the development of subsidised low-income housing for
the poor in South Africa. Also, the survey findings revealed that, the experts judge the
attributes of closeness to workplace; landscape of the neighbourhood; secure
environment; incidence of burglary; closeness to shopping areas; closeness to schools;
hospitals and places of worship amongst others as elements which will bring about
neighbourhood satisfaction to low-income housing occupants, which from the Delphi
scores of the experts have been described as being of significant influence and having a
high impact in determining residential satisfaction.

160
References
Abdul, G.S. & Yusof, N.A. (2006), ‗Residential satisfaction in low-cost housing in
Malaysia‘, Report of Research.
Adler, M. & Ziglio, E. (1996), Gazing into the oracle: the delphi method and its
application to social policy and public health. London: Kingsley Publishers.
Aigbavboa, C.O. (2012), Post Occupancy Evaluation of Housing Subsidy Beneficiaries.
Holland: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
Amerigo, M. (2002), Residential environment: Choice, satisfaction, and behaviour. A
psychological approach to the study of residential satisfaction. J. A. Aragonés, G.
Francesca and T. Gärling. Westport, CT, Bergin & Garvey: 81-99.
Amerigo, M.A. & Aragones, I.J. (1997), ‗A theoretical and methodological approach to
the study of Residential satisfaction,‘ Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol.
17(1), pp. 47-57.
Bolan, M. (1997), ‗The mobility experience and neighbourhood attachment,‘
Demography, Vol. 34(2), pp. 225-237.
Buckley, C. (1995), ‗Delphi: a methodology for preferences more than predictions,‘
Library Management, Vol. Vol. 16(1), pp. 16-19.
Cuhls, K. (2003), ‗Delphi method.‘ Retrieved 26 October, 2011, from
http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/import/16959_DelphiMethod.pdf.
Hallowell, M. & Gambatese, J. (2010), ‗Qualitative Research: Application of the Delphi
Method to CEM Research,‘ Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
136 (SPECIAL ISSUE), pp. 99-107.
Linstone, H.A. & Turoff, M. (2002), ‗The Delphi method: techniques and applications,‘
Retrieved 12 December, 2011, from www.is.njit.edu/pubs.php.
Lu, M. (1999), ‗Determinants of residential satisfaction: Ordered Logit vs. Regression
Models,‘ Growth and Change, Vol. 30(2), pp. 264-287.
Marans, R. & Sprecklemeyer, K. (1981), Evaluating built environment: A behavioural
approach. Michigan: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Marans, R.W. & Rodgers, W. (1975), Toward an understanding of community
satisfaction. Metropolitan America in contemporary perspective. A. H. Hawley and
V. P. Rock. New York, Halsted Press, pp. 299-352.
Mohit, M.A., Ibrahim, M. et al. (2010), ‗Assessment of residential satisfaction in newly
designed public low-cost housing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,‘ Habitat
International, Vol. 34(1), pp. 18-27.
Onibokun, A.G. (1974), ‗Evaluating consumers‘ satisfaction with housing: An
application of a system approach,‘ Journal of American Institute of Planners, Vol.
40(3), pp. 189-200.
Parkes, A., Kearns, A. et al. (2002), ‗What makes people dissatisfied with their
neighbourhoods?‘ Urban Studies, Vol. 39, pp. 2413-2438.
Rapoport, A. (1977), Human Aspects of Urban Form, Oxford, UK: Pergamon.
Vrbka, S.J. & Combs, E.R. (1991), ‗Predictors of neighbourhood and community
satisfaction,‘ Referred papers of the American Association of Housing Educators
Annual Conference. Durham, NH.

161
Examining Construction Waste Management Practices
of Workers
K Kajimo-Shakantu1, W Shakantu2, R Cumberlege3 and K Kondile4
1
Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management,
University of the Free State, South Africa
Email: Kajimoshakantuk@ufs.ac.za
2
Department of Construction Management
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: Winston.Shakantu@nmmu.ac.za
3&4
Department of Quantity Surveying,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: Roy.Cumberlege@nmmu.ac.za, s208105025@live.nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
The study examines the practices of construction workers on a number of selected
construction sites, with a view to establishing their contribution to construction and
demolition (C&D) waste management. The study is based on a review of literature and
a field study of 10 construction sites located within the Nelson Mandela Metropolis.
Data were collected primarily via observing the practices of construction workers and
the nature of support they received from site supervisors as well as checking for
availability of on-site waste management facilities using a purpose built likert-type
instrument. The numeric data was supplemented by open-ended questions to the
workers and site supervisors where available. Key findings include: insufficient
supervisory support given to construction workers, lack of due diligence on the part of
the workers during material handling and construction, inadequate C&D waste facilities
and a high frequency of material waste generation. This paper makes a contribution by
highlighting the need to enhance C&D waste management systems on construction sites
and the significant role that workers can potentially play to reduce waste. The findings
are beneficial to construction firms and other stakeholders because minimising waste
makes both business and environmental sense. There is a need to adopt a more
integrated approach to minimising C&D waste generation, which could lead to
reduction in costs and negative environmental impacts.

Keywords:
Construction & demolition waste, Construction sites, Waste management, South Africa

Introduction
Through legislation, policies and various initiatives, the South African government like
its international counterparts, is actively involved in promoting an efficient and effective
construction industry that maximises its resources, minimises waste and improves the
working environment of its workforce for better employment opportunities and greater
productivity (CIDB, 2004; van Wyk, 2004; Cain, 2003). However, relative to other
industries, construction remains largely wasteful and renowned for its inefficiencies as
well as reluctance of its stakeholders to adopt significant improvements despite
continuous pressure (CIDB, 2004; van Wyk, 2004).

162
Waste management in construction activities has been increasingly advocated
primarily with the aim of protecting the environment (Jones & Greenwood, 2003; Tam,
2008). From the 1990s, cleaner production represents one approach that has helped to
inform the development of a waste management hierarchy (Gertsakis & Lewis, 2003).
Over time, other related concepts such as source reduction and pollution prevention have
also emerged. In line with the principle of ―getting it right the first time‖, the underlying
characteristics of these concepts are the need to avoid, eliminate, prevent or significantly
reduce the causes of environmental problems, as opposed to managing the impacts further
down the product or service life cycle (Department of Environmental Affairs, 2010;
Gertsakis & Lewis, 2003; Ekanayake & Ofori, 2000). This means that waste avoidance
and reduction are the preferred options, but where it is not feasible, reuse, recycle and
treatment can be considered. Waste disposal is regarded as the least favoured option in the
hierarchy. These developments suggest a paradigm shift in the nature of environmental
interventions in terms of rationale, timing and approach (Department of Environmental
Affairs, 2010; Gertsakis & Lewis, 2003).

However, as Tam (2008) argues, the generation of waste in the construction industry
has not been successfully controlled. Further, Hao, Hill and Shen (2008) contend that
C&D waste management is not fully or properly implemented by construction
organisations. In agreement, anecdotal evidence suggests that the management of
C&D waste in the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) is sub-optimal (Kondile, 2011).
Against this background, the paper seeks to investigate the practices of construction
workers on building sites in the NMB, with a view to establishing their contribution to
C&D waste management. The objectives are to determine; a) apparent material
wastage, b) level of due diligence exercised by construction workers to minimise waste,
c) support given to workers on site by supervisors relating to waste management, and d)
availability of waste facilities on construction sites.

There is a need to adopt a more integrated approach to minimize C&D waste

generation, which could lead to reduction in costs as well as negative environmental
impacts. The paper highlights the need to enhance C&D waste management systems on
construction sites and the significant role that workers can potentially play to reduce
waste and contribute to improved industry efficiency. This is an area that is currently
lacking in empirical studies, and to which the study makes a contribution. The findings
are beneficial to construction firms and other stakeholders primarily because of the
potential cost and environmental impact reduction benefits of well implemented waste
reduction approaches.

Literature Review
Material Consumption and Waste Generation in Construction

Construction operations consume significant quantities of material and also generate

large quantities of wastes (Shakantu et al., 2007; Shakantu, 2004). The construction
industry is wasteful. It is estimated that the industry consumes about 12-16% of fresh

163
water; 25% of wood harvested; 30-40% of energy and 40% of virgin material extracted
(Macozoma, 2002). Other sources reveal that about 50% of all non-energy materials
extracted from the earth‘s crust are transformed into construction materials and
products (van Wyk, 2004). These materials also constitute 50% of all waste generated
prior to recycling and re-use prior to final disposal (van Wyk, 2004).

Globally, thousands of tonnes of material from construction sites end up as waste

annually. Waste occurs at various stages of a building‘s lifecycle e.g. design,
procurement, construction, modification and demolition and includes extraneous
materials such as concrete, wood, plastics, paper and metals (Shakantu, 2004).
Approximately 20–50kg of waste is produced per square meter of constructed
flooring, while in demolition, this output is estimated to be as high as 1–2 ton/m2 of
flooring (Kartam et al., 2004). It is also estimated that the industry generates 20-30% of
greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of the total waste stream, of which 15-30% ends up
in landfills (Macozoma, 2002).

Previous studies reveal that in the United States of America (USA) C&D waste
represents one third of the material wastes in landfills. Construction activities in Hong
Kong generated 65% of waste in landfills during its boom in 1994 to 1995 (Esin &
Cosgun, 2006). Waste generation usually arises from the work processes and poor
usage and material handling in non-working stage due to poor design and during
transportation, storage and lack of recording of material supplied and used on site,
excess materials left from site preparation and after finishing the work, poor skills of
operatives and damage to materials (Yuan, Shen & Wang, 2010; Greenwood, 2004;
Poon, Yu & Jaillon, 2003).

While building materials account for up to 50% of the cost of a building project, a large
percentage of the materials are generally wasted on site. The quantity and composition
of the waste is highly dependent on the building structure type and the technology
used to build the structure (Hao et al., 2008). In the UK alone, it was estimated that
around 13% of materials delivered on site were discarded unused (DETR, 2000).
Similarly, Macozoma, (2002) estimates that in South Africa up to 15% of purchased
materials on building sites end up as waste. Further, Shakantu (2004) highlights that in
Cape Town, unpublished figures indicated that 42% of all waste deposited in the False
Bay Coastal land fill was from C&D. Notable implications are that transportation costs
to and from construction sites and costs of clearing up landfills including illegal
dumping are high (Shakantu, et al., 2007). Additionally, despite the difficulty to
establish the exact quantities of C&D wastes generated (Shakantu, 2004), the physical
size and scope of most construction projects in many countries give the generated C&D
waste huge environmental impact (Department of Environmental Affairs, 2010; Esin &
Cosgun, 2006).

Waste Minimisation Perspectives

Internationally, organisations are striving to adopt environmentally efficient processes in

the wake of regulatory and competitive pressures to acknowledge the growing public
attentiveness to the quality of life and conservation of natural resources (Ofori, Gang &

164
Briffet, 2002). Improving the environmental issues associated with construction,
benefits enterprises relative to finance and its corporate image. Ball (2002) says that
waste minimisation directly lowers costs in comparison to competitors. South Africa is
responding to growing concerns about the wellbeing of the environment through the
publication and amendment of various Acts to appraise the current environmental
situation (Department of Environmental Affairs, 2010).

Greenwood (2004) reports a study undertaken by the Centre for Research in the Built
Environment (CRiBE) at Cardiff University that defines waste minimisation as the use
of practices and processes that reduces the amount of waste generated. As such, it
includes any activity that results in the reduction of the quantity and the toxicity of waste
(excluding dewatering and compaction). Common approaches that have potential to
minimize or eliminate waste include but are not limited to (Ferguson, 1995):

 prevention of waste by proper maintenance;

 designing with whole-life cost in mind to minimize waste;
 specifications for the handling of waste materials in construction;
 use of techniques which avoid creating waste;
 reuse of waste on site for other purposes, and
 disposal of torpid waste on site.

Many countries have embarked on programmes that promote efficiency in construction

in terms of labour, equipment and material use (Macozoma, 2001). There is a growing
realization to alter tendering, contracting and construction site processes in order to
ensure that waste prevention, minimization and management are prioritized on site
(Macozoma, 2001). Clients, designers, manufacturers, suppliers and contractors can
contribute substantially to construction waste minimisation at various stages of the
project lifecycle, with the contractor having a greater role to play during documentation,
procurement and operation stages (Greenwood, 2004). At the contractual stage, the
duties and responsibilities of each project stakeholder are established. For example, a
contractor should have waste minimisation clauses stated in their agreement forms and
the Bills of Quantities should make provision for the pricing of waste minimization
initiatives (Kondile, 2011).

To reduce waste generation, a contractor should develop a waste reduction plan,

w h i c h i n c l u d e s identifying the different waste streams and main causes of waste
generation (Greenwood, 2004). According to Greenwood (2004), a vital aspect in
implementing a waste management plan is the level of commitment of the employee.
Thus, it is important to motivate, acknowledge and invest in the workforce such as
training and attendance of waste management workshops. A contractor s h o u l d gain
a good understanding of the environment within which the construction takes place,
including assessing the availability of recycling facilities around the vicinity and
the enthusiasm of the workforce ( Greenwood, 2004).

A case study conducted by DETR on the practice of construction waste management by

small and medium enterprise contractors found that waste could be minimised easily if
provision for the practice of waste management is made in the contract (Jones &
Greenwood, 2003). However, there are few studies that focus on workers under the care

165
of the contractor who actually do the site work. Therefore, this paper seeks to address
the issue of how workers‘ actions reflect their level of awareness of waste management
and indirectly reflect the contractor‘s contribution on site.

Research Methodology
A field study of 10 commercial and residential development construction sites in the
NMB that relied on observations was undertaken during the month of June 2012.
Observing actions, activities and behaviours on site, was found to be the most
appropriate approach to examine the waste management practices of construction
workers. Purposive sampling was utilised to select the sites used in the empirical study.
Selection was based on availability and willingness of participants and type of
construction activities. The sample comprised the following developments, which were
at various stages:

 1 commercial development on Cape Road;

 Commercial developments in the business hub of Newton Park;
 1 commercial development in Walmer;
 1 alteration site development in the inner residential location of Newton Park;
 Residential dwellings in the residential suburb of Summerstrand, and
 1 residential complex in Richmond Hill.

The 10 construction sites were primarily small to medium scale development,

reflecting the size of current construction work in NMB. The field study included
observing construction waste management activities on sites for durations for at least
2.50 days per site. This approach enabled the researcher to observe the level of due
diligence that was paid to construction waste management on the site, and to
effectively evaluate if there were any supervisory processes conducted to minimise
waste generation. A purpose-built instrument was used to record observations and
responses from construction workers and as well as site supervisors where applicable. It
was anchored on a 5 likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (value of 1) to strongly
agree (value 5) and also included some open ended questions, which were posed to site
supervisors and site workers randomly to get further insights into certain practices or
clarify some observations. The data were later consolidated, collated and analysed, using
both quantitative and qualitative techniques as presented below.

Findings and Discussion

Apparent Wastage of Construction Materials on Site

To get an indication of the extent of waste generation, the data collation consisted of
recording the prevailing construction materials on building sites that was classified on
site as ‗waste‘. Based on observations and responses from site supervisors and workers,
the study estimated the percentage of each material type, as a percentage of the total
waste of the consolidated sites. Based on this approach, timber ranked the highest at a
relative frequency of 15% and the main contributing factor for the wastage was found

166
to be improper cutting to desired sizes. Clay bricks and mesh wire reinforcement
ranked second at 13%. This wastage was reportedly caused by the improper
handling and rework activities that took place. The lack of on-site sorting activities
observed also compounded the problem. Concrete blocks also ranked third at 8% and
this wastage was attributed mainly to the handling of the material on site and to a less
extent during transit to site. The findings are consistent with the literature.

Table 1: Wasted Construction C&D Waste Sources

Material type Estimates (%)

Roof water proofing 2.0
Roof tiles 4.0
Curtain rails 2.0
Damp proof membrane 4.0
Clay bricks 13.0
Concrete bricks and blocks 8.0
Concrete slab 8.0
Cardboard 6.0
PVC Conduit 6.0
Timber 15.0
Building rubble 8.0
Pavement Slabs 2.0
Mesh reinforcement 13.0
Steel reinforcement rods/bars 6.0
PVC pipes 4.0
Steel gates 2.0

In the case of clay bricks, it appears that the wastage arose from their inadequate cutting
to special sizes (e.g. to fill superstructure voids) and shapes e.g. splayed. Further, it was
found that four of the materials, namely; building rubble, concrete slabs, concrete brick
and blocks had the same wastage percentage frequency of 8%. Steel reinforcement and
cardboard ranked fourth with a 6% relative frequency. Cardboard wastage was due to
the general ill-management and supervision apparent during the observations, while
steel, a generally very expensive material was wasted as a result of cutting deficiencies.
The observations were, to a large extent confirmed by site supervisors and workers that were
spoken to.

The findings suggest that although site agents, foremen and general building
personnel know about their responsibility towards environmental management,
particularly waste management, it is generally regarded as a time consuming and cost
consuming activity that diverts the concentration from other activities. The findings are
consistent with the literature, which indicates that there is a general lack of appreciation
of construction waste management on construction sites; that contribute to increase
dumping of waste at landfills (Tam, 2008; Hao, Hill & Shen, 2008).

167
Construction workers practices of waste management

This section investigated the due diligence applied by the workers to effect
waste management on the construction sites using a likert scale ranging from 1
being excellent to 5 being poor including 6 unsure.

Table 2: Construction workers‘ aspects regarding waste management

1 = Excellent; 2 = Good; 3 = Moderate; 4 = Decent; 5 = Poor; 6 = Unsure

Parameter Mean score Rank
General level of the construction skills of the workers 3.30 1
Management (handling) of virgin materials that are brought to site 4.30 2
Extent to which construction workers exhibit awareness and
5.00 3
application of environmental knowledge
Mean of Mean score (MMS) 4.20

All the three items above on workers‘ competencies and awareness levels of
construction waste management ranked between moderate to poor (MMS = 4.20). Of
these, the general level of construction skills of the workers ranked first with a mean of
3.30, followed by the general management (handling) of virgin materials brought to
site with a mean 4.30. While the level of awareness and application of environmental
knowledge also varied among workers and among trades, overall, it was generally
found to be poor and came last with a mean of 5.00.

The workers generally had substantial construction experience and the study
assumed that the degree of inherent skill and knowledge would make them easily
trainable to apply due diligence and environmentally friendly construction practices.
A l t h o u g h t h e ―informal spot interviews‖ indicated that some workers had generally
received some form of environmental awareness training, a mean of 5.00 suggests that
the workers were either poorly trained in the area of environmental awareness or
failed to apply the principles accordingly. The findings also appear to reflect
contractors‘ lack of investment in the continuing educational activities of their
employees to promote sustainable construction.

C&D Waste Minimization

The extent to which the sites implemented construction waste control systems during
the execution of works was investigated. Although the 9 commonly used systems
probed where implemented to varying degrees per site, the results shown in Table 3
reflect the combined extent of implementation across the 10 sites. This approach was
chosen in order to give a broader and more consolidated picture of the waste
minimisation controls of the studied sites. It can be seen from Table 3 that adequate
ordering of materials was implemented the most (60% of sites) probably as a result of
intervention efforts made by the contractors to provide proof for valuation purposes of
work done for payment by the employer for materials on site. Space provisions and
storage facilities at 40% each came second while inventory recording and physical
waste management facilities were found lacking at 20% each.

168
The analysis indicates that there is no direct relationship between waste management
activities and the space provisions within the construction site, as three out of the seven
sites with limited space had minimal amount of construction waste generation. It was
found, that 40% of the sites had adequate space provisions, this did not minimise
construction waste generation. Only 20% of the sites had waste management facilities,
which reflects poor municipal interventions on environmental inspections of the sites.
Further the observations revealed that the sites lacked appropriate supervisory activities
which are pre-requisites for construction waste management practices. The findings
resonate with the literature which shows that the construction industry generates a lot of
waste and pays little attention to waste minimisation (Shakantu et al., 2007; Van Wyk,
2004).

Table 3: construction waste control systems on sites

Waste Control System Implementation Site (%) Rank

Adequacy in ordering material 60.0 1
On-site space provisions 40.0 2
On-site storage facilities 40.0 3
Interference of waste with site activities 30.0 3
Segregation activities 30.0 3
Reclamation of waste 30.0 3
re-use of existing materials 30.0 3
Adequate inventory recording 20.0 4
Physical waste management facilities 20.0 4

Conclusions and Further Research

The paper endeavoured to examine the practices of construction workers on a number of
selected construction sites in the NMB aimed at establishing their contribution to C&D
waste management. The literature review showed that while the construction sector is an
important contributor to the economic growth and quality of life, it consumes wastes
resources and generates huge quantities of waste. Aside presenting negative
environmental impacts, C&D waste also increases the costs of building projects,
transportation and landfill clearance. Despite increasing awareness, approaches and
legislative controls, C&D waste management implementation remains largely
suboptimal.

An empirical field study of 10 construction sites located within the NMB relying mainly
on observations of the practices of construction workers and related on-site activities
was undertaken. The key findings suggest that there is lack of systematic processes to
manage waste adequately as reflected by inadequate on-site supervisory provisions; lack
of apparent C&D waste facilities on sites; absence of due diligence towards waste
management applied by workers on sites and relatively high frequency of construction
material conversion into waste.

169
While the generalisation of result is limited due to the smallness of the sample size, the
results do give useful insights into the need to enhance C&D waste management
systems on construction sites and the significant role that workers can potentially play to
reduce waste. Contractors need to put in place incentives to motivate and train workers
continuously in waste management and have site supervisors who are knowledgeable.
The paper also recommends the need to raise awareness among various stakeholders of
the economic contributions that waste management could have on building projects,
organisations and the environment at large. This could be achieved through further
promotional activities and the compilation of a C&D waste management handbook in
close co-operation with Construction bodies. The paper had a number of limitations
which could be addressed through further research namely; research is required
to quantify the amount of waste generated by construction site activities in the
NMB, compare waste management practices among various trades using larger
samples, compare the waste management practices among small, medium and large
firms to determine if any differences or similarities among the different firm sizes
would emerge and why and to assess the feasibility of a secondary construction
materials market.

References
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Department of Environmental Affairs (2010), National waste management strategy.
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242.

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SESSION 3A & 3C: CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS
& RESOURCES

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Extent of Integration of Technology Management into
Oil and Gas Projects in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry
L Dapub1 and JJ Smallwood2
1&2
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: pdlami@gmail.com, John.Smallwood@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
The momentous transition in Nigeria from the agrarian to the industrial age in the past
decade is overwhelming. The impact of globalisation and technology fuelled and
ensured this shift to a knowledge age emphasised by information, communication,
awareness, capacity and creativity. The management of technology and innovation is an
issue that confronts all organisations today. The waves of change in the business
environment include new technologies and innovations that compel industries and
organisations to find new ways to compete and to survive. The study seeks to
investigate the extent of integration of technology management into construction oil and
gas projects and operations in Nigeria‘s oil and gas industry. A questionnaire was
designed to determine the importance and the extent of integration of technology
management. A 5-point Likert type scale was used. The questionnaire was divided into
two main parts. Part 1 related to general information on both the organisation and the
respondent. Part 2 included questions related to the factors, parameters and aspects
impacting on the technology management process. The survey sample population
involved sixty-seven professionals of the top Transnational oil companies (TNOCs)
operating in Nigeria. The findings suggest that poor technology management auditing,
inadequate assessment of macro-environment factors, and poor technology strategy in
relation to project / business strategy, are all factors which have impacted on technology
management. Therefore, it is imperative that the oil industry integrate technology
strategy into the organisation‘s overall business strategy.

Keywords:
Environment, Management, Oil and Gas, Technology, Nigeria

Introduction
Contemporary organisations must continue to adopt new strategies and introduce
changes to their mode of operations and activities in order to attain new and challenging
performance objectives. According to Steenhuis and Bruijn (2007), technical progress is
by far the most important source of economic growth of the industrialised nations due to
the importance of technology and technological progress.

Therefore, technology, creativity and innovation become essential and important

developments that will be significant not only in helping organisations mature and
flourish, but also to ensure their very survival in the 21st-century market place (Gundry,
2008).

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Furthermore, there is a price to be paid for technology and innovation according to
Schillings (2005), particularly in situations when production technologies create
pollution that is harmful to surrounding communities, land, and agricultural and fishing
technologies. This can result in erosion and elimination of natural habitats; for instance,
the technologies used for exploitation of natural resources have often been trailed by
various ecological side effects such as oil spills, gas flares, damaged land, accidents and
fires. Incidents of water and air pollution continue to characterise oil and gas
exploration and production operations. This situation is particularly evident in Nigeria
where decades of exploration and production technologies continue to generate
destructive pollutants which are toxic to the adjoining milieus

Literature Review
Technology management
According to Bruton and White (2011), the importance of technology to business cannot
be over-emphasised considering that it is not only the bedrock of business today, but
there are imminent indications that business will be driven by technology and its
application in the future. This is because it is a critical resource of profound importance
for corporate profitability and growth. It also has gargantuan implications for the
wellbeing of national economies as well as international competitiveness. Effective
management of technology links engineering, science and the management disciplines
to address the issues involved in the development, advancement, application,
monitoring and auditing of technological competencies to mould and achieve the
strategic and operational objectives of an organisation (Bruton et al., 2011).

Arguably the most vital source of competitive decline is an organisation‘s failure to

appreciate the dynamic nature of technological advantage, because, according to
Hellriegel, Jackson, Slocum, Staude, Amos, Klopper, Louw and Oosthuizen (2008), an
organisation‘s macro-environment is significantly influenced by technological forces.
Consequently, the technological environment is thus a major segment of the macro-
environment which is interlinked with the other macro-environmental segments and it
constitutes the primary environmental segment in furthering the management of
technology. An organisations environment also called the macro environment includes
the external factors that usually affect all or most organisations (Hellriegel, Jackson &
Slocum, 2005). According to Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble and Strickland (2012),
Hellriegel, et al. (2005) and Fox (2006) these external factors include economic,
political, social, technology, suppliers and competitors.

 Economic- this could be capitalism, socialism or communism and economic /

market conditions, expansionary and recessionary cycles and the general standard of
living;

 Political factors- the political environment is concerned with the stability of the
government, government bureaucracy, and the effect of political decisions on
individuals, organisations and projects;

174
 Demographics- this refers to the size, density, distribution and growth rate of the
population. All these factors have a direct bearing on the demand for various goods
and services;

 Socio-cultural factors- the social environment concerns needs for projects,

individuals or communities. This includes values, beliefs, language and religious
influences and laws which all affect how organisations operate

 Suppliers- include those who provide what the organisation requires to function,
including finance, services, suppliers, components and utilities; the bargaining
power of suppliers often controls how much they can raise prices above their costs
or reduce the quality of goods and services they provide;

 Competitors- those who are in the same business and others who compete for the
same customer spend. Hence any change in the environment that affects any
competitor will have consequences that require some degree of adaptation, and

 Natural factors- the natural environment which includes geographical and ecological
factors that influence the organisation‘s operations.

Therefore White et al. (2007) suggest that for managers to adequately manage
technology they should:

 Analyse the industry configuration both nationally and globally;

 Predict potential changes;

 Understand the capability of the organisation and those of its competitors, and

 Carry out a financial analysis of projects and the organisation.

Technological environment
Research suggests that the performance of an organisation interrelates closely with the
technological environment in which it operates (Lewis, Goodman & Fandt, 2004;
Narayanan, 2001). Therefore, to use technology as a competitive advantage
management should ensure that the technology strategy is integrated into the
organisation‘s overall business strategy and this is where the challenge lies for managers
(Krause, 2004) who must realise that the impact of technology and innovation is crucial
in developing models which can be used to assess prospective projects. Bruton et al.
(2011) suggest that it is imperative that technology is embraced in its totality on an
organisation–wide basis. Hence, Krause (2004) asserts that understanding the
technological environment is critical to the successful management of technology.

This is particularly necessary for organisations in developing countries where it is

imperative to leap from stumpy survival technology to high information era technology,
because they are yet to make the most of or adapt contemporary technology which has
created a void in their competitive advantage relative to nations with developed
economies (Krause, 2004). Because organisations are inextricably linked to the
technology environment, they are exposed to changing technologies that may have

175
positive or negative consequences for the organisation. The world‘s stock of innovation
and technology is concentrated in a few industrialized nations, indicating that for
organisations in the developing countries to acquire technology they must approach
these countries. This is the scenario in Nigeria‘s oil industry which is dominated by
TNOCs which have over the years transferred technology associated to projects relative
to oil exploration and production from developed societies to Nigeria.

However, according to Awny (2007), a major challenge faced in situations where

technology is transferred from more industrialised countries to developing countries is a
lack of necessary infrastructure and skilled personnel. Steenhuis et al. (2007) indicate
that the key aspect in the failure of technology transfer to contribute to industrial
development is that organisations generate skills in a narrow production area instead of
on the basis of knowledge that creates a sustainable competitive industry position. It is
essential for organisations to recognize, the importance of public policy and
environmental factors in facilitating or preventing effective transfer and utilization of
technology. Every new technological development or innovation creates both
opportunities and threats. Therefore, stakeholders must understand that the creation and
introduction of new technology requires change. The requirement for the successful
application of existing technology resists change, and thus the tension between these
two is inevitable.

Research Methodology
The functional managers of the department of exploration and production in three
TNOCs were approached to participate in the survey. All the managers are located
within Rivers and Delta States, two of the core oil-producing states in Nigeria. Rivers
State is host to the head offices of the majority of the TNOCs operating in Nigeria. They
identified key line managers and professionals within their departments to participate in
the survey. The snowball sampling method was used to select the number of managers
for the study. This resulted in the identification of 110 professionals, to whom the
research instrument was forwarded. Where after, a total of 67 questionnaires were
returned as at the time of writing this paper, which represents a 60% response rate,
which was deemed adequate for the purpose of data analysis. The questionnaire was
also distributed to managers with from below six to between seven to fifteen years‘
work experience. This was done in order to get a balanced response between
experienced and less experienced practising professionals. In order to compare the
competence levels of the younger and possibly less experienced with the more
experienced professionals in the industry, the respondents were divided into two groups
one above and one below forty years of age to enable an analysis based on
competencies relating to age. A 5-point Likert type scale was used to determine
organisational behaviour relative to magnitude, frequency and degree type questions,
indicating an unsure position, in order to increase reliability. This is based on Church,
Waclawski and Kraut (2001) and Alwin (2010) assertions that a five category scale
appears superior for unipolar assessments.

176
Findings and Discussion
Table 1 indicates the extent to which various business environment factors are analysed
by respondents‘ organisations. It is notable that eight (89%) of the factors have MSs
above the midpoint score of 3.00, which indicates that in general the factors can be
deemed to have been analysed. However, the first to sixth ranked (60%) factors have
MSs > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, which indicates that the respondents can be deemed to perceive that
the business environment factors have been analysed between sometimes to most of the
time / most of the time. Furthermore, the bottom three ranked factors have MSs > 2.60 ≤
3.40, which indicates that the respondents can be deemed to perceive the related factors
to have been analysed between rarely to sometimes / sometimes.

Table 1: Extent at which business environment factors are analysed

Factors Unsure Never………...…………………Always MS Rank

1 2 3 4 5
Technology and 0.0 0.0 2.9 22.4 50.8 23.9 3.96 1
innovation
Competition 0.0 16.4 11.9 11.9 40.3 19.4 3.67 2
Economic conditions 0.0 7.5 11.9 26.9 37.3 16.4 3.58 3
Health and Safety 0.0 10.5 14.9 20.9 34.3 19.4 3.58 4
Suppliers 0.0 7.5 11.9 28.4 38.8 13.4 3.52 5
Politics 7.5 2.9 13.4 16.4 47.8 11.9 3.52 6
Socio-culture 25.4 2.9 11.9 22.4 29.9 7.5 3.27 7
Ecology 0.0 11.9 17.9 31.3 32.8 5.9 3.27 8
Leadership 9.1 9.1 25.8 25.8 18.2 12.1 2.98 9

Table 2 indicates the importance of the macro environment factors which are being
appropriately considered as an important part of the business environment analysis. It is
notable that all the MSs are above the midpoint score of 3.00, which indicates that in
general the respondents can be deemed to perceive the factors to be important.
However, given that the first five (83%) ranked factors have MSs > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, the
respondents can be deemed to perceive them to be between important to more than
important / more than important. Furthermore, the sixth ranked factor has a MS > 2.60 ≤
3.40, which indicates that the respondents can be deemed to perceive it to be between
less than important to important / important.
Table 2: Importance of macro environment factors

Factors Unsure Not important…Very important MS Rank

1 2 3 4 5
Economic 0.0 11.9 4.5 8.9 37.3 37.3 4.07 1
Technology 0.0 4.5 4.5 35.8 20.9 34.3 3.85 2
International 0.0 2.9 7.5 32.8 35.8 20.9 3.70 3
Social 0.0 4.5 13.4 20.9 47.8 13.4 3.61 4
Ecological 0.0 2.9 11.9 34.3 38.8 11.9 3.51 5
Political 7.5 8.9 11.9 22.4 46.3 2.9 3.22 6

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Table 3 indicates the extent to which technology is integrated into organisation business
strategy. It is notable that all the MSs are above the midpoint of 3.00, which indicates
that in general the respondents can be deemed to perceive technology to be integrated. It
is notable that four (83%) of the six aspects have MSs > 4.20 ≤ 5.00, and therefore the
respondents can be deemed to perceive the extent of integration to be between most of
the time to always / always. However, given that the MSs for the bottom two ranked
aspects are > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, which indicates that respondents can be deemed to perceive
the degree of integration to be between sometimes to most of the time / most of the
time.

Table 3: Extent of integration of technology into organisation business strategy

Aspect Unsure Never...……………....................Always MS Rank

1 2 3 4 5
Technology is a key
factor in the overall 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 20.0 73.3 4.67 1
business / project strategy
Organisational
procedures exist to ensure
0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 40.0 53.3 4.47 2
the optimal exploitation
of technology
Technology and
innovation strategy is part 0.0 0.0 0.00 13.3 33.3 53.3 4.40 3
of organisational mission
The technology strategy
is a significant
contributor to the 0.0 0.0 6.7 6.7 40.0 46.7 4.27 4
corporate and project
strategy
Project managers are
active members of the 0.0 0.0 0.0 13.3 46.7 40.0 4.13 5
technology culture
Project managers work
closely with the 0.0 0.0 13.3 13.3 40.0 33.3 4.07 6
technology manager

Table 4 respondents were requested to indicate the extent to which six practices have
been successfully integrated into the project delivery process. It is notable that all the
MSs are above the midpoint of 3.00, which indicates that in general the respondents can
be deemed to perceive the practices to have been integrated. However, the MS of the
first to sixth ranked practices are > 3.40 ≤ 4.20, and therefore the respondents can be
deemed to perceive the level of integration to be between moderately to relatively
extensive / relatively extensive.

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 Table 4: Extent of integration of practices into the project life-cycle

Practice Response (%)

Moderately

Extensively
extensively
Relatively
Not at all

Slightly
Unsure

Rank
MS
Project management maturity 0.0 0.0 0.0 28.6 35.7 35.7 4.07 1
Health and safety and
0.0 0.0 21.4 7.1 35.7 35.7 4.07 2
Environment
Cost effective management 0.0 7.1 7.1 21.4 35.7 28.6 3.86 3
Concurrent engineering 0.0 0.0 21.4 14.3 50.0 14.3 3.79 4
Technology management
0.0 0.0 21.4 28.6 35.7 14.3 3.64 5
auditing
Risk management 0.0 0.0 21.4 35.7 35.7 7.1 3.50 6

Conclusions and Further Research

Given that the economic environment is marginally more important than the technology
environment it can be concluded that TNOCs operating in Nigeria are more focused on
return on investment although respondents suggest that, relative to business strategy,
technology and innovation strategy is part of the organisation mission; however, this is
marginally more important to the organisation than integrating technology strategy into
the corporate and project strategy. It can be concluded that technology management is
perceived as being a value as opposed to a priority. This is reinforced by: the extent of
integration of technology into organisations‘ business strategies and the importance of
technology as a key factor in the overall business / project strategy. It is recommended
that a paradigm shift in management is required in the way organisations manage their
resources with specific focus on technology.

Respondents appreciate the various aspects relative to the project delivery process, in
particular project management maturity, health, safety and environment, cost-effective
management and concurrent engineering. However, given that the aforementioned
aspects are more important than technology management audit, it can be concluded that
technology management audit is not used as a tool to measure how effectively the
technological strengths of the organisation are exploited. This has probably been a
major contributing factor to the continuous use of defective technologies in the industry
which over the years have resulted in the environmental rot experienced in Nigeria‘s oil
and gas sector.

It is recommended TNOCs should make a paradigm shift in terms of understanding that

technology management audit allows organisations to identify and evaluate the
organisation‘s technological resources and capabilities; assess and evaluate the market
significance or potential of the organisation's technologies, and assess the organisation's
competitive position in relation to its technologies.

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Respondents were required to indicate the extent of integration of technology into the
organisation business strategy; they indicated that, although technology is optimally
exploited, it is part of the organisation mission; it is a key factor in the overall business /
project strategy; and is a huge part of the corporate / project strategy. However, the
aforementioned aspects are marginally more important than incorporating project
managers as active members of the technology culture. It is imperative for management
to appreciate that projects are planned and executed by people and therefore technology
and its tools must complement and be understood by the humans who use them

References
Alwin, D.F. (2010), How good is survey measurement? Assessing the reliability &
validity of survey measurement. In: P. Marsden & J. Wright (ed) Handbook of
survey research. 2nd Ed. Bradford: Emerald.
Awny, M.M. (2007), Social impact of technology: a perspective from developing
countries. In: M.H. Sherif & T.M. Khalil (ed) Management of technology: new
direction in technology management. Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd.
Bruton, G.D. & White, M.A. (2011), Strategic management of technology and
innovation. (2nd Ed.). Canada: Southern-Western, Cengage Learning.
Church, A.H., Waclawski, J. & Kraut, A.J. (2001), Designing and using organisational
surveys: a seven-step process. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Gundry, L.K. (2008) Managing creativity and innovation in the 21st century. In: C.
Wandel (ed.) 21st century management a reference handbook, Volume 2.
California: Sage.
Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S.E., Slocum, J., Staude, G., Amos, T., Klopper, H.B., Louw, L.
& Oosthuizen, T. (2008), Management. 3rd Ed. Cape Town: Oxford University
Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S.E. & Slocum, J.W. (2005), Management a competency-based
approach. 10th Ed. Quebec: Thomson South-Western.
Krause, S. (2004), A generic model of excellence in project management. PhD Thesis.
University of Port Elizabeth.
Lewis, P.S., Goodman, S.H. & Fandt, P.M. (2004), Management: challenges for
tomorrow‟s leaders. 4th Ed. Boston: South-Western.
Narayanan, V.K. (2001), Managing technology and innovation for competitive
advantage. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Schilling, M.A. (2005), Strategic management of technological innovation. New York:
McGraw-Hill-Irwin.
Steenhuis, H. & Bruijn E.J. (2007), Industrial development: does technology transfer
work in the aircraft industry? In: M.H. Sherif and T.M. Khalil, (eds). Management
of technology: new direction in technology management. Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd.
Thompson, A.A., Peteraf, M.A., Strickland, A.J. & Gamble, J.E. (2012), Crafting &
executing strategy: concepts and cases. 18th Ed. New York: McGraw Hill-Irwin.
White, M.A. & Burton, G.D. (2007), The management of technology and innovation: a
strategic approach. 1st Ed. Mason, USA: Thomson-South-Western.

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 Mechanisms to Limit Construction Risks Caused by
Prime Costs and Provisional Sums in South Africa
JO Okumbe1, HJ Marx2 and JJP Verster3
1
Department of Building Sciences,
Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
Email: OkumbeJ@tut.ac.za
2&3
Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management,
University of the Free State, South Africa
Email: MarxHJ.SCI@ufs.ac.za, Versterj.SCI@ufs.ac.za

Abstract:
The main objective of the research was to investigate, analyse and identify the
shortcomings that exist within the current mechanisms to limit financial risks in the
construction industry in order to develop a new method that can be used to eliminate
construction cost overruns caused during the adjustments of prime costs and provisional
sums. The study sought the views from a variety of construction professionals based on
knowledge and experiences within their own organisations. Registered and experienced
construction consultants who have practised for over ten years which include architects,
quantity surveyors, engineers, and construction professionals employed by medium to
large contractors as well as public sector employees were selected for the survey. The
research adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, which allowed
the use of a literature review and questionnaire survey to gather both secondary and
primary data. Simple descriptive statistical methods were then used to analyse data. The
findings and results of the research were used to develop new mechanisms aimed at
limiting the financial risks and disputes caused during the adjustments of prime costs
and provisional sums. The research findings could add value by eliminating the cost
overruns, which cannot be managed effectively by existing mechanisms.

Keywords:
Construction, Contracts, Cost overruns, Prime costs, Provisional sums, South Africa

Introduction
The research focused on the reasons for and effects of provisional sums and prime costs
in the construction industry to find out if the amounts allowed for are realistic. The
study made a comparison between the original estimates with the final project costs for
provisional sums and prime cost sums. Ikpo (2008) stated that in building contracts
there are sums often provided for in the bills of quantities that are not exactly measured
and yet make up a significant percentage of the contract sum. He defines provisional
sums as estimates which are meant for unforeseen work and that prime cost sums are
allowed for work which are not normally undertaken by the contractor but rather by
specialists. It was therefore important to understand the existing methods that have been
adopted in the pre-contract estimates and conduct a comparison with the final costs for
the provisional sums of the projects.

181
Literature Review
Estimating in the Construction Industry
The Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) principal building agreement (2007)
defines the bills of quantities as the document which set out the description and quantity
of the work included in the contract sum. It further states that the bills shall be deemed
to have been drawn up according to the Standard System of Measuring Building Works
unless another measuring system is stated in the schedule. The literature has
acknowledged that accurately forecasting the cost of future projects is essential to the
survival of any business or organisation contemplating future construction. They
contended that cost estimators are tasked with developing the cost information that
business owners or managers, professional design team members, and construction
contractors need to make budgetary and feasibility determinations. In fact a number of
authors have stressed the importance of involving cost estimators right from the start of
the project to ensure that the project budget reflects the decisions made by the rest of the
project team throughout the integrated design process and have analysed their
descriptions. They further found out that a cost estimator should have certain
professional behaviour which include; good ethics, integrity, confidentiality, sound
judgement, the right attitude and must be thorough.

Brook (2008) highlighted various estimating methods as single rate, multiple rate,
approximate quantities, analytical estimating and operational estimating. Aladegbaiye
(2002) found that the actual amount spent on both provisional sums and prime costs
have in most cases exceeded their original estimated costs hence the need to study the
reliability of the degree of accuracy based on the estimates to eliminate the risk of
unbudgeted cost overruns. According to the literature related to estimation, estimators
should have some common professional traits which include; costing of different
projects, awareness, developing high level of uniformity, consistency, logical and
legible documentation, conducting a proper evaluation, accurate use of labour hours,
developing alternative methods that will result in cost optimisation through value
engineering, proper analysis of elements of cost estimates and change orders.

Prime Costs Sums in Construction Contracts

The JBCC (2007) also states that prime costs means an amount included in the contract
sum for the delivered costs of materials and goods obtained from a supplier as instructed
and selected by the principal agent. Ikpo (2008) argues that standard conditions of
contract recognises the practice of sub-contracting specialist works to nominated sub-
contractors and allow for their estimates as prime costs. Chimwaso (2008) asserted that
estimated values of prime cost sums are included in the bills of quantities to cover
electrical and mechanical installations by nominated sub-contractors which would then
be tendered for separately at a later stage.

According to Ikpo (2008), a prime cost estimate would be allowed for in the contract
bill of quantity and the contractor would be entitled to profit and attendance if the tender
is competitive. A contractor may therefore execute the work himself where a nominated
sub-contractor defaults before completion of his sub-contract to avoid the risk of delays
that would result into the need for the architect to re-nominate. Pearl, Akintoye, Bowen
and Hardcastle (2003) commented that absolute accuracy is virtually impossible to

182
achieve in building price forecasts. Therefore the issue of what comprises an
―acceptable‖ degree of accuracy is inevitably linked to the aspect of expectation of
performance by the client and achievement level of the estimator. Estimating accuracy
is therefore the degree of conformity of the estimate to the final as-built project cost.
Pearl et al. (2003) have highlighted the most important elements with respect to
estimating accuracy as; project type, project size, project duration and geographical
location of the development; tender issues, including the number of bidders and the
economic state of the construction market; the level of information available and the
ability of the estimator. Aladegbaiye (2002) found that the final cost profiles of virtually
every building project exceeded the estimated values including the prime costs and
provisional sums. They further stated that the difference between the actual amounts
expended on prime costs items as shown in final accounts, and the initial estimates may
be attributed to a number of factors which they identified as change in the design from
either a change in the brief or a change in opinion by the architect, both of which
necessitate variation orders.

Adetola (1999) has mentioned that some variations could be traced to the quantity
surveyor‘s estimating inaccuracies. He highlighted some reasons for quantity surveyor‘s
inaccuracies as; not being familiar with the design details or inaccurate specifications,
poor interpretation of design details and general construction drawings or the entire
contract documents. Odeyinka and Yusif (1997) found that some variations in the prime
cost sums paid to a main contractor which resulted in construction cost overruns were
caused by sub-contractor‘s delays.

Provisional Sums
According to Chimwaso (2008), provisional sums are included in the bills of quantities
to cover work to be executed by statutory authorities such as power and water
connections. He further argues that provisional works are usually measured as
provisional in the bill of quantities, subject to re-measurement at a later stage during
construction of the works. Duncan (2009) stated that sub-contractors can be individuals
or substantial firms who agree on a contract with the main contractor to complete a
section of a project for example ground works and masonry. He added that the
percentage of the work being carried out by sub-contractors has increased considerably
during the past years and highlights the main advantages for sub-contracting as: the
main contractor‘s liability to retain, on a full time basis, all the specialists necessary for
day to day operations is reduced and sub-contractors are used as and when required,
thereby reducing overheads.

Involvement of Different Subcontractors

Duncan (2009) and Brook (2008) recognise a number of different types of sub-
contractors as; domestic sub-contractors, named sub-contractors and nominated sub-
contractors and/or suppliers. Both Duncan (2009) and Brook (2008) agree that sub-
contractors are classified into two main categories namely; nominated and domestic but
Duncan (2009) contends that clients have been using the named sub-contractor instead
of nominated sub-contractor. He adds that a named sub-contractor is the same as a
domestic sub-contractor except that the client states which contractors are acceptable
without taking the responsibility for their final selection and appointment. Brook (2008)
maintains that the way in which a sub-contractor‘s quotation is incorporated into the

183
tender depends on the contractual relationship and the specialist with the main
contractor and the definitions given in the standard method of measurements used.
Duncan (2009) adds that it is a procedure whereby clients select a shortlist of preferred
sub-contractors, usually three, probably ask for quotations based on a common
specification and then passes their names and quotations to the main contractor. Neither
the sub-contractor nor the main contractor is obliged to use these quotations as a basis
for a tender and they can be renegotiated. Brook (2008) also argues that formal
nomination has been replaced by lists of approved sub-contractors given in the tender
documents, named sub-contractors where the intermediate form is used and the novation
of specialists. Duncan (2009) maintains that named sub-contractors are more popular
with clients since; most forms of contract allow for the main contractor to claim an
extension of time for delay caused by a nominated subcontractor, which the main
contractor has taken all reasonable measures to prevent.

Brook (2008) emphasises the need for checking all sub-contract quotations for
arithmetic errors and tallying. He urges that for the estimators to compare quotations on
a like to like basis they should apply the following checks: all the items for that trade
should be priced; the rates should be realistic; it is sometimes argued that rates should
be consistent throughout the bills of quantities in order to avoid the risks of facing
difficulties when valuing variations by pricing like items at similar rates; the sub-
contractor should accept the contract conditions without amendment; the quotation
should be based on the documents which form the main contract; there is a growing
tendency for subcontractors and suppliers to re-type the bills of quantity usually to
accord with their interpretation or individual product range. Duncan (2009) states that
named sub-contractors are often used in public sector projects and for projects based on
the form of contract where there is no provision for nomination. He adds that if a named
sub-contractor has not been appointed at the time that the bills of quantities are ready
for dispatch then a provisional sum is included for provision of the works to be carried
out by the named subcontractor and highlights their main features as follows: the tender
documents, usually the bills of quantities, include the names of potential named sub-
contractors. The main contractor has the opportunity to reasonably object to any firm on
the list; the main contractor leads the tender process for each named sub-contractor
package by assembling the tender documents, issuing and receiving tenders and
selecting a named subcontractor and; after appointment, the named subcontractor, for all
intents and purposes, is a domestic sub-contractor and the main contractor is only paid
the rates in the accepted sub-contract tender.

Brook (2008) defines a nominated subcontractor or supplier as a person with whom the
contractor is required to enter into a contract for execution of work or supply of things
designated as ―Prime Cost‖ or ―PC‖ items. According to Duncan (2009) nominated
subcontractors are used in cases when the architect or client wishes to restrict and
control certain aspects of the project works and in cases where at the tender stage, parts
of the project have not been fully detailed and therefore the use of nominated
subcontractors allows the job to go to tender with the nominated works being dealt with
at a later stage. He specifies the principal differences between domestic and nominated
subcontractors are follows: the tender process is organised and run by the architect who
invites suitable subcontractors to submit a tender; the architect selects the preferred
tender and then instructs the main contractor to enter into a contract with the

184
subcontractor; in-order to use nomination a prime cost sum is included in the bills of
quantities at the tender stage. Brook (2008) adds that a nominated supplier is normally
identified in the tender documents as a prime cost and a separate item is given for the
contractor to add his profit and a cash discount allowance. He further stated that the
following information must be given in the tender documents for each nominated
subcontractor; the nature and construction of the work, a statement of how and where
the work is to be fixed, quantities which indicates the scope of the works, any
employer‘s limitations affecting the method or timing of the works, a price cost sum,
general attendance item in accordance with the contract, an item for main contractor‘s
profit, to be shown as a percentage and details of special attendance required by the
subcontractor. Duncan (2009) also maintains that the following processes relate to
contracts where the contract administrator is entitled to nominate: suitable firms are
identified by the architect and they are invited to submit tenders for the subcontract
works carried out in accordance with strictly defined conditions; in the case of
subcontracts where there is an element of design, it is advisable to include a collateral
warranty; when the tenders submitted are examined by the contract administrator and
one is selected.

Research Methodology
The research gathered comprehensive information from reliable different groups of
stakeholders selected at random for the survey to find out the key causes and effects of
inadequate budgeting which could lead to cost overruns in traditional contracts caused
by adjustments to specialist work for which provisional sums and prime costs did not
allow for, in order to propose a new mechanism based on the views from the
respondents. The research adopted a combined technique which allowed the use of
qualitative and quantitative methods for the investigation. Descriptive and analytical
survey methods which allowed the use of questionnaires to obtain data were adopted to
meet the research objectives. Out of a total number of 173 questionnaires distributed, 91
that were returned were found suitable for analysis. The study recorded a response rate
of 52.6% which Oladapo (2007), agree that 50% response rate is reliable for research of
this nature. The study was conducted amongst qualified registered professionals and
experienced stakeholders in the South African construction industry who have practiced
for over ten years.

Findings and Discussion

The data gathered to achieve the results were analysed by use of simple descriptive
statistics namely frequencies and percentages as shown in the corresponding tables and
figures. The key causes of inadequate budgeting which leads to cost overruns caused by
adjustments of prime costs and provisional sums in traditional contracts are presented in
Tables 1a, 1b and 2 and their corresponding figures 1a and 1b as shown.

Table 1a and 1b show various causes of inadequate budgeting caused during adjustment
of prime costs and provisional sums against the parties responsible to construction
contracts and indications from respondents on the key causes of inadequate budgeting.
The Tables therefore categorises the different parties to construction contracts as;

185
Designers, Quantity Surveyors, Owner/Client, Contractor and their identified causes of
inadequate budgeting.

Table 1a: Findings on key causes of inadequate budgeting due to adjustment of PC sums & PS

1.Designers Total (%)

Inadequate estimation 23.1
Lack of guidelines and procedures 32.4
Poor tender management 21.1
Lack of tendering procurement methods 20.1
Lack of proper structures 20.3
Lack of enforcement 8.3
Inadequate differentiation between named and
3.9
nominated sub-contractors
Improper Sub-contractors nominations 16.5
2.Quantity Surveyors
Inadequate estimation 59.7
Lack of guidelines and procedures 39.0
Poor tender management 26.7
Lack of tendering procurement methods 15.6
Lack of proper structures 20.9
Lack of enforcement 24.8
Inadequate differentiation between named and
8.2
nominated sub-contractors
Improper Sub-contractors nominations 16.9

The tables are divided into three columns where column 1 shows a list of responsible
parties and their identified causes of inadequate budgeting. Column 2 shows the results
in percentages for each cause. Column 3 shows the identification of key causes of
inadequate budgeting due to the adjustments of prime costs and provisional sums for
each responsible party by indicating with a tick for results which are over 50%.

Figure 1a: Key causes of cost overruns due to adjustment of PC sums & PS

186
Table 2 shows the rating of the impact of the causes of inadequate budgeting. The table
is divided into seven columns where column 1 show results of a comprehensive list of
types of causes of inadequate budgeting. Column seven shows the identification of the
impact of the key causes of cost overruns due to adjustments of prime costs and
provisional sums based on the results from column six by indicating with a tick for
results which were found to be over 50%. Different effects caused by the adjustments of
prime costs and provisional sums in terms of time and costs were also investigated. The
responsible parties as well as types of cost overruns of adjustments of prime costs and
provisional sums were identified and are shown in Table 1a and 2b.

Table 1b: Findings on the key causes of inadequate budgeting due to adjustment of PC sums & PS

3.Owner/Client (%)
Inadequate estimation 1,47
Lack of guidelines and procedures 10,44
Poor tender management 35,56
Lack of tendering procurement methods 43,33
Lack of proper structures 35,16
Lack of enforcement 32,97
Inadequate differentiation between named and
63,74
nominated sub-contractors
Improper Sub-contractors nominations 48,72
4.Contractors
Inadequate estimation 15,39
Lack of guidelines and procedures 18,13
Poor tender management 15,56
Lack of tendering procurement methods 20,00
Lack of proper structures 22,53
Lack of enforcement 34,07
Inadequate differentiation between named and
24,18
nominated sub-contractors
Improper Sub-contractors nominations 14,29

Figure 1b: Findings on the Key causes of inadequate budgeting due to adjustment of PC sums & PS

187
The responsible parties were found to be from the Designers, Project Quantity
Surveyors, Owner/Client and Contractor. On the other hand, the types of cost overruns,
which were identified from the study, are classified as: no extension of time with costs
where the contractor gets no extended completion period or money; extension of time
without costs where the contractor gets only extended completion period but no money;
extension of time with costs where the contractor gets both extended completion period
and money and concurrent where the contractor may or may not get either extended
contract period or money.

Table 2: Findings on the probability of occurrence of inadequate budgeting due to adjustment of PC & PS

Response (%) Total Key

(%) Causes
of cost
1 2 3 4 overruns
Inadequate estimation 13.3 13.3 61.1 12.2 73.3 √
Lack of guidelines and procedures 10.1 14.6 53.9 14.6 68.6 √
Poor tender management 12.1 8.8 63.7 15.4 79.2 √
Lack of tendering procurement
11.2 7.9 62.9 13.5 76.4 √
methods
Lack of proper structures 12.2 6.7 68.9 12.2 81.1 √
Lack of enforcement 8.9 37.6 44.4 8.9 53.4 √
Inadequate differentiation of named
14.6 31.5 43.8 10.1 53.9 √
and nominated sub-contractors
Improper Sub-contractors
24.7 14.6 48.3 12.6 60.7 √
nominations

No key causes of inadequate budgeting during the adjustments of prime costs and
provisional sums have been identified from designers based on Table 1a. The key
causes of inadequate budgeting in this category were found to be only one from the
quantity surveyors (59.7% in Table 1a) and the owner (63.7% in Table 1b). No key
causes of inadequate budgeting were found from the contractors as well. The key cause
of cost inadequate budgeting from the project quantity surveyors identified was
inadequate estimation caused by lack of professional estimators for works carried out by
specialists. The other cause of inadequate budgeting caused by the owner/client
identified was inadequate differentiation between named and nominated sub-contractors
by construction clients in traditional contracts.

The impact of the causes of inadequate budgeting identified from Table 2 range
between 53.47% and 80.4%, which are considered very significant based on the
responses. It has been observed that contractors are awarded extension of time with
costs caused by lack of proper guidance and procedures in traditional construction
contracts for estimating works carried out by specialists only at 53.3%. This particular
cause of inadequate budgeting is not considered as a key cause based on the results as
shown in the tables and corresponding figures. Table 1a, 1b and 2 present the analysis
from the respondents‘ responses on the causes of inadequate budgeting based on the
identification of parties responsible, their impact and the effects of cost overruns.

188
Conclusions and Further Research
Inadequate budgeting which leads to cost overruns in traditional contracts caused by
adjustments to specialist work for which prime costs and provisional sums did not allow
for, can be reduced by identifying the causes of the adjustments and avoided by
implementing adequate possible solutions. It was found that contractors in traditional
contracts are never awarded extension of time based on any of the identified key causes
but are awarded extension of time with costs due to lack of proper guidance and
procedure in construction contracts for estimation for works carried out by specialists. It
was also noted that all the proposed mechanisms from the survey had an average of
92.8% acceptance rate indicating that they should be adopted in-order to limit and avoid
inadequate budgeting which leads to cost overruns in traditional contracts caused by
provisional sums and prime costs.

Based on the findings of this study the research further recommends the development of
new mechanisms that should be incorporated to strengthen the existing traditional
contracting methods as follows; clients should review and only appoint estimators with
good professional behaviour and common cost estimator practice traits; clients should
ensure that estimators for works to be carried out by specialists have fully understood
the application of various estimation methods; consultants for specialist works must
ensure that all the items in the tender documents are adequately detailed before tender;
consultants should have full responsibility to approve and monitor all domestic sub-
contractors employed by main contractors to eliminate problems of programming, poor
quality, co-ordination and controlling; and consultants for specialist works should
ensure that relevant nomination processes are adapted to suit different construction
projects.

References
Adetola F.O. (1999), Auditing of quantity surveyors bills of quantity. The Quantity
Surveyor, Vol. 29, pp. 14-18, Oct/Dec.
Aladegbaiye, O.B. (2002), A study of variability of prime cost sums in the bill of
quantities for building contracts in the south-west Nigeria, M.Sc dissertation,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Brook M. (2008), Estimating and tendering for construction work. 2nd ed. Oxford:
Butterworth- Heinemann.
Chimwaso, D.K. (2008), An evaluation of cost performance of public projects: case of
Botswana. Proceedings of the CIB Task group TG 29 on construction in developing
countries, November, Gaborone Botswana, pp. 81 – 91.
Duncan, C. (2009), Quantity Surveyor‟s pocket book. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Oladapo, A.A. (2007). A quantitative assessment of the cost and time impact of
variation orders on construction, Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology,
Vol. 5(1), pp. 35-48.
Ikpo J.I. (2008), Variability analysis of prime cost sums. Civil Engineering Dimension,
Vol. 10(1), pp. 40-44.
Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) 2000 (2007), Principal Building
Agreement. South Africa: JBCC Series 2000 Code 2101.

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Leedy P.D. & Ormrod J.E. (2010), Practical Research, Planning and Design, 9th Ed.
New Jersey: Persons Education Inc.
Odeyinka, H.A & Yusif, A. (1997),The causes and effects of construction delays on
completion cost of housing project in Nigeria. Journal of Financial Management of
Property and Construction, Vol. 2(3), pp. 31-44.

190
 An evaluation of Cost Performance of Public Projects
in the Free State Province of South Africa
TG Monyane1 and JO Okumbe2
1
Department of Civil Engineering and Built Environment,
Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa,
Email: tmonyane@cut.ac.za
2
Department of Building Sciences,
Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
Email: okumbej@tut.ac.za

Abstract:
The primary objective of this study is to identify major cuases of construction cost
overruns in the Free State Province of South Africa in order to propose effective control
measures. The study is based on a review of related literature and a subsequent field
work. The survey investigated the factors that have significant effects on cost overruns,
especially in the public sector, during the three major phases of a construction project
life cycle. Results indicate that the most severe cost overruns causes are inadequate
project planning, delays in issuing information to contractors and poor workmanship in
term of quality. And the best remedial measures were adequate pre-contract planning,
proper implementation, timely resolution of disputes and being quality focus. The level
of performance revealed 60% of the projects deviated from the agreed project costs.
Practical implication of the findings is that stakeholders need to carefully take into
account the factors that influence cost overruns in each stage of the life cycle of the
projects that they undertake in the province.

Keywords:
Construction, Cost, Performance, Free State, South Africa

Introduction
One of the challenges facing the construction industry in developing countries is the
problem of cost overruns (Chimwaso, 2001). The literature show that the initial tender
price is not what is finally paid in most projects? This is because there are many factors
that influence cost overruns. This, without saying, results in poor cost performance of
construction projects.

It should be noted that a favourable cost performance of any given project depends on
the effectiveness of the contract sum (Chimwaso, 2001). The word ―effective‖
according to the Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary (2005), means having an effect
or producing the intended results. It also means ‗actual‘, as in actual cost of construction
works. In construction, however, it is difficult to talk about actual construction cost, that
is, the money the client pays the contractor for carrying out the work, until the project
has been completed and the final account agreed upon. For this reason, the anticipated
final construction cost is always referred to as the projected or estimated final account
(Chimwaso, 2001).

191
Literature has shown that the construction industry, in South Africa in general and Free
State province in particular, is not free from the occurrence of cost overruns. This paper
seeks to evaluate the cost performance of a number of selected public sector projects in
the Free State province so as to identify and rank the major factors that are perpetrating
the malaise.

Literature Review
Construction cost overruns can be defined as an extra cost beyond the contractual cost
agreed during the tender stage of a project life cycle (Endut et al., 2005). Cost overruns
can also be called ―cost increases‖ (Koushki et al., 2005), and ―budget overruns‖ (Zhu
& Lin, 2004). Cost overrun is defined as the change in contract amount divided by the
original contract amount. This calculation can be converted to a percentage for ease of
comparison (Jackson, 1999 cited in Al-Najjar 2008).

What are the Causes of Construction Cost Overruns?

Abdullahi et al. (2010) show that cash flow and financial difficulties faced by
contractors, contractors‘ poor site management and supervision, inadequate contractor
experience, shortage of skilled site workers and incorrect planning and scheduling by
contractors were significant factors affecting construction cost. Le-Hoai et al. (2008)
found out that in general, poor site management and supervision, poor project
management assistance, financial difficulties of owner, financial difficulties of
contractor and design changes are five most frequent, severe and important causes of
cost overruns in the construction industry.

Another study that was conducted by Ramabodu and Verster (2010) established that
construction cost overruns should be addressed in the Free State province based on the
perceptions of respondents that are resident in the region. Furthermore, their research
divided the factors on cost overruns into three categories. The categories include very
critical factors, moderately critical factors and less critical factors. And of those
categories, five factors were considered to be very critical contributors to the
manifestation of cost overruns: firstly changes in scope of work on site by the client
seemed to be the one with the most influence. In addition, Mahamid and Bruland (2011)
conducted research in road construction in the West Bank in Palestine and discovered
that the top five influencing factors from consultants‘ view are: materials price
fluctuation, insufficient time for estimation, experience in contracts, size of contract,
and incomplete drawings.

Project Cost Management

The management of costs in a project is a common thread that runs through the entire
life of any project. It is cost and financial viability that make a project feasible and the
project is not complete until the last payments and paperwork have been completed. The
management of costs begins with the financial feasibility study, and then progresses to
the costs that are required to purchase the resources needed by the project in the face of
adequate cost control measures that are designed to ensure that all work that is done is
properly completed (Caruthers et al., 2008).

192
Accuracy of Cost Estimates
Anyone can come up with a set of numbers. Various critical factors must be identified
in order to estimate construction costs effectively. Factors that impact on various project
stages (conceptual, design, tendering, and preconstruction stages) should be identified
individually to improve estimation accuracy (Cheng et al., 2009). Because preliminary
estimates greatly influence subsequent cost management, the accuracy of preliminary
estimation work is of critical importance. Therefore, conceptual cost estimate accuracy
at the early stage of construction projects has been a major concern and focus of study
for the past four decades. Carruthers et al. (2008) even describe a cost estimate as only
approximations.

Implementation of Cost Control

Oosthuizen et al. (1998 cited in Dibonwa, 2008), describe project cost control as a
process of gathering, analysing, comparing and monitoring the costs of a project and
reporting the results continuously during the development cycle of a project. Keong
(2010) elaborates on the fact that ‗cost control requires searching out the "whys" of both
positive and negative variances‘. Cost control must be thoroughly integrated with the
other control processes: scope change control, schedule control and quality control.
Dibonwa (2008) states that the other risk associated with cost in construction projects is
the activity below the ground, and that site history and findings during site
investigations provide some degree of realities with respect to substructure design
requirements. This uncertain construction activity is, however, renowned as the most
vital risk element in most construction projects.

Contingency Budget Provision

Caruthers et al. (2008) describe a contingency as an allowance that a cost estimator
makes in order to allow for unforeseen costs or to allow for things that may go wrong.
Furthermore he says cost contingency reserves are required to be budgeted for. Cost
contingency has been defined as ―the amount of funds, budget or time needed above the
estimate to reduce the risk of overruns of project objectives to a level acceptable to the
organization‖ (PMI, 2004). The first is the expected value of a possible identified event.
The second type of contingency is the possible cost of unforeseen events: events that
cannot be identified because the engineer does not know what can happen. This second
type is a true contingency and the one that needs close attention, because it is a margin
for error.

Research Methodology
The research is a pilot study for a treatise that must be compiled for an MTech
qualification. The field work entails the use of a questionnaire survey and informal
interviews to interrogate the issues in the subject area. A questionnaire was sent out by
email or hand delivered to 25 professionals in the Free State construction industry
between 27th of July and 31st August 2012. The sample comprised Architects, Quantity
Surveyors, Construction Project Managers, and Engineers. The professionals were
consultants from both the public and private sector. 54 causes of cost overruns in all
three phases of the project life cycle: planning/design, implementation and completion
phases were identified through the literature.

193
53 remedial cost control measures in all three phases of the project life cycle were also
derived from the list of cost overruns factors and discussed with some parties involved
in the construction industry. Respondents presented their views by indicating on a 5-
point Likert scale, where 1 represented ―not frequent cause‖ and 5 represented
―extremely high frequent cause.‖ The quantitative questionnaire consisted of structured
and unstructured questions designed to enable respondents to add any other factor they
considered important.

Due to red tape from the Department of Public Works in terms of giving information to
third parties, data were collected using purposive sampling from quantity surveying
firms. Responses were received from 20 respondents, which constitute 80% of the
respondents. The collected data were analysed through calculation of importance index.
The formula used to rank the causes of cost overruns and remedial cost control
measures based on impact level identified by the respondents is as follows:

Importance index = ∑ a / A x n / N (0 ≤ index ≤ 1) (1)

Where = the constant expressing weighting given to each response (ranging from 1 not
frequent up to 5 extremely high frequent); n = the frequency number of responses to
each variable; A = the maximum weight which is 5 likert scale, and N is the total
number of respondents. The importance index for all factors and remedial measures
were calculated at different stages of the project cycle. The group index was calculated
by taking the average of factors under each project cycle.

Findings and Discussion

For the purpose of this paper only the top five ranked factors are listed. The results
obtained from the responses are provided from Table 1 to 3. Inadequate project
preparation, delays in issuing information to contractor during construction stage, poor
workmanship were indicated as the most severe cost overruns causes by respondents.
Adequate pre-contract project coordination, proper project implementation, good
workmanship and timely resolution of disputes were indicated by respondents as the
best cost control measures to be implemented in the projects.

Table 1: Ranking of factors and cost control measures under Planning / Design phase

Factors Remedial cost control measures

Index

Index
Rank

Rank

Inadequate project preparation, Adequate Pre-contract project

0.79 1 0.97 1
planning coordination
Inadequate planning 0.77 2 Completed designs at time of tender 0.87 2
Lack of co-ordination at design Comprehensive project planning 0.82 3
0.72 3
phase Adequate co-ordination at design phase 0.82 3
Incomplete design at time of
0.71 4 Adequate Pre-contract Budget 0.81 4
tender
Procurement and non-related Appointment of highly experienced
0.70 5 0.80 5
procurement related factors technical consultants

194
The results also indicate that consultants are either rushed to produce documents for the
projects or they don‘t allow themselves enough time to prepare such documents. The
respondents equally noted that lack of communication contributes a lot to cost overruns
in construction. Furthermore, this lack of communication creates a situation where the
contractor makes his own decisions regarding issues, which were raised and feedback
was not delivered.

Table 2: Ranking of factors and cost control measures under Implementation phase

Factors Remedial cost control measures

Index

Index
Rank

Rank
Delays in issuing information to Proper project implementation
the contractor during construction 0.76 1 0.83 1
stage
Contractual claims, such as, Provisions for materials price
extension of time with cost claims 0.74 2 escalations 0.82 2

Delays in decision making by Timely issuing of information to the

government, failure of specific 0.73 3 contractor during construction stage 0.81 3
coordinating
Changes in owner's brief 0.72 4 Proper contractor management 0.81 3
Delays in costing variations and Consistent cost reporting during
0.72 4 0.80 4
additional works construction stage
Improvements to standard Timely decisions by the supervising
drawings during construction 0.69 5 team in dealing with the contractor's 0.78 5
stage queries resulting in delays
Monthly payments difficulties
0.69 5
from agencies
Poor contractor management 0.69 5
Contractor's instable financial
0.69 5
background

Table 3: ranking of factors and cost control measures under Implementation phase

Factors Remedial cost control measure

Index

Index
Rank

Rank

Poor workmanship 0.74 1 Good workmanship 0.78 1

Late contract instruction Timely final account agreements
0.70 2 0.75 2
after practical completion
Delay in resolving Timely contract instruction after
0.69 3 0.72 3
disputes practical completion
Delay in final account Adequate designs
0.68 4 0.70 4
agreements
Works suspended due to Minimum errors in the bills of quantities
0.57 5 0.68 5
safety reasons

195
Figure 1 indicates the results concerning the level of performance of public projects in
terms of cost. All projects were general building projects from the Department of Public
Works, ranging from offices to public schools. The data were sourced from different
quantity surveying firms in the province. In amounts, they ranged from R282 540.00 to
R89 885940.89 in original tender amounts, and the durations were from 2 months to 30
months, excluding extension of time. The figure shows that overruns ranged from 11%
to 64% among the 4 projects. The reasons cited in the projects were additional work
request by the client, extension of time, re-measurements and variations. And none of
the remedial measures were applied to the projects.

Figure 1: Level of performance of public sector projects

Conclusions and Further Research

The paper‘s primary objective was achieved through soliciting perceptions from
professionals in the construction industry. The respondents identified factors that
contribute to cost overruns and possible remedial measures that could be used to revise
the trend. Therefore, although exploratory at best, these findings justify the call to pay
attention to cost overruns in the construction industry, especially at the Free State
province.

Acknowledgement
The authors are indebted to the kindness of Professor AB Ngowi for unconditional
support and contributions to this research project.

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196
Carruthers, M, Steyn, H, Basson,G, du Plessis, Y, Kruger, D, Pienaar, J, Prozesky-
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 Managing Resources to avoid Project Failure
M Sankqela1 and P Utting2
1
Project Controls Department,
Transnet, South Africa
Email: madoda.sankqela@gmail.com
2
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying,
Durban University of Technology, South Africa
Email: uttingpl@yahoo.com

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to identify improved methods and techniques during
construction planning stages to avoid project failure. Pre-defining all activities and their
resource usage early helps make the best use of time, materials, plant, techniques and
people. Several projects were investigated to determine the impact of allocating more
resources during initial stages of the project. It was found that sufficient time allocated
for initial stages to define activities and their resource usage in more detail results in
less waste during the implementation of the project. To avoid project failure, the
construction manager is required to follow the project plan as closely as possible, and to
effect corrective actions as soon as it become apparent. Proper planning and
implementation increases productivity with increased efficiency and effectiveness. Only
a limited number of projects could be studied, but nevertheless the results could have
broader applications in the industry as getting it right first time and minimizing waste
are a good recipe to avoid project failure.

Keywords:
Construction, Project Failure, Project Management, Resource Management

Introduction
The paper addresses methods and techniques that can be improved to avoid project
failure in construction. According to Yates (2002), several previous studies indicated
that many structural failures can be attributed to various types of human errors. These
types of failures are due to knowledge currently unavailable and thus unavoidable;
delayed communication of acquired knowledge; ignorance of recently acquired
knowledge; misunderstanding of accepted knowledge; outright ignorance; and incorrect
procedures. When investigating structural failures, after trying to determine what
happened and why, an additional important task is to suggest methods to avoid similar
failures (Yates, 2002). In this paper, the focus is on resources, how to make the best use
of time, techniques and people. Project managers on every project are concerned with
getting the job done on time, within the budget and according to the specifications.

According to (Warren et al. 2011), there are understandably complicated engineering

and management problems / issues related to project failure. This is especially true for a
large scale project that takes a long time to complete. Some plans are fixed and a

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manager encounters resistance, while making even small changes, where the
environment may be continually changing, and a quick decision is required as the
environment changes. People in organisations have to work strictly according to plan,
whereas they may think they perform better in a way decided by them. Resistance to
change is another factor that put limits on planning, sometimes planners themselves do
like to change and on other occasions, they do not think it is desirable to bring change.
This attitude makes the planning process value ineffective. Construction and
engineering researchers have been at the forefront in developing various techniques and
tools to support construction and engineering decisions.

One of the common techniques used is project scheduling; it gives a top view of the
project without details of all work packages. With the scope and schedule, all necessary
resources can be assigned. Getting human resources in place requires some expertise
and preparation, correlating the different level of experience and skills of the people
who are available with what is required. With these resources assigned, rates of human
resources and tools as well as cost of material can be allocated and then these data can
be integrated with the project schedule on the level work package (for example cost plan
and planning).

Literature Review
Failure is a human act; omission of occurrence or performance; lack of success; non-
performance; insufficiency; loss of strength; and cessation of proper functioning or
performance (Kaminetzky, 1991). The outcomes of the success of project management
are many (Munns et al., 2002) and would include the unmistakable indicators of
meeting project schedule, completion within budget, satisfactory quality standards, and
achieving the project goal. Examples of influences, which may produce project
managements‘ failure, include wrong person as project manager, inadequate basis for
project, lack of commitment to project, top management unsupportive, lack of project
management techniques, inadequately defined tasks, management techniques miss-used,
and project closedown not planned.

Planning
The importance of pre-project planning and its potential impact on project success has
been recognized by industry practitioners. Based on their analysis of more than 200
projects, Gibson et al. (2006) reported positive relationship between thorough pre-
project planning and enhanced project performance. After analysing data collected from
202 project managers, Zwikael et al. (2002) concludes that the level of risks at the
beginning of projects has no effect on their final success and improving the project plan
is a more effective managerial tool in dealing with high risk projects. This section
reviews studies on planning activities such as site preparation, site/floor layout, routing
of on-site vehicles and people, and material preparation.

Site preparation: A large engineering and construction project often require

modification of the ground where the construction site is to be located. Ground
modification involves excavation of large amounts of earth, moving cut area into fill
locations that require earth moving vehicles. To reduce the cost of such operations,

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planners must develop a strategy that minimises the total distance travelled by the earth
moving vehicles (Warren et al., 2011).

Site layout: Li and Love (1998) describe a construction site layout problem as allocating
a set of predetermined facilities into a set of predetermined locations, while satisfying
layout constraints and requirements. The objective is to minimize the total traveling
distance of site personnel between facilities.

Floor layout: For multiple-floor buildings, floor-level construction material layout is

needed to provide project managers with a valuable technique for developing efficient
sequence of works that optimally defines how to efficiently position materials and thus
minimizes the travel distance between work spots and special construction materials in a
multiple-floor space (Warren et al., 2011).

Routings of on-site vehicles and people: According to Warren et al. (2011), the issue of
planning vehicles and people's movement within a construction site has increasingly
become a significant area of interest to planners. Currently, site planners rely mainly on
their experience and common sense, when considering the allocations of paths for
logistics, vehicles, and site operatives. Advances in information technology are now
being used to help site planners in their decision-making process by allowing them to
express various scenarios that take into consideration several interrelated factors for
path finding.

Material preparation: One key operation within the supply chain for the construction
industry is the ready mixed concrete (RMC) delivery process. Unlike materials such as
pipes (Warren et al., 2011) that can be manufactured in advance and stored in the
construction sites, RMC can only be produced at the time that the site manager calls for
delivery because of the quick solidification of the cement. In other words, the delivery
process must be coordinated with the working processes at construction sites. An
efficient and balanced dispatching schedule of RMC trucks not only improves the
productivity of the RMC delivering process but also minimizes the cost of owning and
maintaining RMC trucks.

Project Scheduling
Basic Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method
(CPM) are helpful scheduling techniques only when the project deadline is not fixed
and the resources are not constrained by either availability or time. Studies to solve
more realistic project scheduling problems can be classified into the following
categories:
 Time-cost trade-off;
 Resource allocation;
 Resource-constrained project scheduling;
 Resource levelling, and
 Integrated models that consider more than one category.

The objective of time-cost trade-off analysis is to find a time cost trade-off curve
showing the relationship between activity duration and cost. The objective of resource
allocation is to allocate limited resources to activities so as to optimize a certain goal

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such as cost minimization. The objective of resource-constrained project scheduling is
to determine the sequence of project activities and to allocate available resources to
project activities in an attempt to optimize a given objective function such as
minimizing the project span. The objective of resource levelling is to smooth period-to
period resource demand. The common assumption in project scheduling studies is that a
precise cost and duration for each activity can be defined beforehand by managers and
planners. However, as construction activities are seldom entirely identical, it would be
unrealistic to determine the exact time and cost values until the activity in question is
complete.

These factors would suggest that successful project management requires planning with
a commitment to complete the project; careful appointment of a skilled project manager;
spending time to define the project adequately; correctly planning the activities in the
project; ensuring correct and adequate information flows; changing activities to
accommodate frequent changes on dynamic; accommodating employees' personal goals
with performance and rewards; and making a fresh start when mistakes in
implementation have been identified (Munns et al., 2002).

How can Information Technology Contribute to Improved Performance?

The objective of this work is to provide a planning and management infrastructure for
complex, distributed, multi-site, multi-enterprise organizations working on large-scale
engineering projects, characterized by huge investments in both materials and human
resources and by concurrent, disparate activities (manufacturing, design and services) as
well. Managing projects of this kind means dealing with several problems at the same
time. Complexity of scope, in terms of time and resources employed, and variety of
activities to be planned, synchronized and monitored.

Many IT projects succeed, but the data from survey research shows that 31% of IT
projects are cancelled and 53% limp to completion. Projects mostly start with
enthusiasm, belief and commitment. What goes wrong? Why do things go wrong? Is it
possible to predict success or failure at the start of the project? What actions can the
project manager take? What critical steps can be taken to ensure these problems are
avoided in a project? Projects are initiated to deliver benefits to the organization (Lake,
2001). Projects that succeed are those that are seen to deliver benefits, while those that
fail do not. Often the nature and scale of the benefits changes during the project. There
are fundamental causes why the benefits change. These causes are present on every
project. A project manager who understands the benefits and the reasons why they may
change can participate in the management and control of the project. And thus can
deliver a successful project and success for the organization (Lake, 2001).

Cost Estimation
The accuracy of cost estimation (Kim et al., 2005) is critical to the success of any
project. The current practice generally relies on experts‘ experience. Computer
assistance is quite feasible with the use of a wide range of statistical or machine learning
methods such as case based reasoning if historical data are available. Using the cost
information of 498 projects of residential buildings built by general contractors between
1997 and 2000, Kim et al. (2005) selected eight input variables and applied three hybrid

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models of neural networks (NNs) and genetic algorithms (GA) to make preliminary cost
estimates of residential buildings.

The three models applied differ in determination of NN parameters by trial-and-error in

Model I, determination of NN parameters by GA in Model II; and training the weights
of NNs using genetic algorithms in Model III. The data were divided into training data
(80%), cross-validation data (10%), and test data (10%). The training process is stopped
when the mean square error in cross-validation does not improve for 100 iterations.
Model II was found most effective among all (Kim et al., 2005). Table 1 outlines the
examples of projects in South Africa, Europe and the United States which were not
successful.

Table 1a: Examples of failed projects

Project
Project Location Failure Causes
Description

Denver Airport Baggage Denver elected to Contractor • The underestimation of

Handling System Case
Study (De Neufville, R,
1994, pp. 229-236)
Denver International
website
(www.FlyDenver.com,
2012 Aug. 09) (U.S.A)
construct a new failed to complexity
state of the art complete • A lack of planning resulting in
airport that would project on time subsequent changes in strategy
cement Denver‘s and within • Excessive schedule pressure
position as an air budget. • Lack of due diligence
transportation hub. • Making firm commitments in
Covering a land the face of massive risks and
area of 140 km2, uncertainty
the airport was to • Poor stakeholder management
be the largest in • Communications breakdowns
the United States • Poor design
and have the • Failure to perform risk
capacity to handle management
more than 50m
passengers
annually

Baviaanspoort Prison in Repairs & Project • Poor project time management

South Africa (Knipe, et al, waterproofing to completed 15
2002) roofing. months late.
R9 510 980, 10 Heavy
penalties
imposed.

Construction Contract
It is very important to choose the correct form of contract in every Project. For instance,
the Chunnel project (Euro Tunnel) entered into a construction contract having three
categories, which include:
 Target contract for Tunnelling, done on a cost-plus fee basis, which there will be a
sharing difference at the end.
 Lump sum for Terminal, Mechanical and Electrical Works for Tunnel.
 The Procurement contract for rolling stock and associated major equipment was on a
cost-plus-percentage-fee basis (Frank, 2005).

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 Table 1b: Examples of failed projects

Project
Project Location Failure Causes
Description

Cape Town: Pollsmoor General upgrading Contractor • Poor project cost management
Prison in South Africa of buildings. over • Poor project time management
(Van der Walt, et al, 2006) committed • Poor project integration
and eventually management
liquidated.

The Chunnel Project (case The 32 mile (51.5 The project • Missing key cost & schedule
study) England and France km) double-rail was completed deadlines
(Frank, 2005) tunnel, between late and over • Failure to perform risk
England and budget. (Bid management (Choice of
France price was R44 contract and control)
Billion and • Poor Project management
R109.2 Billion communications
cost estimate • Lack of commitment to stake
increase). holders
• Poor cost management

Research Methodology
In deciding on which solution to be used, there must be an evaluation of each solution
for its goodness. In order to get to the root of the problems faced by project managers in
construction and to make the best use of resources (time, people, plant), it is necessary
to conduct research on failed and successful projects, processes, methods, form of
contract used and operating behaviours of subjects.

The data were collected on different projects using different methods of planning from
books and online services. Project scheduling was adopted as it is the most trusted and
used method, it gives a clear vision of the project before commencement. The first step
is to identify the scope of work, the schedule and budget to carry out work. The second
step is to allocate tools, materials, plant and people to different activities.

The third step is to look at a form of contract that is best suitable for that particular
project: target cost with Bill of Quantities - it is a cost reimbursable contract whereby
the contractor is incentivised to complete the work under the Target. The ―prices‖ are
tendered and the total of them becomes the target. The prices are changed by
compensation events to keep the target equitable. However, all work done is paid for at
defined cost plus fee.

Findings and Discussion

In Based on the research conducted from various failed projects, it is evident that
projects failed because projects were not completed on time, over spending of the
budget and over-commitment. These project failures were as a result of poor project
time management, poor cost management, poor planning and design and failure to

203
perform risk management. In order to avoid these types of project failures it is evident
that:

 The project manager needs the authority and should takes responsibility to control
the commitment of resources at the point where the decision is made to commence
an activity, within prescribed limits including funds. The results of these decisions
must be transparent and accountable.

 The project manager must be engaged in all major decisions. No major technical,
schedule, resource, performance or cost decisions should be made without the active
participation of the project manager.

 The project manager must be competent and must have a competent team assigned
to the project.

 The project manager should be the prime mover in the assembly of the project team
in order to obtain their individual support and commitment to achieve the required
quality of service.

 Effective project management information and control systems are essential.

Conclusions and Further Research

The research is being conducted to determine what can be done to improve methods and
techniques to prevent project failures. Successful projects are projects where people
make the right decisions, which require a number of ingredients. Among those
ingredients are knowledge and expertise, being able to realise when changes are
required and re-planning is necessary.

Construction projects exist within their surrounding environment for purposes that
pertain to change. The creation and implementation of a project, therefore, must
maximize the benefits as far as possible, to the environment and all the stakeholders,
and minimize the adverse impacts on the environment by careful mitigation. The
difference between the success of the project and its failure is dependent on how well
the project manager works within the project environment. Good project planning with
proper controls goes a long way to prevent project failure.

Some casualties invariably creep in along the way, such as some change in scope, extra
time, and / or additional cost, but with sound project planning and timely intervention
where necessary, these can be minimized. Having looked at different projects and
techniques used, project scheduling remains the best with good technical teams and
resources. Failure to choose the correct construction contract can cause a project to fail.
Get it right first time and minimize waste are a good recipe to avoid project failure.

Acknowledgement
The Authors hereby wish to express their gratitude to Z.R Fuzani, M. Cele and the Alan
Pittendrigh for their valuable support for this project.

204
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Management Journal, Vol. 33(3), pp. 53-57.
De Neufville, R. (1994),The baggage system at Denver: prospects and lessons – Rd.
Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 1(4), pp. 229-236.
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planning, anyway? Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 22(1), pp. 35–42.
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 Benefits of Green Supply Chain Management
Approaches in Construction Firms - A Review
E Ojo1, C Mbohwa2 and ET Akinlabi3
1&3
Department of Mechanical Engineering Science,
University Of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Email: eojo1978@gmail.com, etakinlabi@uj.ac.za
2
Department of Quality and Operations management,
University Of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Email: cmbohwa@uj.ac.za

Abstract:
Sustainable construction is when construction firms in a competitive environment
understand the needs of current generations and offer efficient and effective solutions
that could achieve objectives without compromising the ability of future generations
from achieving their own objectives. Basically, the concerns of sustainable construction
do not only go beyond the serviceability of a building during its lifetime, but also it
includes the recycling of resources to reduce waste streams associated with
construction. In this context, Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has been
adopted as an antidote to resource depletion. GSCM aims at maximizing the overall
environmental profit by adopting a life cycle approach, that is from product design, to
material selection, manufacturing, sales and recovery, and therefore helping firms to
realize their sustainable development and improvement. GSCM can be considered as a
notable concept in the construction industry, because it takes environmental elements
into consideration. This paper reviews the benefits of GSCM as an effective
management tool and philosophy that proactive and leading construction firms can
embrace.
Keywords:
Construction, Green, Life Cycle, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management

Introduction

The term ―Supply chain management‖ (SCM) entered the public domain when Keith
Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton used it in an interview in Financial Times
in 1982. It gained momentum in the mid-1990s, when a fling of research articles and
books came out on the subject. In the late 1990s, it rose to prominence as a management
buzzword and operation managers began to use it in their titles with increasing
regularity. SCM is usually associated with a range of definitions. In simpler terms, SCM
is the focus for more effective ways of creating value for clients and as a vehicle for
innovation, continuous improvement, integration of systems and improved industry at
high profitability levels. The American Production and Inventory Control Society
(APICS) (Now known as the Association of Operations Management) dictionary
defines SCM as the design, planning, execution, controlling and monitoring supply
chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive
infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and
measuring performance globally (APICS San Diego Chapter, 2012). According to the
Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), SCM encompasses the

206
planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement,
conversion and logistics management. In certain instances SCM may include the crucial
components of coordinating and collaborating with channels partners which can be
suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers and the customers. SCM is a
concept originating from the supply system by which Toyota was seen to coordinate its
supplies, and manage its suppliers (Womack et al., 1990). The current concept of SCM
is somewhat broader but still largely dominated by logistics.
Though similar in so many ways, Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is
somehow different from SCM. Lee and Klassen (2008) defined GSCM as a contingent
of organization plans and activities that integrate environmental issues into SCM in
order to improve the environmental performance of suppliers and customers. Mentzer et
al. (2001) further elaborates that GSCM is the systematic strategic co-ordination of the
traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a
particular company and across the business including associate environmental issues.
This view was mainly integrated in order to improve the long-term performance of the
individual companies and supply chain as a whole.
Planning for a sustainable development has gradually become an inevitable concept to
guide humans‘ course of actions. Sustainable development is actually explained by
Bruntland (1987) as a form of development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (as cited in Xiao,
2006). In light of this, construction industry plays a vital role towards achieving national
and international strategies for social and economic development. It contributes towards
increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), stimulating growth of other industries
and creating job opportunities as well as providing societies with facilities and
infrastructure projects that meet their needs and fulfill their requirements. To the
contrary, however, construction industry has a major impact on the environment
because about 50% of the material resources for construction are taken from nature,
40% of energy consumption and 50% of total waste generated (Othman, 2010). The
huge consumption of the resources by construction industry has called for sustainable
construction methods in order to meet the present and future needs. Therefore,
sustainable GSCM is seen as the means of meeting the future needs by implementing
strategic, transparent, integration and achievement of an organization‘s environmental
objectives in the systemic coordination of key inter-organizational business processes
for improving the long-term performance of the firm and its supply chain partners (Wu
et al., 2012).

This paper provides a literature review into the implementation of GSCM as a means of
ensuring environmentally sustainable construction and as the way of meeting both the
immediate and future construction needs and is organized as follows: section 2 provides
the literature review, section 3 gives a brief introduction on the construction Green
Supply Chain Management, while section 4 explains the findings, gaps in the past
literatures and future research. The paper is concluded in section 5.

Literature Review
Although GSCM was introduced in the last decade, there have been a few studies about
it from different perspectives. Srivastava (2007) collected and classified previous

207
literature relating to green supply chain management. He defined GSCM as integrating
environmental thinking into supply chain management, including product design,
material sourcing and selection, manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product
to the consumers, and end-of-life management of the product after its useful life.
According to this definition, GSCM relates to a wide-range of production from product
design to recycling or destroying. This principle is similar to the product life cycle,
which is an idea of products passing through a cycle of life. In product life cycle
management (PLM), the model starts from the plan, design, build, and support, to
disposal (Grieves, 2006). Product lifecycle provides a degree of structure to the life of
products and provides direction for the diverse functional efforts required to produce
and deliver product/service offerings (Birou, Fawcett & Magnon, 1998). Many studies
addressed product lifecycle along with supply chain or GSCM, for example,
Stonebraker and Liao (2006) discussed that the stage of lifecycle variables is associated
with various dimensions of supply chain integration.
GSCM generally involved the inverse of the product flow-reverse logistics. There are
numerous studies about reverse logistics in literature. Sheu, Chou and Hu (2005)
proposed a linear multi-objective programming model optimizing the operations of both
integrated logistics and used product reverse logistics in green supply chain. Results
from their study showed that the proposed model improved net profits by 21.1%. Both
government and non-government organizations in the United States were aware of the
environmental changes, especially from gas prices. Boks and Stevels (2007) categorized
‗Green‘ into three types dependent on the different perceptions about the environment
among different stakeholders involved: scientific green, government green, and
customer green:
 Scientific green: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to determine the
environmental impact of products, processes, and systems. However, it only
concerned emissions.

 Government green: several factors were involved such as population density,

geographical position, and availability of energy sources. These factors affected the
government agenda to maintain or improve quality of life.

 Customer green: the perceptions of green were strongly linked to emotions that
directly impacted people, especially health and safety (H&S), rather than resources
or emissions.

Greening the Construction Industry

The construction industry is one of the most important sectors for human civilization by
improving the physical environment: its output is used for production, commerce and
shelter, and for providing vital utilities (Moavenzadeh, 1994). However, construction
usually has a significant and irreversible impact on the environment. Such impact
include massive use of natural resources, pollution of the environment, and high energy
consumption are some of the consequences that result from the supply chain, i.e. from
the production of construction materials to the end user (CIEC, 1992). With increasing
environmental awareness, the term ‗sustainable construction‘ is becoming popular.
According to Wyatt (1994), sustainable construction must and should include, among
other things, not only the appraisal and the serviceability of a building during its

208
lifetime, but also the recycling of resources to reduce the waste stream associated with
the built environment. Also, Ofori (2000) stated that sustainable construction involves
creating estimated items using best-practice clean and resource efficient techniques
from extraction of the raw materials to the demolition and disposal of its components
Material purchasing in construction is a vital process of SCM (Muya et al., 1999).
According to Ofori (2000), the increasing environmental consciousness and
commitment of businesses, governments and individuals has inspired the development
of procurement and purchasing policies incorporated with environmental requirements.
According to Hamner and Del Rosario (1998), a set of green purchasing strategy has
been developed with four principle attributes that entail:

a) Organizations green Purchasing is an extension of the founder‘s ideals.

b) Organizations, green purchasing is symbolic of the corporate mission in which green
purchasing is motivated.
c) Organizations see green purchasing as opportune.
d) Organizations engage in it because of external restraints.

At the same time, companies have found that implementing GSCM results in not only
environmental benefits, but can also enhance quality of product, raise productivity, and
reduce the risk of supply chain interruption or damage to reputation (Lippmann, 1999).
However, according to Ballou et al. (2000), the realization of such benefits is hard even
if the benefits of such an approach may be easy to identify.

Sustainable Construction
The concept of sustainable construction has emerged and the expression has now passed
into the mainstream construction management vocabulary (Hill & Bowen 1997; Ofori
1998). Sustainable construction involves creating constructed items using clean and
resource-efficient techniques from the extraction of the raw material to the demolition
and disposal of its components.
The commercial merits of adopting policies of sustainability are clear (Hawken1993;
Cairncross 1995). Construction firms can derive savings from the minimization of
resources use and improve their corporate image. Sustainable construction is a term that
usually starts in the design phase and continues after the construction company has left
the site. By definition, it encompasses four attributes of sustainability; social, economic,
biophysical and technical. The social pillar is based on the notion of equity and social
justice, focusing in aspects such as promoting human health, enhancement of the
disadvantaged people or equitable distribution of the social costs and benefits of
construction. The biophysical refers to the improvement of the quality of human life
within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems, reduce the use of energy, water,
raw materials and land, increase the use of technical pillar is referred to a number of
concepts about the quality and service life such as the durability, reliability and
functionality of buildings. Finally, the economical pillar refers to several issues such as
the promotion of employment, enhance competitiveness, and choose environmentally
friendly suppliers and contractors, and the financial affordability for the stakeholders
(Hill and Bowen, 1997). It is important to acknowledge though, that whatever
technology is used, it is impossible to conceive a construction industry that does not

209
result in irreversible changes to the physical, social and economic environment (Spence
and Mulligan, 1995).

Hill and Bowen (1997) proposed a multi-stage framework based on environmental tools
such as Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Management Systems
(EMS) to sustain the four pillars. EA during the planning and design stages of the
construction projects with the aim of identifying the preferred options in terms of
materials, sources of the materials, locations and design, as well as the mitigation
measures. And EMS functioning with the objective of managing the significant
environmental impacts during the construction phase, after the facility is delivered to
the client and if possible during the decommissioning process. Figure 1 illustrates such a
framework. The framework above describes what a green sustainable supply chain
looks within a construction company. Sustainability could be a tremendous weapon for
company to reduce cost.

Principles of sustainable Environment legislation

construction

Project Environmental Assessment

Environmental Management Systems

Environmental Policy

Organisational Structure

Environmental Management

Program

Internal review External Audits

Figure
1:
Framework to achieve Sustainable Construction (Adapted from Hill & Bowen, 1997)

210
Benefits of GSCM Practices in Construction Industries
Analysis of the benefits of GSCM practices in construction industries has been done. It
has been found that although contracts are a sufficient basis for the delivery of a
completed project, they are not sufficient to deliver a construction efficiently, at
minimum cost, at minimum environmental impact and right first time (Thipparat, 2011).
For example, findings by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Report (2007) showed that the total greenhouse gases emitted by the built environment
were a startling figure of about 40% of the world‘s total greenhouse emission.
Savings from green buildings over their lifetime from green design and from increased
energy efficiency can reduce heating costs by up to 80% in an average building as
pointed out by Emmett and Sood (2010). They estimated that by adopting green supply
chain principles for their end to end supply chains, the construction industry can
increase its profitability by up to 10%. The additional costs of green design, substitution
of inputs, and green processes would be more than offset by cost savings and additional
revenues from procurement and energy efficiencies. The average profitability gains
from GSCM are presented in Table 1. The highest percentage gain in profit as a result of
GSCM is in logistics and construction.

Table 1: Industry average profitability gains from GSCM

Names of Industry Increase in Profit (%)

Logistics 10
Automobile 6
FMCG 4
Construction 10
Chemicals 3
Electrical 4

(Source: Emmett & Sood, 2010)

Life Cycle of Green Supply Chain Management

Life Cycle Management (LCM) is an integrated approach to managing the total life
cycle of products and services for sustainable consumption and production. Life cycle
management need not be expensive or complex to implement but should help
companies to ensure that their choices are ecologically sound. In addition, it should help
to identify new business opportunities and markets, improve relationships with key
stakeholders, and even manage any inherent risks in the end supply chain management
(Emmett and Sood 2010). It can be applied either conceptually as a thought process that
guides the selection of options for design and improvement, or methodologically as a
way of building a quantitative or qualitative inventory of environmental burdens (Fava,
1997). Additionally, life cycle of GSCM can be used to determine the environmental
impact of products, processes, and systems (Boks and Stevels, 2007). The Green
Council (2011) considers that the life cycle of supply chain should minimize
environmental impacts and then, provides a basis of GSCM.

211
Benefits of Green Supply Chain Management on Construction Firms
GSCM has emerged as a key approach for enterprises seeking to make their business
environmentally friendly. The notion of GSCM implies the insertion of environmental
criteria within the decision–making context of the traditional chain management.
Srivastava (2007) collected and classified previous literature relating to green supply
chain management. GSCM is considered as integrating environmental thinking into
supply chain management, including product design, material sourcing and selection,
manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product to the consumers, and end-of-life
management of the product after its useful life. On the overall, GSCM fully integrates
environmental considerations into traditional supply chain management. This covers all
aspects of supply chain management including product design, procurement, sourcing
and supplier selection, manufacturing and production processes, logistics and the
delivery of the final product to the consumers, along with the end-of-life management of
the product, therefore the total end to end supply chain can be covered. It can be
inferred that addition of environmental thinking to SCM equals GSCM which results to
environmental, financial and economic benefits.

The Construction industry plays an important role in shaping the society‘s physical
environment; its output is used for production, commerce and shelter, and for providing
vital utilities (Moavenzadeh, 1994). Though, construction usually has a significant and
irreversible impact on the environment (CIEC, 1992):

 Use of land in competition with other activities, such as agriculture.

 Use of virgin land such as forests, wetlands and coastal areas, which often implies
loss of biodiversity.
 Massive use of natural resources, many of which are non-renewable.
 Pollution of air during the transportation of materials and site activity.
 Consumption of water and pollution of water reserves.
 Generation of waste owing to poor resource management.
 High energy consumption on site and in completed facilities.
 Generation of noise by site activity.

The main aim of GSCM is to identify benefits, costs and risks associated with
environmental performance (Hanfield et al., 2005). Emmett and Sood (2010) proposed
six critical areas (six impacts of green supply chain management) necessary for GSCM
in constructions as follows:

Positive Impact on Financial Performance

The most fundamental benefit of GSCM is its long term net impact on the financial
performance of the organization. This has been proven by both analysis and empirical
evidence.
Sustainability of Resources
GSCM advocates for the effective utilization of all the available productive resources of
organizations. By incorporating GSCM thinking through their entire business decision

212
making process, organizations can practise green input resources that will flow through
an environmentally friendly production process to produce the desired green outputs.
Lowered Costs and Increased Efficiency
At the core of GSCM is the principle of reducing waste by increasing efficiencies.
Effective management of resources and suppliers can reduce production costs, promote
recycling and also the reuse of raw materials. Also, the production of hazardous
substances can be reduced; thereby preventing organizations from the consequences of
violating environmental regulations, consequently, the relevant operational costs are
reduced whilst the efficiency of using such resources is improved.
Product Differentiation and Competitive Advantage
It helps an organization to position itself and its products as environmentally friendly in
the customers‘ perceptions. Besides attracting new profitable customer for the
organizations, it will give a competitive edge in the market place and will also
strengthen the brand image and reputation in the market place.
Adapting to regulations and Reducing Risk
Organizations adopting GSCM practices can reduce the risk of being prosecuted for anti
– environmental practices. A demonstrated effort towards creating an effective GSCM
through the sustained dedication of resources, activity, measurement, and management
protocol will be highly regarded in the event that any question arises.
Improved Quality and products
Organizations that produce products which are technologically advanced and
environmentally friendly will find that this enhances the brand image and brand
reputation in the customers‘ mind.

Findings and Gaps on GSCM in Construction Industry

GSCM has emerged as an effective management tool and philosophy for proactive and
leading construction organizations that seek to integrate the environment ‗green‘ in their
way of life. The scope of GSCM implementation ranges from Green Purchasing (GP) to
integrated life-cycle management supply chains flowing from supplier, through to the
contractor, the customer, and can close the loop with reverse logistics (Thipparat, 2011).
GSCM has a key role in ensuring that the factors driving the competitive advantage
through environmental performance which are market expectations, risk management,
regulatory compliance and business efficiency are addressed (Zhu et al., 2012).
Responsively, organizations have begun to implement GSCM practices in response to
customer‘s demands for products and services that are environmentally friendly and that
are created through environmentally sustainable practices that are in line with
governmental environmental regulations and societal factors (Green Jr. et al., 2012).
Although improved supply chain management has the potential to make construction
projects less fragmented, improve project quality, reduce project duration, and hence
reduces the total project cost, while creating more satisfied customers, it has not
addressed environmental issues.

213
Management scholars researched organizational environmental practices in 1990s and
advocated more holistic and responsible practices in the supply chain management (Shi,
2012). Over the time, the GSCM literature has grown considerably over the last decade
to become one of the most researched tools. Theory and empirical research to date has
explored the implementation and effects of such practices as eco-design, cleaner
production, environmental purchasing, and green/reverse logistics, on selected
performance outcomes, using financial, operational and environmental measures (Wu et
al., 2012). Studies on GSCM have been carried out in different places (Zhu et al., 2012;
Green Jr et al., 2012; Xiao, 2006; Wu et al., 2010; 2012). Unfortunately, none of these
studies have been carried out in Africa to determine how GSCM can be applied in the
construction industry in sub-Sahara Africa. Within the limits of the above statement, it
is pertinent to ask how the construction industry integrates GSCM in the region for
environmental sustainability given the very nature of an African society. This question
has provided uncontestable evidence that a huge knowledge gap still exists in the study
of GSCM in Africa. In the quest for GSCM in the construction industry, there is always
a need to examine the impact of such decisions on a project or construction that is to be
carried.

Conclusions
This paper gives an insight to the emergence of GSCM, its meaning, and benefits on the
area of study - construction industry. Through literature study, the benefits and why
construction firms must adopt the GSCM standards were highlighted. Generally, this
review serves as an introductory step to both government and private construction firms
who are yet to adopt the GSCM and also a platform for future research on the field of
study or other operational study. In conclusion, this review study will assist in
promoting the need for GSCM in construction firms or the built environment in general.

Acknowledgement
This study is supported by the University of Johannesburg research fund.

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 Causes and Minimization Strategies of Wastage in
selected Building Materials
OJ Oladiran
Department Department of Building,
University of Lagos, Nigeria
Email: tungybox2000@yahoo.com

Abstract:
Materials wastage is a common feature in many building sites, which poses great
challenges to the construction industry. Some materials are known for their high level of
waste incidence from one site to the other. Cement, concrete, timber and steel are
materials that account for over 50% of the cost of materials in projects. It is opined that
a reduction in the wastages of these specific materials will result in low construction
cost, amongst other benefits. This study investigates the causes and minimization
strategies related to wastage in these four materials on building sites in Lagos State,
Nigeria. Construction professionals in organizations in Lagos State were sampled. The
survey research involves the use of a questionnaire administered via convenience
sampling techniques, which resulted to a sample size of 31. Descriptive and inferential
statistics tools were used for the analysis. The study reveals that improper storage
contribute the most to cement, timber and steel wastages, while that of concrete is
improper batching. Good storage, purchase of good quality cement, ordering required
quantity and proper bagging were highlighted for minimizing cement wastage. The
study recommends usage of the strategies discovered in this study to curb wastage
incidence.

Keywords:
Construction, Building materials, Waste, Nigeria

Introduction
Building materials wastage account for about 5-10% of materials on sites according to
Cheung, Cheung, Wong, Fan and Poon (1993), while Bossink and Brouwers (1996) also
report similar incidence. The waste generation rate of materials varies and occurs from
different causes (Snook, Turner & Ridout, 1995; Cheung et al., (1993). Concrete, timber
and steel are categorized among the materials with high waste generation tendencies. In
this regard, Cheung et al. (1993) records 15% wastage in timber board, about 8% in
steel bars, 5% in concrete and up to 20% in ready-mix cement at a private residential
building in China.

Similarly, Poon Yu, Wong and Cheung (2004) suggest that 30% of waste generated in a
building site pertain to timber, while 13% pertain to concrete. This points to the fact that
cement, concrete, timber and steel could be responsible for over 50% of the waste
generated on building sites. The consequences of this incidence are expressed in high
demand for landfills, cost overruns, depletion of contractors‘ profit and so on. The

217
purpose of this study is to identify the causes of wastages in these four materials and
how they can be curbed. The specific objectives are to identify the causes of waste in
these four materials, find out ways of minimizing their generation and examine the
impact of their wastage on construction cost. This study will contribute significantly to
minimizing the impact of the wastage of these materials on construction projects.

Literature Review
Materials wastages occur at different stages of construction project, but vary from one
location to the other and from different project types. Poon et al. (2004) posit that
different building technologies adopted on sites are responsible for these variances.
Poon et al. (2004) further reveal from two office developments in Hong Kong and the
UK that several trades produce irregular wastes. In addition, waste rate in the Brazilian
construction industry is 20% to 30% of the weight of total materials on site (Pinto &
Agopayan, 1994). Similarly, Bossink and Brouwers (1996) confirmed that the amount
of waste for each building materials lies between 1% and 10% of the amount purchased,
depending on the type of material in the Netherland. In this regard, Seydel, Wilson and
Skitmore (2002) also revealed that materials waste incidence in plasterboard to be 81.1
tonnes, timber with 30.3 tonnes and masonry with 16.2 tonnes in a construction project
in Australia. It was further revealed that plasterboard; timber and masonry contributed
about 19.5% in total to on-site waste generation and considered to be chief areas of
recycling potential (Seydel el al., 2002).

Furthermore, Poon et al. (2004) indicate that design flexibility could reduce
construction waste generation; but this is restricted by codes of practice and building
sizes. In spite of this recommendation, the study affirms that design variation could still
occur due to last minute client requirements; complex design; lack of communication
between designers, contractors, and engineers; lack of design information; unforeseen
ground conditions; and long project duration. In brief, Seydel et al. (2002) recommend
waste separation and recycling for minimizing wastages on site. However, the cost of
separation and recycling increases substantially when tighter on-site controls are
implemented and there may be little financial or environmental gains from them.

In the light of these past studies, it is apparent that waste generation tendencies for
selected building materials and their potential minimization strategies should be
investigated - the crux of this study in Lagos, Nigeria.

Research Methodology
To elicit information on the objectives of the study, a questionnaire administration via a
convenience sampling technique was employed. As many as 31 respondents returned
completed questionnaires in useful forms. The questionnaire survey dealt with issues
relating to the respondents‘ background information; causes of wastes related to cement,
concrete, timber and steel; strategies for waste minimization; and the impact of wastage
on construction cost. Each of these opinions was measured using Likert scales. The
causes included in the questionnaire were coined from past studies and contributions of
practitioners on construction projects; while open-ended questions were used for the
minimization strategies.

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The background information shows that 30 of the respondents work for contractors and
one is a property developer; 28 are private while 3 are public entities; 29 have staff of
between 11-600 (medium size); 1 each has 1-10 (small-size) and above 600 (large size);
55% are 16-20 years in Nigerian construction industry, 32% are 11-15 years. Further,
the profile reveals that 35% were of Builders, 23% were Civil Engineers, 19% were
Quantity Surveyors, 16% were Architects and 7% were Estate Managers. The data also
show that 58% were BSc holders, 23% were Higher National Diploma (HND) holders,
16% were Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holders, and 3% were MSc holders. The
implication of these profiles is that the information elicited from them can be regarded
as useful for the study.

Findings and Discussion

Causes of Wastage related to Cement, Concrete, Timber and Steel
Table 1 reveals the causes of wastage in these four materials and their respective
contributions. Improper storage contribute the most to cement, timber and steel wastage,
while that of concrete is improper batching. This is probably so because concrete does
not require storage but a large quantity are lost at the point of batching. This also
depends on the batching method and the attitude of the batching crew, hence close
monitoring and supervision is required. Improper storage affect cement most because
cement comes in bagged forms, and so water penetration makes them set and hardened.
Long exposure of steel and timber to weather conditions may also lead to rust and decay
respectively, which happen to be the case in most of the sites that were investigated.
Theft is cited as the second highest contributor to wastage in steel and timber, but it is
third in cement and does not make a contribution to concrete wastage. It will be difficult
for anyone to steal wet concrete and hardened concrete is almost useless to anybody;
whereas it is a serious threat in the other three materials. Therefore adequate site
security must be provided to prevent occurrences. Ordering too much of cement, which
leads to storage makes the second highest contribution in cement wastage and third in
steel wastage.

Hence, proper care should be taken by ensuring exact quantity from the contract
documents when ordering these materials. In addition, improper bagging makes the
least contribution to wastage in cement while that of concrete, timber and steel are
careless unloading / placement, off cuts and loss in mud respectively. This finding
partly agrees with that of Shen, Tam, Tam and Drew (2004), who also reveal improper
storage as the major cause of cement wastage; excess quantity mixed for concrete;
cutting, damages and rust for steel; and natural deterioration for timber. Similarly,
Swinburne, Udeaja and Tait (2010) reveals that concrete has an average wastage of
+10.9%, cement has +79.7%, tarmac has + 2.2% while only sand has -5.7% (positive %
shows actual materials usage > theoretical usage, while negative % is the reverse case).
Urio and Brent (2006) also conducted a study on 12 building sites in Botswana and
found out that sand has the highest waste average of 13%, this is followed in descending
order by stone and mortar in plasterwork (11% each), cement(10.3%), common bricks
(7.4%), mortar in brickworks (7.2%), facebricks (6.9%) and concrete (5.7%). In the
same vein, Shen, Tam, Tam and Ho (2000) reveals that formwork has the highest
average wastage of 11.1% from monastery‘s project while concrete is least with 2%
from industrial projects.

219
Table 1 shows that cement wastage has the highest level of occurrence and contribution
to wastages on building sites than any of the other materials. This is followed closely in
descending order by timber, concrete and steel wastages. Site management tends to
exercises greater caution in the last two materials because of their high cost. This
finding is also in consonance with that of Cheung et al. (1993), who reveals that ready-
mix cement has the highest percentage wastage of 4-20%, followed by timber wastage
with 15%, steel bar with 1-8% and concrete with the least percentage wastage of 4-5%.

Table 1: Causes of materials wastage and degree of contributions

S/N Materials and causes of wastage N Degree of contributions to wastage Mean R

1 2 3 4 5 6
NL VL L A H VH
A CEMENT 155 2 9 19 66 38 21 4.23 1
1 Improper storage 31 - 1 - 3 13 14 5.26 1
2 Ordering too much 31 - 2 1 12 10 6 4.55 2
3 Theft 31 1 - 5 20 5 - 3.90 3
4 Broken bag 31 - 2 6 18 5 - 3.85 4
5 Improper bagging 31 1 4 7 13 5 1 3.65 5
B CONCRETE 155 1 15 29 88 20 2 3.75 3
1 Improper batching 31 - 1 1 17 11 1 4.32 1
2 Over mixing 31 1 1 2 20 7 - 4.00 2
3 Loss during transportation 31 - 2 9 17 2 1 3.71 3
4 Scrapping off 31 - 4 9 18 - - 3.45 4
5 Careless unloading 31 - 7 8 16 - - 3.29 5
C TIMBER 186 - 15 38 99 30 4 3.84 2
1 Improper storage 31 - 1 - 2 24 4 4.92 1
2 Theft 31 - 2 3 23 3 - 3.87 2
3 Substitution with other materials 31 - 4 6 21 - - 3.55 4
4 Loss in handing 31 - 3 9 18 1 - 3.77 3
5 Deterioration 31 - 2 11 17 1 - 3.55 4
6 Off -cuts 31 - 3 9 18 1 - 3.55 4
D STEEL 155 1 20 41 63 23 7 3.70 4
1 Improper storage leading to rust 31 - 1 - 4 20 6 4.97 1
2 Theft 31 - 1 7 21 2 - 3.77 2
3 Ordering too much 31 - 5 8 16 1 1 3.52 3
4 Damages 31 - 6 12 13 - - 3.23 4
5 Loss in mud 31 1 7 14 9 - - 3.00 5
NL represents Nil, VL is Very Low, L is Low, A is Average, H is High, VH is Very High,R is Rank and N
is number of respondents.

Impact of Wastages on Construction Cost

Although high construction cost is a function of several reasons, Table 2 sheds light on
the contributions of cement, concrete, steel and timber wastages. However, cement
wastage makes the highest contribution; this is closely followed in descending order by
concrete, steel and timber wastages. This is probably so because cement, concrete and
steel are all expensive materials in Nigeria; therefore their high contributions may be
justifiable.

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 Table 2: Contributions of material wastages to construction cost
S/N Category N Contributions to construction cost Mean R
1 2 3 4 5 6
NL VL L A H VH
1 Cement 31 - - - - 3 28 5.90 1
2 Concrete 31 - - - 2 18 11 5.29 2
3 Steel 31 - - - 6 21 4 4.94 3
4 Timber 31 - - - 7 20 4 4.90 4

However, the result of test of significance for the four types of wastages shows (Table
3) that they all make significant contributions to construction cost as the p-values were
less than 0.05. Hence effort to minimize them will be beneficial to all stakeholders in
construction industry.

Table 3: One-Sample t-test for the contributions of material wastages to construction cost
Material t-value df p-value Mean 95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference

Lower Upper
Cement 109.363 30 0.000 5.90 5.79 6.01
Concrete 50.058 30 0.000 5.29 5.07 5.51
Timber 45.691 30 0.000 4.90 4.68 5.12
Steel 47.906 30 0.000 4.94 4.73 5.15

Strategies for Minimizing Wastages

The respondents listed in the questionnaire various strategies employed to minimize the
wastages of these materials (Table 4). Four methods were highlighted for cement
wastage. It is interesting to note that all the respondents wrote good storage for
minimizing cement wastage, while 28 and 2 of them signified it for steel and timber
wastages respectively.

This is expected and it corroborates the fact that improper storage is a major cause of
wastages in these three materials and not at all for concrete as shown in Table 1. The
other three methods highlighted for minimizing cement wastage are ordering only
required quantity by 10 respondents, purchase of good quality cement by 7 people and
proper bagging only by two of them. In addition, five people signified just-in time
ordering for timber wastage and 3 of them for steel wastage.

This is a major principle in Lean construction and this finding has shown that it exists in
Nigeria. The other two methods for minimizing timber wastage are reuse and taking
exact measurement before cutting to avoid wrong cuttings. The only two methods listed
for concrete are unique and specifically for concrete wastage alone - good batching (18
respondents) and mixing (23 respondents).

This is also expected because Table 1 reveals that the two major causes of concrete
wastage are improper batching and over mixing. Due to the several causes of concrete

221
wastage, further questioning could have revealed more methods of minimizing this type
of wastage but this research did not delve into that.

Table 4: Recipe for material wastage minimization

S/N Recipe Number Respondents
A CEMENT
1 Storage in good area 31
2 Purchase of good quality cement 7
3 Ordering only required quantity 10
4 Proper bagging 2
B TIMBER
1. Good Storage 2
2. Reuse 2
3. Just-in-time ordering 5
4. Taking exact measurement before cutting 2
C CONCRETE
1 Good batching 18
2 Good mixing 23
D STEEL
1 Good storage to avoid rust 28
2. Just-in-time ordering 3

Conclusions and Further Research

The study reveals that cement contribute more than steel, timber and concrete to
material wastage on building projects in Lagos, Nigeria. Improper storage contributes
the most to cement, timer and steel wastages, while it is improper batching in the case of
concrete.

It was observed that cement, concrete, steel and timber related wastages significantly
contribute to increased construction cost; although cement contribute the most, followed
by concrete, steel and timber. Four minimization strategies each were discovered for
cement and timber wastages; while two each were suggested for concrete and steel
wastages. The study therefore recommends that:

 Construction practitioners should take cognizance of the wastage tendencies of these

four materials, especially cement and timber;

 Adequate and requisite storage facilities should be provided for cement, timber and
steel; while concrete should be properly batched on projects to curb their wastages,
and

 All the minimization strategies discovered in this study should be embraced by the
industry for cost reduction purposes.

In addition, this research is a subjective opinion of practitioners on the incidence of

wastages of the selected materials and their contributions to construction cost. Site
measurement of these wastages to determine the quantities and the effectiveness of the
strategies in reducing the wastage and construction cost should be carried out in the

222
future. This study is also not an attempt to determine the overall impact of the
recommendations in this study on construction cost but to highlight them; hence future
studies can explore this possibility.

References
Bossink, B.A.G. & Brouwers, H.J.H. (1996), Construction waste: Quantification
andsource evaluation, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol.
122(1), pp.55-60.
Cheung, C.M., Cheung, L.A.C., Wong, K.W., Fan, W.C.N. & Poon, C.S. (1993),
Reduction of construction, Final Report, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and
Hong Kong Construction Association.
Pinto, T. & Agopyan, V. (1994), Construction waste as raw materials for low cost
construction products, In: CJ Kibert, (ed), Sustainable Construction, Gainesville,
Florida: Center for Construction and Environment, pp.335-342.
Poon, C.S., Yu, A.T.W., Wong, S.W. & Cheung, E. (2004), Management of
construction waste in public housing projects in Hong Kong, Construction
Management and Economics, Vol. 22(7), pp.675-689.
Seydel, A., Wilson O.D. & Skitmore, R.M. (2002), Financial evaluation of waste
management methods, Journal of Construction Research, Vol. 3(1), pp.161-167.
Shen, L.Y., Tam, V.W.Y., Tam, C.M. & Drew, D. (2004), Mapping approach for
examining waste management on construction sites, Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, Vol. 130(4), pp.472-481.
Shen, L.Y., Tam, V.W.Y., Tam, C.M. & Ho, S. (2000), Material wastage in
construction activities – A Hong Kong survey. Proceedings of CIB W107 1st
International Conference: Creating a sustainable construction industry in
developing countries, 11 to 13 November 2000, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Snook, K., Turner, A. & Ridout, R. (1995), Recycling waste from the construction site.‘
Berkshire: Chartered Institute of Building.
Swinburne, J., Udeaja, C.E. & Tait, N. (2010), Measuring materials wastages on
construction sites: a case study of local authority highway projects. Built and
Natural Environmental Research Papers, Vol. 3(1), pp. 31 – 41.
Urio, A.F. & Brent, A.C. (2006), Solid waste management strategy in Botswana: the
reduction of construction waste. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil
Engineering, Vol. 48(2), pp. 18–22.

223
SESSION 3B & 3D: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

224
 Maintenance Prioritisation System: The Case of
University Lecture Theatres
F Simpeh1, Z Khan2 and A Hartmann3
1&2
Department of the Built Environment,
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
Email: simfredy24@yahoo.com, khanz@cput.ac.za
3
Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Email: a.hartmann@utwente.nl

Abstract:
As part of an on-going study, the aim of this paper is to rank the building performance
parameters of lecture theatres to aid the development of a maintenance prioritisation
system for lecture theatres. Relevant literature relating to building maintenance
prioritisation was reviewed. A questionnaire survey was then used to collect data from
students on building performance parameters importance. The study revealed that
students ranked ventilation, structural safety, cleanliness, thermal comfort and lighting
as more important factors that influence their learning experience while aesthetics was
considered the least. Maintenance departments can use the result of the research to
enhance the maintenance of lecture theatres to meet the satisfaction of students. The
research will also add to the body of knowledge in the field of maintenance
management. The results of the research are limited to the university studied; however
other universities of similar setting could make use of the result as well.

Keywords
Building performance, Lecture theatre, Maintenance, Satisfaction

Introduction
Lecture theatres are an integral part of the physical learning environment that impacts
the learning process, well-being, comfort and productivity of students (Lackney, 1999a;
Olanrewaju, 2010a). As part of the physical environment, they play a prominent role in
creating and sustaining a productive learning climate (Uline et al., 2010). According to
Drouin et al. (2000), the performance of a building (e.g. lecture theatre) is affected by
how maintenance is carried out. A well-maintained building (e.g. lecture theatre) is vital
for delivering the core objectives of a university (Olanrewaju, 2010b). University
lecture theatres therefore require apt maintenance to ensure a performance level that will
promote the learning experience of students.

Unfortunately, there is a general lack of concern for building maintenance (Chanter &
Swallow, 2007). Buys and Nkado (2006) revealed that the performance of existing
maintenance management systems in South African tertiary institutions is below best
practice standards. An initial survey conducted demonstrated that managers of tertiary
institutions in South Africa spend a very low portion of their total budget on building
maintenance (Buys 2004 cited in Buys et al., 2009). Apart from low budget, Buys and

225
Nkado (2006) further stated that cuts are often made to the maintenance budgets.
Olanrewaju (2010b) affirmed that when a university‘s budgets are cut, the buildings
maintenance budget is usually the first to suffer. Low budgets, which are aggravated by
reduction, often affect the building maintenance plans. This results in the decline in the
condition and performance of buildings (Buys & Nkado, 2006).

Considering that maintenance budgets are low and occasionally reduced, the research
aims to develop a maintenance prioritization system that can facilitate lecture theatre
maintenance. As part of an on-going study, this paper presents one part of the
consideration for the prioritisation. The satisfactions with the performance parameters
and the condition of the lecture theatres are the other factors that will be covered in the
main study. This study aims at the following objectives:
 Assess the importance of lecture theatre performance to learning experience.
 Determine the level of importance of specific building performance parameters of a
lecture theatre to learning experience.
 Rank the building performance parameters of lecture theatres based on their level of
importance.
 Propose a maintenance prioritization system based on the importance and literature
reviewed.

Initially relevant literatures were reviewed by the authors. A questionnaire was then
distributed to collect data on the building performance parameters importance from
students. Finally, the empirical findings and information from the literature aided the
compilation of a maintenance prioritization system that could guide the maintenance of
lecture theatres.

Importance of lecture theatres’ performance to the learning experience

University buildings are procured to create a stimulating environment that support and
encourage students‘ learning (Olanrewaju et al., 2011). In any case, ‗of what value is a
classroom that is not conducive to student learning‘? (Arazi et al., 2009: 130). The
performance of a building relates to how a building contributes to fulfilling the
expectation and functions required by the building user (Williams, 1993; Stanley, 2001).
Several research outputs highlight that the performance of educational buildings has a
significant impact on students (Amaratunga & Baldry, 2000; Green & Turrell, 2005;
Leung & Fung, 2005; Uline & Tschannen-Moran, 2008; Bishop, 2009; Uline,
Tschannen-Moran & Wolsey, 2009; Lavy & Bilbo, 2009; Uline et al., 2010). Cash
(1993) for instance studied the relationship between the condition of facilities and
student behaviour and achievement and came to the conclusion that there is a positive
relationship between building condition and student achievement. The success of
learning is undoubtedly dependant on the performance of the lecture theatres wherein
teachings take place.

Performance requirements critical for lecture theatre performance

The performance of a building is determined in relation to a number of defined

performance measures or standards (Watt, 2007). Generally, buildings are expected to
meet performance requirements such as indoor air quality, noise control, privacy,

226
lighting comfort, spatial comfort, thermal comfort and ergonomics because of their
impact on the building users (Atkin & Brooks, 2009). The brain is considered a
physiological system that can be stimulated by its physical surroundings (Chan &
Petrie, 1998); hence it is imperative that the lecture theatres in universities provide the
best conditions to enhance the learning experience of students (Fleming & Storr, 1999).
Based on the works of a number of researchers (Fleming & Storr, 1999; Lackney,
1999a; 1999b; Earthman, 2004; Green & Turrell, 2005; Leung & Fung, 2005; Uline &
Tschannen-Moran, 2008; Bishop, 2009; Uline et al., 2010), a number of performance
requirements that are critical for a lecture theatre performance were identified. For this
research, the following performance parameters will be discussed and assessed for
prioritisation: safety (structural safety and fire safety and exit), temperature (thermal
comfort), ventilation, sound (acoustic) control, lighting, aesthetics (appearance), and
cleanliness.

Safety - The first order of importance when prioritising issues concerning school
building adequacy is safety (Earthman, 2004). Lackney (1999a) pointed out that some
of the most important safety-related elements are accessibility, egress, material safety
and fire safety. Other factors are security systems and a communication system to use in
emergencies (Earthman, 2004). The absence of health and safety (H&S) measures can
lead to accidents and sickness and even limit access for the disabled (Lackney, 1999a).

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems - The temperature in a

building influences thermal comfort, which subsequently affects working performance,
health, and social behaviour of the building users (Leung & Fung, 2005). Closely
related to temperature control is ventilation that impacts on the quality of the indoor air;
Leung and Fung (2005) stated that a good ventilation system in a room can improve the
indoor air quality and the working productivity of end-users. It is well known that the
―sick building syndrome‘‘ which may lead to respiratory illness is caused by poor
indoor air quality (Lackney, 1999a). Any inadequacy of the HVAC systems can cause
unnecessary distractions for students, who may spend more time sweating or shivering
instead of learning (Bishop, 2009).

Acoustic control - The classroom serves as a communication channel for both teachers
and students for their teaching and learning experience (Sutherland & Lubman, 2001).
The ability to clearly hear in the classroom (lecture theatre) is certainly crucial for
student learning and teacher performance (Earthman, 2004); this hearing ability is
dependent on the acoustic conditions in the classroom (Lubman & Sutherland, 2001).
Good classroom acoustics make learning easier, more sustained and less stressful, while
excessive noise and reverberation in classrooms inhibit speech communication thereby
hindering the learning process (Lubman & Sutherland, 2001).

Lighting - Poor indoor lighting could result in fatigue, eye strain, blurry vision and
headaches (Lackney, 1999a). Light can also affect the mental concentration,
productivity as well as the morale of building users (Lackney, 1999a; Leung & Fung,
2005).

Cleanliness - Uline and Tschannen-Moran (2008) identified cleanliness of a building as

one of the crucial indicators of building quality. Indoor air quality is known to be one of

227
the causes of ‗Sick building syndrome‘‘. The lecture theatre‘s air quality on the other
hand can be influence by dust and dirt.

Aesthetic - Aesthetic basically relates to a sense of beauty and concerns human emotion
and sensations which are determined by colours, shapes, textures, and unique features
(Uline et al., 2009). Since aesthetics plays a critical role in ensuring a comfortable
environment (Leung & Fung, 2005), it implies that an appealing lecture theatre has the
ability to influences the students positively.

Prioritisation of maintenance

Building deterioration and obsolescence are inevitable and to be expected as part of the
ageing process of a building (Douglas & Ransom, 2007). However, maintenance can
help to control the rate of deterioration and failure (Douglas & Ransom, 2007; Seeley,
1987). Arazi et al. (2009) were of the view that building maintenance helps to hold-up
decay, defect, deterioration and failure to ensure that buildings perform optimally
during their life cycle. Maintenance also ensures that the buildings are fit for use; the
condition of the building meets all statutory requirements; preserve the appearance of
the building; and maintain the quality of the building and the value of the physical
assets of the building stock (Alner & Fellows, 1990; Seeley, 1987).

Despite the known importance of maintenance, the cost of all required maintenance
tasks or needs in any one year may exceed the budget (NSW Heritage office, 2004). In
economics, a scale of preference helps to utilize scarce resources efficiently. So too
does maintenance prioritisation help to utilize the available maintenance funds
judiciously. Quite a lot of factors influence how the maintenance tasks are prioritised.
NSW Heritage office (2004) and Department of Treasury and Finance (2005) identified
factors such as H&S, security of premises, statutory requirements, vandalism, increased
operating costs, loss of revenue, disruption to business operations, likely failure of
critical building fabric, policy decisions, environmental impact, contractual issues,
strategic impact, community perception and heritage issues.

The prioritisation of maintenance tasks is reached in relation to risk factors (Department

of Treasury and Finance, 2005). Horner et al. (1997) explains that the maintenance tasks
or items in a building can be divided into two groups, depending on the significance of
the consequences of failure (i.e. significant and non-significant items).
 Significant items: items whose failure affects health, safety, environment or utility:
 Health, safety and environmentally significant items.
 Utility significant item: items whose failure is likely to have an effect on the
direct and indirect maintenance costs, user satisfaction, appearance and
serviceability.
 Non-significant items: items whose failure has no significant effect.

Shen and Spedding (1998) gave this chronological guideline for assigning scores to risk
factors to aid maintenance prioritisation:
1. High risk of health or safety: problems which pose serious potential danger to the
building users.

228
2. Serious disruption of the normal activities in the building, or health or safety
problems, but does not pose immediate danger to the building users, e.g. failure of
the heating system in the winter.
3. Serious discomfort to the building users.
4. Damage to the image of the organization or decrease of morale due to frustration
caused by the defects.
5. Minor problems relating to aesthetics or convenience.
Lackney (1999b), Clatworthy and Convenor (2001) and Earthman (2004) are examples
of authors who prioritised the building performance parameters in their order of
importance. Lackney (1999b) identified and concluded that the physical comfort of the
students is the most important consideration followed by classroom adaptability,
building functionality and aesthetics. The study of Clatworthy and Convenor (2001)
revealed that students ranked ventilation, air conditioning, acoustic quality, seating
comfort, amount of personal seating and writing space and quality of audio visual
equipment very high. In the prioritisation of Earthman (2004), H&S was ranked first,
followed by human comfort (i.e. temperatures within the human comfort range); indoor
air quality (i.e. appropriate ventilation and filtering); and lighting and acoustic control in
that order.

Research Methodology
The design for this survey is a case study which adopts quantitative methods to collect
data. Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) is used as the case for the
research study; 3 lecture theatres were used. Data was collected by means of literature
review and questionnaire surveys.

Literature review: literature of past authors on importance of lecture theatres‘

performance to the learning experience of students, performance requirements critical
for lecture theatre performance, and building maintenance prioritisation was reviewed;
the reviewed literature helped to develop the prioritisation system for the lecture
theatres.

Questionnaire: closed-ended questionnaires were issued by means of a purposive

sampling method to respondents of the 3 lecture theatres to collect data on the
importance they attach to the building performance parameter of the lecture theatre. 70
questionnaires were issued, the response rate was 100%; the issuance was in the order
that is indicated in Table 1.

Table 1: Questionnaire distribution

Selected Theatres Status Year built Capacity % issued

LT2 Mechanical building New 2010 173 seats 28.6 (20)

ABC Lecture theatre Intermediate 1995 232 seats 42.9(30)

LT2 Business building Old 1986 104 seats 28.6(20)

229
Analysis: Descriptive statistics is used to analyse the questionnaire data. Discussion is
made relative to questionnaire findings and literature.

Findings and Discussion

Students were requested to rate how important the performance of a lecture theatre is to
their learning experience using a 5-point Likert scale where 1= not relevant; 2 =
unimportant; 3 = neutral; 4 = important; and 5 = very important. Table 2 shows that a
total of 1.4% responded ‗not relevant‘; 0% responded ‗unimportant‘; 24.3% responded
‗neutral‘; 38.6% responded ‗important‘; and 35.7% responded ‗very important‘. Thus
74.3% responded in the range of important and very important. A mean score of 4.07
and standard deviations of 0.86 was obtained. The finding suggests conclusively that the
performance of a lecture theatre is important to the learning experience of students. The
finding of the survey is supported by the researches of Amaratunga and Baldry, 2000;
Green and Turrell, 2005; Leung and Fung, 2005; Uline and Tschannen-Moran, 2008;
Bishop, 2009; Uline, Tschannen-Moran and Wolsey, 2009; Lavy and Bilbo, 2009; and
Uline et al., 2010. Certainly, students are affected by the performance of lecture
theatres.

Table 2: Importance of lecture theatres‘ performance to learning experience

Ratings
Important
important

important
relevant

Neutral

Total
Very

Std. Dev.
Not

Un

Mean
Number 1 0 17 27 25 70
Percentage 1.4 0.0 24.3 38.6 35.7 100 4.07 0.86

There is an array of parameters that impact on the whole performance of a lecture

theatre. Structural safety, fire safety and exit, temperature, ventilation, lighting,
cleanliness, sound control and aesthetic features are the parameters used for this survey.
Students were requested to rate how important these specific building performance
parameters of the lecture theatre were to their learning experience using a 5-point Likert
scale. Table 3 shows the response obtained from the lecture theatres, the mean scores
obtained were in the range of 4.35 (highest) and 3.59 (lowest). With the exception of
aesthetics all the other parameters obtained a mean score higher than 4.0. Essentially,
students regard all the performance parameters including aesthetics as important to their
learning experience. More than 70% of the students responded in the range of important
and very important for all the performance parameters except aesthetics. This finding
affirms the literature and the previous finding. Horner et al. (1997) supposed that items
whose failure affects health, safety, environment or utility are significant items; the
finding also supports this supposition.

Undoubtedly, all the performance parameters of lecture theatres are important as the
previous findings indicate. However, because the cost of all required maintenance tasks
in any particular year may exceed the budget (NSW Heritage office, 2004), an attempt
was made to rank the parameters based on the mean scores obtained from the survey;

230
Ventilation was ranked 1st with a mean score of 4.35; followed by structural safety
(4.29), cleanliness (4.21) and temperature (4.18) respectively. The 5th parameter is
lighting (4.13), 6th is fire safety and exit (4.10), 7th is sound control (4.07) and the
lowest ranked parameter was aesthetics with a mean score of 3.59.

Contrary to the literature, respondents ranked ventilation first and ahead of safety
(structure safety and fire safety and exit); fire safety and exit was ranked low probably
because respondents do not recognize how critical it is. Although cleanliness is one of
the parameters ignored, respondents ranked it very high. Cleanliness is actually a health
related issue and requires critical attention. Uline and Tschannen-Moran (2008)
identified cleanliness as one of the crucial indicators of building quality. The position of
sound control in the ranking is not a surprise as it is supported by the literature;
Earthman (2004) in his prioritisation ranked sound control below safety, HVAC system
and lighting. Unsurprisingly aesthetics (i.e. appearance) was ranked last which is also
consistent with the literature; Lackney (1999b) concluded on appearance as the least
important parameter that influences learning. Clearly, respondents ranked the
parameters that have a more direct effect on their learning experience highly than those
that do not have a direct effect. Apart from ventilation which students ranked ahead of
safety, the ranking presented in the finding is much related to the literature.

Table 3: Importance of performance parameter to learning experience

Parameters
Unimportant
Not relevant

Important

important
Neutral

Very

Mean

Rank
Total

N % N % N % N % N %
Ventilation 0 0.0 3 4.4 6 8.8 23 33.8 36 52.9 68 4.35 1
Structural
0 0.0 2 2.9 5 7.2 33 47.8 29 42.0 69 4.29 2
safety
cleanliness 1 1.4 2 2.9 9 12.9 27 38.6 31 44.3 70 4.21 3
Temperature 0 0.0 3 4.4 11 16.4 25 36.8 29 42.6 68 4.18 4
Lighting 0 0.0 1 1.4 15 21.7 27 39.1 26 37.7 69 4.13 5
Fire safety &
1 1.4 2 2.9 18 25.7 17 24.3 32 45.7 70 4.10 6
exit
Sound control 0 0.0 5 7.1 10 14.3 30 42.9 25 35.7 70 4.07 7
Aesthetics 1 1.4 4 5.8 28 40.6 25 36.2 11 15.9 69 3.59 8

Proposed prioritisation

Respondents ranked ventilation first, however in this proposed prioritisation, structural

safety and fire safety & exit (Safety) are placed 1st and 2nd respectively because they are
not just significant items but H&S and environmentally significant items (Horner et al.,

231
1997). These items according to Shen and Spedding (1998) have a high risk on health or
safety that could pose serious potential danger to the building users. Cleanliness is
placed 3rd on the grounds that it is a health related issue and requires equally critical
attention as safety; the high mean score obtained in the survey tends to confirm that the
remaining parameters are utility significant items: their failure is likely to have an effect
on user satisfaction, appearance and serviceability of the theatre (Horner et al., 1997).
Ventilation and temperature (thermal comfort) are ranked 4th and 5th respectively based
on the mean scores obtained and the importance revealed by the literature. These two
parameters are related; an effective HVAC system deals collectively with them.
Lighting assumes the 6th position based on the high mean score obtained from the
survey and the importance revealed by the literature. Sound control and aesthetic
features assumes their respective 7th and 8th positions based on the mean scores obtained
in the survey; the literature also supports their position in the ranking provided.

Based on the discussions, this prioritization system is proposed:

1. Structural safety;
2. Fire safety and exit;
3. Cleanliness;
4. Ventilation;
5. Temperature (Thermal Comfort);
6. Lighting;
7. Sound Control;
8. Aesthetic features (Appearance)

Conclusions
Maintenance is surely vital in ensuring that buildings continue to function as expected
over their life cycle. The performance of the lecture theatre is dependent on how
maintenance is done, among other factors. Invariably, the performance of lecture
theatres does impact on the learning experience of students. All the performance
parameters need critical attention as they are considered to be important in terms of their
effect on learning experience. The need of prioritisation therefore becomes important to
ensure that maintenance funds are utilised judiciously. As part of an ongoing study, this
paper presented one aspect of the consideration concerning the need for prioritisation.
The satisfaction with the performance parameters and the condition of the building is
the other factor that will be covered in the main study.

Further research
This paper is one part of an on-going study. The main study will cover the satisfaction
with the performance parameters and the condition of the lecture theatre. The three
factors are what will aid the development of the final prioritisation system. A
comprehensive research to include more parameters and other universities is therefore
recommended.

232
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234
Investing in Multi-income Golf Estate in South Africa:
a Social Interactive Study
C Adendorff1, FA Emuze2, ST Ngubeni3, B Botha4 and G Adendorff5
1NMMU Business School,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: powerhouse@alfresco.co.za
2
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment,
Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa
Email: fidomy@gmail.com
3,4&5
Department of Construction Management,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Email: Brink.Botha@nmmu.ac.za

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions related to multi-income
investment approach to the development of golf estates in South Africa. In addressing
this purpose, a literature survey and semi-formal interviews akin to the qualitative
research method were conducted. The findings of this research indicated that there was
no fundamental disagreement in advancing the mixed-income-level investment in the
golf estates in South Africa. The main difference was in the question: How must it be
done? This question is in relation to the location, the layout design, the architectural
standards, and the consideration with respect to amenities. The study also indicated that
for Golf Estate investments in South Africa to thrive beyond upmarket saturation,
developers must consider the multi-income-level approach. It is also notable that not all
stakeholders in the real-estate sector welcomed the inclusion of affordable housing units
in a multi-income estate project. Some of the respondents believed that the inclusion of
affordable housing units will negatively affect property prices. In essense, if the
inclusion of affordable housing units in golf estates is promoted, the current profit levels
could be negatively affected.

Keywords:
Golf Estates, Investment, Property Development, South Africa

Introduction
The research was undertaken as a result of the policy statements by President of the
Republic of South Africa and the past Minister of Housing concerning property
development. The statement led to mixed reactions from the property development
fraternity on the inclusion of lower-income levels in the upmarket property
developments (Bornochis, 2005). The study equally set out to evaluate the extent of the
impact of multi-income-level investments in Golf Estates on the property income for
investors and the municipalities.

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the perceptions by various stakeholders
in the property development fraternity, in relation to the multi-income investment

235
approach to the development of golf estates. In addressing this purpose, a literature
survey and semi-formal interviews were conducted. Open-ended questions were
employed in order to extract in-depth responses from the participants.

The paper is structured as follows: the next section presents the rationale for the study
by revealing the research questions. This is then followed by a brief overview of the
debate surrounding multi income property development. The adopted methodology then
precedes the presentation of the findings. The concluding section summarizes the
discourse by presenting the arguments that emanated from the study

The Research Questions

As at 2005, the former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, observe that the
unprecedented applications for, and the development of Golf Estates and security
villages was on the upswing in the country. Though this phenomenon was occurring
amidst the concern about the rapidly rising housing backlog, there were and there are
still no robust initiatives by the developers of luxury residences to contribute towards
the reduction of the housing backlog (Affordable Housing Institute of South Africa,
2005a). The policy statements by both past top government executives on the inclusion
of lower-income-level housing in upmarket development schemes triggered mixed
reactions from the property development fraternity (Bornochis, 2005; Wilson, 2005).

Among many questions raised, was: How will the multi-income-level investments in
golf estates as envisaged by the government affect the property values and subsequently
the property rates? This is in light of the fact that the Municipal Property Rates Act (Act
6 of 2004) sections 30(1) and (2) stipulates that municipal property rates must be based
on the market valuations of the properties in question (Republic of South Africa, 2004).
This policy stance by the government has aroused a certain degree of interest from the
local municipalities. This is because a major component of municipal revenue is derived
from property rates and taxes (National Property Education Trust, 2004). It makes sense
that if the property values of golf estates are negatively affected, municipalities will not
generate the maximum potential income. This is not in the interest of the municipalities.
Thus the policy creates a paradox for the municipalities because they need income on
the one hand and they need to address the housing backlog on the other. As a result of
the aforementioned explanations, the research questions formulated for the study
include:

 Is the idea of including affordable housing units welcomed by all in the golf estate
industry?

 Is there a perception by the role players in the property industry that the multi-
income investment approach, especially the inclusion of affordable housing units,
will drive down the property prices in golf estates?

 Will the profitability levels in golf estates be affected by the inclusion of affordable
housing units?

236
 Will the provision of housing units through the inclusion of affordable housing in
golf estates make a significant impact towards addressing the housing backlog in the
country?

The research study however focused on golf estates in the Nkangala District
Municipality in the Mpumalanga province. This area hosts the Highlands Gate, the St
Michel‘s and others. Even though other examples from beyond the demarcated
boundaries will be considered, the focus of this paper is the Emakhazeni Local
Municipality. The study is also limited to the investigation of the perceptions of the key
role players in the development of these golf estates.

A Synopsis of the Multi-income Housing Schemes’ Debate

In his speech at the opening of the Brickfields Housing Development, the former
President of the Republic of South Africa Thabo Mbeki (2005) raised a concern that the
best land parcels were being made available for pro-rich developments while the poor
were being left in the lurch. This meant that the poor were left homeless and also
landless. The former President added that the promotion of spatial segregation under the
pretext of race and income class divisions would not only widen the gap between the
first and the second economy, but would also delay the programme for eradication of
the housing backlog (Affordable Housing Institute of South Africa, 2005a).

The President‘s perspective was supported by the then Minister of Housing, Dr Lindiwe
Sisulu, who was in favour of the acceptance of the ―20% social responsibility deal‖ by
upmarket property developers. This meant that the envisaged upmarket developments
should also cater for the inclusion of lower-income houses (Affordable Housing
Institute of South Africa, 2005b). According to the Minister, property developers should
make at least a 20% provision for the inclusion of affordable housing units with a value
of not less than R100 000. The intention of this policy intervention was to foster social
considerations.

However, some property owners and members of the public have indicated that instead
of dealing with the real housing problems, the government was barking up the wrong
tree (Bornochis, 2005; Wilson, 2005). Those that disagreed were concerned about the
practical effects that would come about should this policy be implemented. They were
concerned about the feasibility of the policy statement, especially about the influence on
property values (Affordable Housing Institute of South Africa, 2005b).

As an illustration, Lemanski (2005) conducted a study on the link between security

villages and their poorer neighbouring communities in Cape Town and considered the
impact of spatial segregation on the fragile social dynamics. Despite the non-
racialization of space, people were still segregated. Even in cases where there were no
physical walls separating the rich and poor, socio-economic divides and other spatial
methods of segregation including natural buffers were still being used to advance
segregation in the guise of exclusivity. The relevance of Lemanski's (2005) study for the
present study involves the social relationship that residents from the low-income level
and the high-income level will have, should this approach be applied.

237
According to Smersh (2003), McDonald and McMillan in 2000 completed a study that
focused on the choice of development location for different land uses (industrial,
commercial and residential). In relation to residential development, proximity to
suburban employment nodes such as factories and retail and industrial employment
nodes, had a negative impact on residential developments, employment was one of the
many socio-economic attributes influencing the desire by government to locate low-cost
housing closer to or within high-income-level areas.

Smit and Purchase (2006) recently conducted a literature study on international

experience of inclusionary housing. The study sought to evaluate international
experience with similar approaches to housing. It was a comparative review of an
inclusionary housing approach in countries such as the United States of America (USA),
Canada, United Kingdom (UK), Belgium, Malaysia, Ireland and others. Of relevance to
the present study is that there is nothing impeding South Africa from implementing
inclusionary housing methods in order to address the housing backlog.

Research Methodology
The research method employed in the study is qualitative in nature. It considers the
phenomenon in its natural setting. Because of the mixed reactions already displayed by
the stakeholders through the literature reviewed, the researcher anticipated multi-
dimensional views from the study (Leedy, 2005). The method of investigation used in
this study is such that it correlates with the purpose of the study. Data were collected in
two ways, namely a literature review and informal interviews with semi-structured
questions.

The interviews were expected to be lengthy to allow for maximum feedback from the
participants. At most, the interviews lasted for approximately two hours. With the
understanding that the present study is phenomenological, given the need to interpret
the perceptions of the property fraternity in relation to multi-income investment in golf
estates, it was not expected that these interviews not would be too formally structured.
The aim was to establish the views of property-development practitioners on the aspects
outlined in the previous sections.

Despite the targeted interview population being between 15 and 25 participants from the
property fraternity, only 20 participants were available for the interviews. The
interviewed respondents included 3 property valuers, 4 developers, 5 property owners
who had bought into the golf estate developments, 3 real-estate agents, 3 municipal /
government department officials, and 2 Chief Executive Officers of governing bodies
(SAPOA and NHBRC). It can therefore be deduced that most of the interviewees were
golf estate developers and potential buyers, a total of 45% of the participants, when
combined.

Findings and Discussion

This section pertains to the presentation and analysis of the data from the study in
relation to the research questions. Responses from the actual respondents were assessed
versus the expected response. When attempting to describe a golf estate, one must

238
distinguish between two types of golf estates. There are leisure golf estates and urban
golf estates. The following extract is from an interview with one of the developers, Nick
Van Noordwyk, who further elaborates of the two types of golf estate developments. He
says ―The contrast between the leisure golfing estates and the urban golfing estates is
that the former on the one hand are generally located far from the urban centres without
immediate access to shopping centres and other public amenities. Buyers in these kinds
of development are typically holiday-weekend owners. The latter on the other hand are
full-time residential owners who enjoy immediate access to shopping centres and other
public amenities.‖

A survey of the marketing material for the sale of three Golf Estates further corroborates
the commonalities between different Golf Estates. It was evident that the common
components of a golf estate include a golf course, a clubhouse, nature trails, fly-fishing,
security walls, and upper-end properties

Inclusion of Houses in Golf Estates

The first two questions assessed the views of respondents on the inclusion of affordable
housing units in golf estates. The question examined whether the interviewees would
welcome the idea of inclusionary housing in golf estates and whether they perceive any
possibility of the rich and the poor coexisting in the golf estates. The first question
attempted to solicit views in relation to the inclusion of affordable housing units in golf-
estate developments. Table 1 below gives the number of interviewees who were for the
inclusionary housing versus those who were against the inclusionary approach.

The majority of the interviewees (67%) were positive towards the envisaged
inclusionary housing in the golf estates, as opposed to 33% of the participants who were
negative to the approach. Those who were positive further indicated that there would be
certain prerequisites to make the development approach work.

Table 1: The acceptability of the inclusion of houses in golf estates

Category Response
Number %
Concurred with the idea 13 67.0
Disagreed with the idea 7 33.0
Total 20 100.0

The respondents that concurred with the idea noted that:

 Social responsibility cannot be divorced from the provision of affordable housing as

these will always complement each other. It would be a good idea that affordable
houses are included in golf estates to promote social integration and long-term
relationships between the various categories of the communities. The problem we
have with regard to orchestrated crime will also diminish once these proposals are
accepted and implemented.

 It is not that bad. It brings in the day-to-day persons, not just the elite.

 It could be good depending on circumstances i.e. bulk service cost versus the profit.

239
 It is a good idea; it should work; little plots could sell faster.

 It is necessary that it happen. In fact it must happen in the Golf Estates. Even the
poor need to be integrated with the rich. Furthermore, those who are working in
these Golf Estates need to utilise the amenities in the estates.

Although 56% of the participants did not foresee any reasons why the rich could not
live next door to the poor, 44% of them differed. One of the respondents opined that
there is no reason why the poor should not co-exist with the rich, while acknowledging
that there can be small problems that can be resolved by selling at specific architectural
standards or village scheme. Another interviewee said that the society must move away
from a class that is ignorant of developments outside. South Africa must realise and put
into practice the idea of an integrated society. Even one of them suggests that currently
there is the fear that the two groups will not mix, as the lower income group is
associated with crime, whereas there are bad elements within the high-income group
too.

Sharing of resources such as common grounds, be it the parks, swimming pools and
even the golf course, will change the attitudes of many people classified as low-income
earners to such an extent that the two can become interdependent. In any case, one
interviewee opined that at the end of the day, money will dictate if one can afford to live
in a more expensive area. Affordability plays an important role in people deciding
where they want to move. The rich and the poor can live together, however it depends
how you conceptualise your development. It would be better if the low income were in a
way integrated with the high income, because if they are not (and they are treated as
outcasts) they (the poor) will cause problems.

Housing Backlogs and Golf Estates

The themes in this section seek to assess the possible inclusion of affordable housing
units in Golf Estates in order to ensure the reduction of the housing backlogs in South
Africa. The questions were used to assess if there would be any contribution and the
extent of the contribution towards the reduction of the backlogs.

It was shown that 67% of the participants believed that the approach would contribute
towards the reduction of the housing backlog, while 33% of the participants believed
that the approach would not make any contribution. Some of the latter were even bold
enough to say that the approach would never work. The general perception was that the
inclusion of affordable housing would have an insignificant impact on the housing
backlog problem. According to the participants, this is because a ‗20% social
contribution‘ would yield a insignificant number of affordable housing units. An
interviewee summed up the views by saying that ―if we are going to target Golf Estates
development, there is not going to be much of an impact so the government must
continue with employing other methods towards the reduction of the housing backlog.‖

Affordable Housing and Decisions to Invest in Golf Estates

The results of the question, how will the inclusion of affordable housing in golf estates
affect the decisions by the buyers to purchase in the golf estates, are hereby discussed.

240
33% of the interviewees indicated that they thought there would be a significant degree
of decrease of purchases should the inclusionary approach be effected. However, the
majority (67%) of the participants believed that inclusionary housing would not
negatively affect the decisions of the buyers to purchase in the Golf Estates.

Some of the interviewees were of the opinion that investor confidence will be boosted
by the terms and conditions included in the sales document as determined by the
Homeowners' Association. They suggest that features such as the type of roof, wall
designs and landscaping will need to be included in the document to allay fears that
investors may have. According to them, some of developers have already started with
developing an inclusionary type of Golf Estate i.e. in terms of the affordability rates.
However, if the approach i.e. inclusionary housing in golf estates is not well thought out
and not well planned, it will have a negative impact as the marketability factor comes
into play. The general perception by the interviewee that disagreed was that the values
of the upmarket properties would be negatively affected, and the decision to invest in
the golf-estate developments would also be adversely affected.

In particular, 89% of the interviewee thought that the affordable housing scheme did not
fit the Golf Estate genre whilst a small number (11%), believed that there was some
level of suitability. Some of the general comments that summarised their views include:

 The suitability will strongly depend on the location of the development itself. Rather
have a separate development for low-income housing with minimal service.

 Luxury estates are located far from the amenities that the affordable market will
require e.g. affordable taverns instead of clubs/bars.

 The provision of housing for people who work in the Golf Estates is also important
rather than having someone coming 2-3 hrs. A day to work; therefore making
provision of units in the vicinity in the area will make more sense.

 To bridge the gap between the poor and the rich (the first and the second economy),
in order to have a harmonious society in South Africa, the approach of having
affordable housing included in the Golf Estate will be one giant leap for the
community and improve the social imbalance.

Affordable Housing in Golf Estates and the Impact on Property Prices

The majority (67%) of the interviewees believed that the inclusion of affordable housing
in Golf Estates would affect the property values in estates, and 33% of the interviewees
did not see the reason why the values of properties in Golf Estates should be negatively
affected by the inclusion of the affordable housing units.

The respondents opined that values are influenced by many factors pertaining to the
buyers in the market. If these perceptions are done away with then the inclusion of
affordable housing should not affect the values. Some of them opined that buyers will
not develop interest in the property because of perceived crime, nuisance and noise.
Nevertheless, a respondent said that the top end of the market has saturated since Golf

241
Estates always cater only for the top end of the market; although another respondent
suggested that if the development is well planned from a town-planning perspective and
urban-design perspective, such that its aesthetics are good, then values should be
preserved.

Data Analysis in Relation to the Research Questions

According to the Affordable Housing Institute of South Africa (2005a), the inclusion of
affordable housing units amidst the upmarket properties could be desirable because the
intention is to address the housing backlogs and promote social integration. The
responses from the study indicate that even though the approach is desirable, certain
precautions will need to be taken with regard to placing low income housing units
directly adjacent to the upmarket units. The other issue raised in the interviews was the
regulation of the architectural style of the affordable units in harmony with the
architecture of the upmarket housing units.

The general perception given in the results of the research was that the upmarket buyers
had a negative attitude towards affordable housing. This was justified mainly by crime
associated with the poor, unavoidable social gaps, and the neglect created by cheap
construction materials. The responses also indicated that a small number of respondents
expressed worries over the inclusion of affordable housing in the golf-estate
developments. These respondents, however, indicated that the mixed-income could be
successful provided it was properly planned in terms of the layout design.

This study indicates a perception that a decision to invest in the mixed-income level
developments could be affected, unless the layout was planned properly. The main
concern of the respondents was the ability to sell the upmarket housing units. According
to the report tabled by the former Minister of Housing (Smit and Purchase, 2006), the
upmarket residential developments have not been contributing to the eradication of the
housing backlog. This report suggests that, whenever there is a housing development
taking place, the government should encourage allocation to be made for affordable
housing units. According to the study, there was a general perception that even though
the inclusion of the affordable housing units might make a contribution to the
eradication of the housing backlog, the impact would be minimal. Thus, some
participants suggested that the government should not regard the intervention as the
panacea for all the housing backlog problems. Rather it should run parallel to the other
housing delivery programmes.

Conclusions and Further Research

This study was conducted in order to evaluate the perceptions of stakeholders related to
the multi-income investment approach to the development of Golf Estates so as to
analyse its utility for housing purposes. Following a qualitative approach, 4 research
questions were formulated and used as a springboard for the generation of the primary
data.

The analysis of the findings thus put forward arguments that pertain to the research
questions. Based on the findings, it can be argued that not all the participants in the real-
estate property industry welcome the inclusion of affordable housing units through a

242
multi-income-level investment approach; the interviews perceived that the inclusion of
affordable housing units will negatively affect the prices of properties; if the inclusion
of affordable housing units in Golf Estates are to be promoted, profit levels will be
negatively affected; and by targeting the lower-middle-income group that are considered
to be the most neglected income group, the provision of the affordable housing units
will contribute towards addressing the housing backlog in the country.

In other words, although limited by the sample size and the inability to generalise, these
findings provide a platform to further examine the issues concerning multi-income
property investments in South Africa. The research findings can be used as the basis for
further research to establish the design guidelines for layout planning. These guidelines
should be used to assist the developers in minimising the marketability risk identified
during the research.

Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement of the support of the NMMU-cidb CoE that is hosted by BERC is
hereby done with utmost appreciations.

References
Affordable Housing Institute of South Africa (2005a), Housing on Steroids. 26
September 2005. Available from:
http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org [Accessed 12 October 2010]
Affordable Housing Institute of South Africa (2005b), Out of the Comfort Zone: Real
Integration. 21 August 2005. Available from:
http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org [Accessed 12 October 2010]
Bornochis, R. (2005), Mbeki‟s Digs at Pro-Rich Housing Makes No Sense. Business
Report, 17 August 2005. Available from:
http://www.busrep.co.za [Accessed 12 October 2010]
Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (2005), Practical Research: Planning and Design. 8th
edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Lemanski, C. (2005), Spaces of Exclusivity or Connection? Linkages between a Security
Village and Its Poorer Neighbour in a Cape Town Master Plan Development. Cape
Town: Isandla Institute.
National Property Education Committee (2004), Principles of Property Valuation.
South African Property Education Trust.
Republic of South Africa (2004), Municipal Property Rates Act (Act 6 of 2004).
Available from:
http.www.gov.org.za [Accessed 18 October 2010]
Smersh, G.T. (2003), Factors Affecting Residential Property Development. Journal of
Real Estate Research. Jan-March 2003.
Smit, D. & Purchase, J. (2006), A review of the international experience with
inclusionary housing programmes: Implications for South Africa. Unpublished
Research Report, National Department of Housing, Pretoria.

243
 Business Diversification and Performance: Evidence
from South African Construction Firms
AO Windapo1, KS Cattell2 and LO Oyewobi3
123
Department of Construction Economics and Management,
University of Cape Town, South Africa
E-mail: Abimbola.Windapo@uct.ac.za, Keith.Cattell@uct.ac.za,
Luqman.Oyewobi@uct.ac.za

Abstract:
The paper examines whether there is any significant relationship between business
diversification and the performance of construction firms in South Africa. The rational
for the examination stems from the view that relationship between diversification and
performance of construction firms are important issues in strategic management and
cross border businesses in terms of growth. However, there is a dearth of empirical
research and theoretical arguments on the effects of business diversification on the
performance of construction firms in South Africa. The study employed the use of
archival data for a period of five years for 16 construction companies listed in Grade 7-9
on the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) contractor register. The data
were analysed using t-statistics and correlation coefficient and the results indicate that
although diversification was found to have a positive impact on the corporate
performance of companies, there were no statistically significant differences in the
performance of diversified and undiversified firms. The findings of this study also
revealed that geographic and product diversification has an impact on the profit margin
of the firms. The outcome of the research is of immeasurable value to decision makers
and managers of construction companies as it will help in making viable corporate
strategic decisions. The study also engenders a better understanding of the effect of both
service and geographic diversification on the performance of contractors.
Keywords:
Business, Construction, Diversification, Performance, South Africa

Introduction
Construction firms operate in a complex and fragmented industry environment where
different project or firm exhibits unique characteristics coupled with ever changing
demand of stakeholders, which inter alia include investors, clients, contractors and
consulting professionals (cidb, 2012). This growing and complex nature demonstrated
by the business environment demands an organisation to look inwards and outwards and
diversify their operations in a way that can make the company attain and sustain success
in a hyper-competitive market (Ibrahim et al., 2009).
Different definitions and outcome of performance effects of different types of
diversification exist in strategic and international business literature (Ravichandran et
al., 2009). Many of the definitions available in the literature defined or discussed
diversification of firms from international point of view (Capar & Kotabe, 2003; Hitt et
al., 2006; Wiersema & Bowen, 2008). For instance, Capar and Kotabe (2003) defined
geographic diversification as firms‘ expansion beyond the borders of its home country

244
across different nations and geographical regions. Within the context of this paper,
diversification is defined as organisational spread beyond its local borders to another
market (sub sector) within the industry or region (geographic) to improve business
performance by reducing inherent risks and enhance return on investments.

Despite the wealth of knowledge and research in linking performance effects of both
product and geographic diversification, even within the strategic management, finance
and international business circles, there are still inconsistencies in the outcome of the
studies and as such scholars persist in their inquiry (Mayer & Whittington 2003;
Chakrabarti et al. 2007; Wiersema & Bowen 2008). In addition, there is sparse literature
on diversification focusing on the construction industry, the reason being that
construction management is relatively an innovative field of research compared to other
areas, it becomes essential to tap from both natural and social sciences to enhance
performance of the field (Knight & Ruddock, 2008).

Singh et al. (2010) assert that the major motive for a company‘s diversification into
different product categories and geographic markets is to satisfy their growth and
corporate strategic objectives. Higgins and Vincze (1993) cited in Ofori and Chan
(2000) note that growth of firms requires some considerations that was categorised into
four: the type of growth (diversified); its geographical focus; how it will take place; and
how quickly it will occur. However, many of the studies carried out focus mainly on
large firms with some of them reporting that a positive relationship exists between
performance effects on products and geographic diversification (Kim et al. 1993; Hitt et
al. 1997, Singh et al., 2010) as well as negative (Tallman & Li 1996) on firms. In spite
of this acknowledged importance of strategic objectives, little attention has been given
to it in the construction industry. Kim and Reinschmidt (2012) corroborate the opinion
that much of the available knowledge on strategic issues at the corporate or industry
level is mostly descriptive rather than quantitative, and useful empirical findings are
limited.

Considering the dearth of empirical research and theoretical arguments on the effects of
business diversification on construction company performance, this paper intends to fill
this gap by examining whether the level of diversification evident in construction
companies has had an effect on the business performance, and also establishing whether
it is important for construction firms to diversify in order to benefit from accrued
opportunities available in other product (sub-sectors) and geographic markets (Teo,
2002).

Literature Review
This section reviews literature on the effect of geographic and product diversification on
corporate performance.

Geographic Diversification
Geographic diversification (GD) of a construction firm in the context of this paper will
mean the organisational spread of a firm beyond its local borders or corporate head
office to another region which may be internal (within the country) or external (beyond
the borders of the country) (Capar & Kotabe, 2003; Ibrahim et al., 2009). Singh et al.

245
(2010) categorised the previous studies on performance effects of geographic
diversification into three namely; (1) the category that comprises research that focuses
on establishing the relationship between GD and firm performance without much
attention to the contingency factors; (2) the category that comprises research that
focuses primarily on the contingency conditions affecting geographic diversification
performance relationship and (3) the category that comprises research that explores the
relationship in different empirical settings. All these studies produced mixed results
with respect to performance effects of geographic diversification; the incongruities in
the results vary from positive relationship findings (Annvarajula et al., 2005; Hitt et al.,
2006; Singh et al., 2010), negative relationship (Geringer et al., 2000; Denis et al.,
2002), an inverted ―U‖ shaped relationship (Singh et al., 2010), an ―S‖ shaped
relationship as reported by (Contractor et al., 2003; Lu & Beamish, 2004) to lack of
relationship among the variables (Dess et al., 1995).

Product diversification
Many authors have written on the performance effects of product diversification (PD)
(Palich et al., 2000; Wiersema & Bowen, 2008) and documented evidence exist on the
resultant benefits and prices associated with PD as well as exigency factors that
influence the benefits and costs of it (Singh et al., 2010). Wiersema and Bowen (2008)
posit that earlier theory has it that reasons for corporate strategic objective regarding
expansion via product or international diversification by companies is based on their
opportunity to leverage the firm‘s excess resources into new markets. Many firms
diversify into different region or product markets for myriad of reasons, such as
economies of scale and scope as well as to increase market share (Markides &
Williamson, 1996), risk dispersion and for reasons to safeguard future business
uncertainties (Berger, 1995), to benefit from optimal utilization of existing resources
and capabilities (Wiersema & Bowen, 2008). Wan and Hoskisson (2003) assert that
firms that exhibit higher levels of product diversification are more likely prone to
insufficient resources and managerial difficulties that is capable of impeding their
ability to develop global competitive advantages.

In this paper, PD denotes a firm‘s diversification to more than one class of work as
calibrated by cidb such as general building works, civil engineering, mechanical and
electrical services, property developers, plant hirers and so forth.

Research Methodology
The impacts of company diversification on performance have been comprehensively
studied in strategic management, finance and international business literature but many
of the research focused on the economic rationale behind the diversification–
performance linkage (Ravichandran et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010). The research
adopts a case study approach using semi structured interview to elicit primary
qualitative data on the level of geographic and product diversification of the firm from
the respondents in the study. Secondary financial data were also for use in assessing the
level of performance of the firms for a period of five years.

246
Population of the Study and Sample Size
The samples for this study consist of active medium and large contracting firms listed in
Grade 7-9 on the cidb contractor register. The data used for the research were sourced
from that cohort of firms because of their continuous upgrade of at least three times
within a period of five years (2006-2010) on the register. The dominance of these firms
is evident in the large number of contracts they have benefited from. This was estimated
to be around 75% of the total public sector contracts (cidb, 2012). A total of 679 firms
were found to be active on the registers at the time this research was carried out between
February and June 2011. Of this number, 62 construction firms located across South
Africa were found to have met the research criteria of company upgrade and
performance. All 62 contracting firms that constituted the sample size were invited to
participate in the study via e-mail and later telephonically due to low responses. At the
end of a six week period, 14 contractors responded to the e-mail and telephone invite,
representing a 22.57% response rate. Four established contractors that were selected
with a convenience sampling technique were also used as control for the study.

Statement of Hypotheses
Based on the earlier studies by Ofori and Chan (2000), Ibrahim et al. (2009) and Singh
et al. (2010), which investigated the effects of company diversification on corporate
performance empirically, this study also proposed and tested the hypotheses.

Measures of geographic and product diversification variables

Several measures of diversification exists in the literature, but the most frequently used
measure is the ‗foreign sales ratio,‘ which is expressed as a firm‘s foreign sales divided
by its total sales (Tallman & Li, 1996). Other measures as suggested by Ibrahim et al.
(2009) include foreign employee ratio and foreign assets ratio, the entropy of a firm‘s
sales across geographic market regions (Hitt et al., 1997), the ratio of exports to total
sales, and the ratio of foreign to total employees (Kim et al., 1989). Ibrahim et al.
(2009) assert further that many of these approaches have been criticised as they focus on
the overall strategic importance of foreign operations to a firm. This research adopts the
approach used by earlier researchers (Jiang et al., 2005; Ibrahim et al., 2009; Singh et
al., 2010) in measuring the variables. Explanatory variables are PD and GD.

Product Diversification
PD is measured adopting the Herfindahl index as used in (Tallman & Li, 1996; Singh et
al., 2010), this will be based on total number of contracts won and executed in the
equivalent of Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) category, businesses in the same
SIC level are treated as homogeneous and distinctions are made with those in different
SIC categories as used by (Jiang et al., 2005).
Mathematically, PD=
Where: Si is the proportion of the firm‘s contracts in ith class of work (product) category

Geographic Diversification
GD of the firm is determined by the ratio of contracts won outside its local province to
total number of contracts won for the period under consideration. This measure of

247
geographic diversification is in conformity with previous studies (Capar & Kotabe,
2003; Singh et al., 2010).

Control Variables
Control variables are the size, age, technical capability and capital structure (working
capital) of firms.

Measures of Corporate Performance

Ibrahim et al. (2009) maintain that there are many measures of firm‘s performance
available in use as demonstrated by researchers such as Ofori and Chan (2000) who
state that index of performance measurement of firms include sales revenue, volume of
output, share of market, profit, number of personnel, number of branches and extent of
geographical spread. The earlier studies of performance effects on diversification
employed different accounting measures ranging from Return On Total Asset (ROTA)
by authors such as (Ibrahim et al., 2009, Singh et al., 2010) to Return On Investment
(ROI) (Palich et al., 2000; Jiang et al., 2005). Return on total asset (ROTA), Return on
capital employed (ROCE) and Profit margin (PM) are used as a measure of firm‘s
performance and the dependent variables for which the study will employ the following
as measures:

Method of Data Analysis

The research employed parametric statistical methods, the t-statistics to compare the
means of the two samples (diversified and undiversified firms). This was used as a
result of its strength which implies that it is comparatively indifferent to violations of
underlying assumptions of homogeneity of variance and normality of population
distribution from which samples are taken as suggested by Ibrahim et al. (2009).
Correlation co-efficient was also used to indicate the nature of relationships that exist
among the dependent, exploratory and control variables of the sample population.
Correlation is a statistical technique that measures the degree of closeness or linear
relationship between the variables. The firms were classified into diversified and
undiversified, thus analyses of the differences in the performance of the two categories
was carried out to suggest actions to be taken on the hypotheses. In doing this, the study
employed the use of average annual performance measures.

Correlation co-efficient measures the strength of linear relationship that exists between
two variables, but does not necessarily indicate the causativeness, correlation in the
range of 70% (0.70) to 90 % (0.90) is high and 50% (.50) to 70% (.70) is moderate
while below 50% is regarded as low or weak (Oyewobi et al., 2011). Positive
correlation within the range of (0 < p ≤ 1) is an indication that significant or greater
values of x are related to greater values of y, while the negative correlation (-1 ≤ p < 0)
indicates that greater values of x are related to small values of y.

Findings and Discussion of Results

Table 1 shows the results of descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients. 76% of
the firms considered diversified both geographically and in terms of product, while 23%

248
remain undiversified. The descriptive statistics indicate that the average age of firms
involved in the study is 22 years. The mean values of PD and GD are 0.38 and 0.40
respectively. The correlation analysis results of the tested variables indicated low
positive relationships exit between GD, PD and profit margin (PM) (34 and 26% for GD
and PD respectively), this depicts that the more diversified firms are, the higher the
profit margin.

This result was in affirmation of earlier findings of Zook (2001) who posits that firms
that diversify around their core business (concentric diversifications) have higher
success rate than other approaches to diversification. Weak negative correlation were
also found to exist among measures of firms performance (ROTA and ROCE) and
diversification, which indicates that as firms diversify the returns both on asset and
capital employed decreases. The result is in tune with the findings of Ofori and Chan
(2000) who reported that negative relationship exists between a firms‘ geographic
diversification and corporate performance. This also underpinned the findings of earlier
studies that firms which exhibit higher levels of product or geographic diversification
are more likely prone to insufficient resources and more market risk which leads to
drops in returns (Wan & Hoskisson, 2003; Wiersema & Bowen, 2008).

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics and Correlation of Variables

MEAN

ROCE
ROTA
TCAP

CPST
SIZE
AGE

PM
S.D

GD
PD

TCAP 268.46 401.91 1

AGE 22.08 10.87 0.31 1
PD 0.38 0.25 0.64* 0.23 1
GD 0.40 0.26 0.55 0.19 0.90** 1
ROT
18.81 16.32 0.08 0.14 -0.10 -0.10 1
A
ROC
70.13 116.32 -0.12 -0.22 -0.40 -0.39 0.74** 1
E
PM 6.11 5.05 0.40 0.68* 0.34 0.26 0.56* 0.09 1
SIZE 1.53 0.20 0.51 0.22 0.85** 0.96** -0.01 -0.24 0.25 1
0.85** 0.27 0.51 0.47 0.10 -0.02 0.51 0.47 1
CPST 19.80 39.76
*Correlation is significant at 0.05 level
** Correlation is significant at 0.01 level
Key:
S.D.-Standard Deviation; TCAP-Technical capability; PD-Product Diversification; GD-Geographic
Diversification; ROTA-Return on total asset; ROCE-Return on capital employed; PM-Profit Margin; and
CPST- Capital structure.

249
The results of the correlation indicates strong positive relationship between GD and PD
and this shows that firms that diversify (concentric diversification) or extend to other
provinces will enjoy increase market share and improved returns as indicated by the
relationship between PD, GD and PM. This finding is deeply rooted in the results of
studies carried out by Singh et al. (2010). Size of firms exhibit high positive
relationship with PD and GD with values of r = 85% and 90% respectively, this shows
that the greater diversification (PD & GD) are associated with large values or number of
contract won by the diversified firms. While age of firms indicates that established firms
enjoy more improved returns of investment.

Figure 1 shows the aggregate trends in the performance of the construction firms
studied. It emerged that the corporate performance indicators are not level depicting
peaks and valleys and a general inconsistency in the performance of the companies.

Figure 1: Aggregate Trends in Corporate Performance of the Construction Companies

Tables 2, 3 and 4 show the result of comparison of performance measures of both the
diversified and undiversified firms considered for the study. T-statistics was used to test
whether there are significant differences in the performance of both diversified and
undiversified firms and this was used at 95% confidence interval of the alternative
hypothesis. The decision rule is dependent on whether the t-calculated is greater than or
less than the critical values of t for (n-2) degree of freedom.
Across the three measures of performance measures employed in this study, the results
indicated no performance differences exist between the two groups of study. This is
demonstrated by the values of t-calculated, which was less than the critical values of t,
the results are statistically insignificant and thus alternative hypothesis is rejected. This
result affirmed the findings of Ibrahim et al. (2009) in the context of the United
Kingdom (UK) construction industry. Ibrahim et al. (2009) observe that there appear to
be no performance differences between the two groups with respect to the measures of
performance employed.

250
 Table 2: t-Test statistic- undiversified vs. diversified firms (PM)
Undiversified Diversified
t-test: two-sample assuming equal variances
firms firms
Average annual PM
Mean 0.572929366 0.6424967
Variance 0.05250024 0.2251653
Observations 3 10
Pooled Variance 0.193771637
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 11
t Stat -.240076244
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.407343191
t Critical one-tail 1.795884819

Table 3: t-Test statistic- undiversified vs. diversified firms (ROCE)

t-test: two-sample assuming equal undiversified diversified firms

variances firms
Average annual ROCE
Mean 1.788693788 1.508166955
Variance 0.676061787 0.089100238
Observations 3 10
Pooled Variance 0.195820519
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 11
t Stat 0.963017684
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.178115754
t Critical one-tail 1.795884819

Table 4: t-Test statistic- undiversified vs. diversified firms (ROTA)

t-test: two-sample assuming equal variances Undiversified Diversified

firms firms

Average annual ROTA

Mean 1.183787319 1.1115951
Variance 0.364037396 0.1045031
Observations 3 10
Pooled Variance 0.151691186
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 11
t Stat 0.281578443
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.391746683
t Critical one-tail 1.795884819

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Conclusions and Further Research
This study investigates the impact of geographic and service/product diversifications on
the corporate performance of firms in the South African construction industry. To
achieve the main objective of the study, the research postulated hypotheses to examine
the level and nature of relationship that exists among the variables. The study found that
there is no positive relationship between the two measures of performance ROTA and
ROCE, but low positive relationship exists between diversification and PM. Overall, the
alternative hypothesis was rejected, as no significant positive relationship is apparent.
Positive interaction between PD and GD was demonstrated by the research, which
upheld the third alternative hypothesis. The research established that there were no
statistically significant differences between the diversified and undiversified firms in
terms of performance when the measures of performance were compared for the two
groups. Nonetheless, the correlated positive relationship between GD, PD and PM
shows that diversification is capable of increasing returns (profit), but show negative
effects on ROTA and ROCE. In summary, this suggests that diversifications have an
impact on the corporate performance of firms in terms of increases in profit margin.
However, there was no significant impact on the returns on assets/capital invested by
the company in the business. This is inconclusive and further study with a larger sample
size and longer time needs to be investigated in other to validate this and investigate the
impact of time. The study recommends that a firm considering diversification should
ensure it diversify around its core business area where it has competitive advantage so
as to add value to traditional business, and to improve performances and reduce risks.

Limitations of the Research

The research was limited to large firms (Grade 7-9) listed on the cidb contractor
register, efforts should be made to expand the research by incorporating a larger sample
size and increasing the length of years examined in a future study. The information used
for GD and PD was limited to the information supplied by the firms.

Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the cidb and the firms that
participated in the survey.

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254
 Importance - Satisfaction Relationship Related to
Lecture Theatre Performance: Perception of Students
F Simpeh1, Z Khan2 and A Hartmann3
1&2
Department of the Built Environment,
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
Email: simfredy24@yahoo.com, khanz@cput.ac.za
3
Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Email: a.hartmann@utwente.nl

Abstract:
As part of a main study, the aim of this paper is to determine the level of importance
students attach to building performance parameters of lecture theatres and how satisfied
they are with them. Three lecture theatres were selected by means of a purposive
sampling method as cases for the study; data was then collected from the students by
means of a structured questionnaire. The study reveals that students perceived the
satisfaction of the performance parameters of lecture theatres as below their level of
importance. Parameters including; ventilation, thermal comfort, fire safety and exit and
cleanliness had a high gap scores indicating big variations between importance and
satisfaction. The gap scores of aesthetics, lighting, acoustic control and structural safety
suggests that the current performance levels are acceptable, even though they are below
students‘ satisfaction. The findings will help the maintenance department to manage the
maintenance needs of lecture theatres to meet the satisfaction of students. The results of
the research are limited to a particular university; however, the suggestions could be
adopted for maintaining the performance of lecture theatres in other institutions.

Keywords:
Building performance, Lecture theatre, Maintenance, Students

Introduction
Education in general, but most especially university education is an indispensable
vehicle that drives the economy of every country, hence the increase in societal demand
for education services in all parts of the world. The outstanding objective of any
university is to promote learning, teaching and research activities. Universities cannot
meet this objective without lecture theatres (Olanrewaju et al., 2011). Lecture theatres
are integral parts of the physical learning environment, which impacts on the whole
learning process. As part of the physical environment, they play a prominent role in
creating and sustaining a productive learning environment (Uline et al., 2010). The
performance of a lecture theatre is affected by the level of maintenance carried out on
the theatre. Unquestionably, a well-maintained lecture theatre is imperative for
delivering the core objectives of a university (Olanrewaju, 2010). Lecture theatres
therefore require apt maintenance to ensure a performance level, which will promote the
learning experience of students.

Unfortunately, there is a general lack of concern for how buildings are maintained
(Chanter & Swallow, 2007). Factors such as inadequate funds, poor management of

255
funds, poor strategies exacerbate the problems of building maintenance (Drouin et al.,
2000). This assertion is confirmed by the results of a survey conducted by Buys and
Nkado (2006), which revealed that the performance of existing maintenance
management systems in South African tertiary institutions is below best practice
standards. Ineffective strategies plus low budgets that is sometimes aggravated by
reduction often affect the maintenance of buildings; thus resulting in a decline in the
condition and performance of buildings (Buys & Nkado, 2006).

This study aims at determining the level of importance students attach to the
performance of lecture theatres and how satisfied they are with them. Therefore, the
paper will achieve the following objectives:
 Assess whether lecture theatres influence the learning experience of students.
 Determine the level of importance students attach to specific building performance
parameters of lecture theatres.
 Determine how satisfied students are with each specified building performance
parameter of the lecture theatres.
 Analyse students‘ level of importance in relation to their satisfaction of the
performance parameters of the lecture theatres.

Effect of lecture theatres’ performance on the learning experience

The performance of a building relates to how a building contributes to fulfilling the
functions required by the building user (Williams, 1993). Cash (1993) posited that there
is a positive relationship between building performance and student achievement.
Several other researches, including those of Amaratunga and Baldry, 2000; Green and
Turrell, 2005; Leung and Fung, 2005; Uline and Tschannen-Moran, 2008; Bishop,
2009; and Uline et al., 2010 highlighted that the performance of educational buildings
has a significant impact on students. The brain is considered a physiological system that
can be stimulated by its physical surroundings (Chan & Petrie, 1998); hence it is
imperative that the lecture theatres in universities provide the best conditions to enhance
learning experience (Fleming & Storr, 1999).

Importance of Performance Parameters

The performance of a building is determined in relation to a number of defined

parameters (Watt, 2007). Generally, buildings are expected to meet performance
requirements such as indoor air quality, noise control, privacy, lighting comfort, spatial
comfort, thermal comfort and ergonomics because of their impact on the users (Leaman,
1995; Atkin & Brooks, 2009). Based on the works of Fleming and Storr, 1999;
Lackney, 1999; Earthman, 2004; Green and Turrell, 2005; Leung and Fung, 2005;
Bishop, 2009; and Uline et al., 2010, a number of performance parameters critical for
lecture theatre performance were identified. For this research the following performance
parameters were examined: structural safety, fire safety and exit, thermal comfort,
ventilation, acoustic control, lighting, aesthetics, and cleanliness.

The importance of these parameters to learning experience cannot be ignored. One of

the important issues concerning school building adequacy is safety (Earthman, 2004).
The absence of safety measures can lead to accidents (Lackney, 1999). Bishop (2009)

256
indicated that any inadequacy of the Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
systems can cause unnecessary distraction for students. A good HVAC system on the
other hand can improve the indoor air quality and the working productivity of (students)
end-users (Leung & Fung, 2005). It is known that the ‗sick building syndrome‘ which
may lead to respiratory illness is caused by poor indoor air quality which is a result of
poor ventilation (Lackney, 1999). Cleanliness of a building is one of the crucial
indicators of building quality (Uline & Tschannen-Moran, 2008). In fact, the ‗sick
building syndrome‘ is also linked to dust/dirt (cleanliness). Lackney (1999) and Leung
and Fung (2005) indicated that poor lighting could result in fatigue, eye strain, blurry
vision and headaches; and can also affect the mental concentration and productivity of
building users. The ability to clearly hear in the lecture theatre is crucial for student
learning (Earthman, 2004); this hearing ability is dependent on the acoustic conditions
of the lecture theatre (Lubman & Sutherland, 2001). Good lecture theatre acoustics
make learning easier, more sustained and less stressful, while excessive noise and
reverberation inhibit speech communication thereby hindering the learning process
(Lubman & Sutherland, 2001). Aesthetic relates to the sense of beauty and concerns
human emotion and sensations which are determined by colours, shapes, textures, and
unique features (Uline et al., 2009). Since aesthetics plays a critical role in ensuring a
comfortable environment (Leung & Fung, 2005), it implies that an appealing lecture
theatre has the ability to influences the students positively.

User satisfaction

The main reason for initiating maintenance is for the building users (Olanrewaju et al.,
2011). In fact building maintenance is carried out to ensure that buildings support the
needs of the users; with the aim that the users productivity and satisfaction is enhanced
(Olanrewaju, 2009). In any case, buildings are not procured for their own sake but for
the services they offer the users (Douglas, 1996). Hence meeting the satisfaction of
users is the core issue in building maintenance management. Meeting the requirements
of building users invariably affects their satisfaction, because the performance of
buildings corresponds to the users‘ satisfaction (Olanrewaju et al., 2011). Users are
unsatisfied when buildings fail to meet their needs and vice versa (Olanrewaju et al.,
2010).

Importance satisfaction analysis

Zakaria and Wan Yusoff (2011) opined that one of the main requirements to ensure the
attainment of quality university education is meeting the satisfaction of students‘.
Importance performance analysis (IPA) has been a popular tool since it was introduced
by (Martilla & James, 1977). IPA helps to identify parameters that are the most
important to the customer and have the highest impact on their satisfaction and, those
that have a low performance and needs improvement (Matzler et al., 2003). It helps an
organization to identify areas for improvement and actions for reducing the gap between
importance and satisfaction (Ainin & Hisham, 2008). In essence, IPA helps in
measuring customer satisfaction (Pezeshki et al., 2009). ‗Basically, service attributes of
high importance should have higher performance standards than service attributes of
low importance‘ (Matzler et al., 2003). Pezeshki et al. (2009) highlighted that factors
with different importance levels have varying impact on satisfying customer

257
expectations. The importance weights obtained may differ based on the existence of
different satisfaction factors as, basic, performance, and excitement factors (Matzler et
al., 2003). Although quite a number of modifications of the original IPA have been
proposed, the structure has remained the same (Sampson and Showalter, 1999). The
difference in the mean scores between importance and satisfaction is used in this study.

Research Methodology
Mixed method research approach is adopted for this study; the design is a ―case study‖.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) is used as the case for the research
study and 3 lecture theatres were selected purposively. Data was collected by means of
observation and questionnaire surveys. Structured questionnaires were issued by means
of a convenient sampling method to respondents of 3 lecture theatres to collect data on
the importance they attach to the building performance and how satisfied they are with
them. 70 questionnaires were issued; the response rate was 100%. Descriptive statistics
is used to analyse the questionnaire data. Discussion is made in relation to questionnaire
findings, observation report and the literature review. The questionnaire was distributed
in the order below:
Table 1: questionnaire distribution

Selected Theatres Status Year built Capacity % issued

LT2 Mechanical building New 2010 173 seats 28.6 (20)
ABC Lecture theatre Intermediate 1995 232 seats 42.9(30)
LT2 Business building Old 1986 104 seats 28.6(20)

Findings and Discussion

Observation of lecture theatres

LT2 Mechanical building

The LT2 in the mechanical building is built with bricks, plastered and painted with a
capacity of 173 seats. The theatre is structurally stable and has no cracks. It has 3 double
exit doors (2 in front and 1 at the rear). There are 2 fire extinguishers and 1 fire hose
reel located outside the entrance of the lecture theatre and a fire detector and fire alarm
system in the theatre. The lecture theatre has no windows, but it is installed with a
HVAC system, however the HVAC system is centrally controlled hence students are
unable to regulate it to meet desired temperature. The theatre is designed to absorb
sound; acoustic panelling is fixed at the back of the lecture theatre to absorb sound. The
theatre is also installed with a Public Address system. The lighting is adequate; all the
florescent and board lights are functioning. However, the design of the theatre does not
allow day light into the room. The theatre is usually neat and clean, the floor is finished
with carpet tiles; and the walls and ceiling are painted (purple and white respectively).

ABC Lecture Theatre

The ABC lecture theatre has a capacity of 232 seats. It is built with bricks, plastered and
painted. The theatre is structurally stable and has no cracks; it has 4 exit double doors
that are clearly indicated by exit signs (2 in front and 2 at the rear, however the rear

258
doors are usually locked during lectures). There are 2 fire extinguishers inside the
theatre and 1 outside. The lecture theatre has no windows, but it is installed with a
HVAC system, however the HVAC system is centrally controlled hence both students
and lectures are unable to regulate it to desired temperature. The theatre is designed to
absorb and transmit sound; the sides are fixed with sound absorbing boards‘ while the
rear of the theatre is rounded and covered with a carpet to absorb sound and the front
has sloping white panels that spread sound. The theatre is also installed with a Public
Address (PA) system. The lighting is adequate; all the florescent and board lights are
functioning. The theatre is usually fairly neat and clean, the floor is nicely carpeted, the
walls and ceiling are painted (light cream and white respectively) and the rear is
rounded and carpeted. Although there are no special features in the lecture theatre, the
rounded rear and shape of the front creates a sense of beauty.

LT2 Business building

The LT2 in the business building is also built with bricks, plastered and painted and has
a capacity of 104 seats. The theatre is structurally stable and has no cracks; it has 3 exit
double doors but the exit sign above the doors are not illuminated (2 at the back and 1
by the side close to the front, however the door at the side is usually locked even during
lectures). There are no fire extinguishers, no fire detector and no fire alarm in the
theatre. The lecture theatre has no windows, but it is installed with a HVAC system,
however the HVAC system is not functioning. The theatre is designed to absorb sound;
the sides and rear are fixed with sound absorbing boards (acoustic panels) and the front
has sloping white panels that spread sound. The theatre is also installed with a Public
Address (PA) system but the PA system is not functioning. The lighting is adequate; the
florescent and board lights are functioning. The theatre is sometimes not neat and clean.
The floor is carpeted and the walls and ceiling are painted in white.

Effect of lecture theatres performance to learning experience

Students were asked if the performance of lecture theatres affected their learning
experience. They responded affirmatively and in accordance with the literature; 71.4%
of them responded that the performance of lecture theatres affect their learning
experience; 18.6% responded that the performance of lecture theatres do not affect their
learning experience; while 10% were unsure hence responded ‗Don‘t know‘ (Figure 1).
The finding suggests conclusively that the performance of a lecture theatre affects the
learning experience of students. The finding of the survey is supported by the works of
Amaratunga and Baldry, 2000; Green and Turrell, 2005; Leung and Fung, 2005;
Bishop, 2009; Uline, Tschannen-Moran and Wolsey, 2009; Lavy and Bilbo, 2009; and
Uline et al., 2010. Since the performance of lecture theatres affect learning experience,
it becomes imperative to provide a positive stimulating lecture theatre that will stimulate
and enhance the learning process.

259
 Response Frequency Percent

Yes 50 71.4%
No 13 18.6%
Don‘t know 7 10%

Total 70 100%

Figure 1: effect of lecture theatres‘ performance on learning experience

Importance of Performance Parameters

There is an array of parameters that impact on the whole performance of a lecture

theatre. Students were requested to rate how important specific building performance
parameters of the lecture theatre were to their learning experience using a 5-point Likert
scale where 1= not relevant; 2= unimportant; 3= neutral; 4= important; and 5= very
important. Table 2 shows that, the mean scores obtained were in the range of 4.35
(highest) and 3.59 (lowest). With the exception of aesthetics (3.59) all the other
performance parameters obtained a mean score higher than 4.0. The differences
between the mean scores were relatively close. Essentially, students regard all the
performance parameters including aesthetics as important to their learning experience.
More than 70% of the students responded in the range of important and very important
for all the performance parameters except aesthetics; the standard deviations are a
confirmation that the response was concentrated. This finding affirms the literature and
the previous finding. Horner et al. (1997) posited that items whose failure affects health,
safety, environment or utility are significant items; the finding also supports this
supposition. Certainly, all these parameters are significant.

Table 2: Importance of performance parameter to learning experience

Performance Not Unimport Neutral Important Very

Mean
Total

parameters relevant ant important

Dev.
Std.

N % N % N % N % N %

Ventilation 0 0.0 3 4.4 6 8.8 23 33.8 36 52.9 68 4.35 0.82

Structural safety 0 0.0 2 2.9 5 7.2 33 47.8 29 42.0 69 4.29 0.73
cleanliness 1 1.4 2 2.9 9 12.9 27 38.6 31 44.3 70 4.21 0.88
Thermal comfort 0 0.0 3 4.4 11 16.4 25 36.8 29 42.6 68 4.18 0.86
Lighting 0 0.0 1 1.4 15 21.7 27 39.1 26 37.7 69 4.13 0.80
Fire safety & exit 1 1.4 2 2.9 18 25.7 17 24.3 32 45.7 70 4.10 0.98
Acoustic control 0 0.0 5 7.1 10 14.3 30 42.9 25 35.7 70 4.07 0.89
Aesthetics 1 1.4 4 5.8 28 40.6 25 36.2 11 15.9 69 3.59 0.88

260
 Students’ satisfaction level of lecture theatre performance

Students were asked to rate how satisfied they are with each performance parameter of
the lecture theatres with a 5-point Likert scale where 1=very unsatisfied; 2= unsatisfied;
3=neutral; 4=satisfied; and 5=very satisfied (Table 3). They were requested to provide
comments in connection with their satisfaction with the specified performance
parameters. The outstanding concern among all the lecture theatres was the HVAC
system which students opined was either not functioning or not functioning effectively.
Students also raised concerns about the cleanliness of the lecture theatres; they felt the
lecture theatres were not always clean. Some students were highly disappointed with
fire and exit safety because of the absence of fire extinguishers and the fact that exit
doors were locked.

Table 3: Satisfaction of performance parameter to learning experience

Performance Very Un Neutral satisfied Very

Mean
Total
parameters unsatisfied satisfied satisfied

Dev.
Std.
N % N % N % N % N %
Structural safety 0 0.0 6 8.6 26 37.1 27 38.6 11 15.7 70 3.61 0.86
Lighting 0 0.0 7 10.0 29 41.4 21 30.0 13 18.6 70 3.57 0.91
Cleanliness 4 5.7 6 8.6 23 32.9 26 37.1 11 15.7 70 3.49 1.05
Acoustic control 1 1.4 10 14.3 20 28.6 33 47.1 6 8.6 70 3.47 0.90
Fire safety & exit 5 7.1 13 18.6 23 32.9 21 30.0 8 11.4 70 3.20 1.10
Aesthetics 2 2.9 12 17.6 31 45.6 19 27.9 4 5.9 68 3.16 0.89
Ventilation 4 5.8 15 21.7 24 34.8 21 30.4 5 7.2 69 3.12 1.02
Thermal comfort 6 8.6 16 22.9 18 25.7 24 34.3 6 8.6 70 3.11 1.12

The mean scores obtained suggest that students were satisfied with two of the
parameters which were structural safety and lighting. It was evident from the
observation that the lecture theatres are structurally stable and the lighting is adequate.
The mean score obtained for the remaining parameters suggest a feeling of neutrality.
The two least satisfying parameters were thermal comfort and ventilation; it is not a
surprise because the observation revealed that the HVAC system was either not
functioning or not functioning effectively. Students were particularly worried about fire
and exit safety because some exit doors of some lecture theatres were always locked
even during lectures; this is confirmed by the observations. Students also felt the lecture
theatres were not always clean; the observations made revealed that two of the theatres
were sometimes unclean, hence confirming the concerns of the students.

Importance-Satisfaction Relationship

It is evident from Figure 2 that respondents perceived the satisfaction of all parameters
as below their level of importance. The degree of difference demonstrated however
varies. From the gap scores between the means, it is obvious that the maintenance
department needs to work harder to achieve better satisfaction results for ventilation,

261
thermal comfort, fire safety and exit and cleanliness. These parameters have high gap
scores indicating big variations between importance and satisfaction. The maintenance
department needs to critical consider ventilation and thermal comfort (HVAC system)
since the gap difference is more than - 1.0. On the other hand, aesthetics, lighting and
structural safety obtained the lowest gap scores suggesting that the current performance
levels are satisfactory, even though they are below student‘s satisfaction.

Figure 2: Importance satisfaction relationship

Conclusions and Recommendations

Maintenance is vital in ensuring that a lecture theatre continues to function as expected
over its life cycle. A lecture theatre‘s performance is dependent on how maintenance is
done. The performance of lecture theatres does impact on the learning experience of
students. And the performance of a lecture theatre is determined in relation to a number
of defined parameters. Evidently, all the performance parameters are considered
important in terms of their effect on learning experience. Meeting the satisfaction of
students‘ is one of the main requirements to ensure the attainment of quality university
education. IPA, one of the effective tools for analysing the relationship between
importance and satisfaction was used in this study. The findings of this study show that
students perceived the satisfaction of all parameters as below their level of importance.
Parameters needing critical consideration include; ventilation, thermal comfort, fire
safety and exit and cleanliness. These parameters have high gap scores indicating big
variations between importance and satisfaction. The gap scores of aesthetics, lighting,
acoustic control and structural safety suggests that the current performance levels are
tolerable, though they are below student‘s satisfaction. Thus, it can be argued that to
guarantee safety, the maintenance department is encouraged to ensure that all the exit
doors in the lecture theatres are opened during lectures; and the maintenance department
is encouraged to pay critical attention to the HVAC systems in the lecture theatres.

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264
 Marketing Strategy and Small and Medium-Sized
Construction Companies: Establishing their Strength
of Affiliation
GC Tucker1, AO Windapo2 and KS Cattell3
123
Department of Construction Economics and Management,
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Email: cyriltucker07@yahoo.com, Abimbola.Windapo@uct.ac.za,
Keith.Cattell@uct.ac.za

Abstract:
This paper investigates the marketing strategy, level and strength of affiliation of small
and medium-sized construction firms with industry stakeholders that bring about their
competitive advantage. The paper examines whether construction companies are
strongly affiliated to clients, consultants, suppliers and sub-contractors. The study
employs a descriptive survey approach and a combination of convenience and snowball
sampling techniques to obtain data from 35 building and civil engineering construction
companies who are registered in Grades 2-6 on the Construction Industry Development
Board (cidb) contractor grading register. Data was collected through semi-structured
interviews incorporating closed and open-ended questions. The data collected shows
that the construction companies have strong affiliation with clients and was rated the
highest in job acquisition strategies followed by affiliation with consultants. The
reliability of the data collected depends on the openness of these cohorts of respondents.
Furthermore, the study result cannot be generalized due to the limited sample size. The
strength of affiliation of small and medium sized construction firms with industry
stakeholders that bring about their competitive advantage is not known which is
essential for their corporate performance. The findings of this research will therefore be
of significance to researchers and members of the research community, in providing
new knowledge and also to contractors when networking with construction industry
stakeholders.
Keywords: Competitive advantage, Construction firms, Marketing, South Africa

Introduction
This paper examines the level and strength of affiliation of small and medium-sized
construction companies with construction industry stakeholders and how networking
contributes to their competitive advantage. The increasingly global nature of markets
and economic activities has resulted in the increasing complexities of competition
among construction companies generally. It has been validated by previous research that
small and medium-sized construction companies engage in marketing in terms of
networking but the form in which this networking takes is not fully understood
(Alvarez, Marin & Fonfria, 2009; O‘Donnell, 2004). However, networking is
increasingly recognized to be a critical factor for firm growth (Neergaard, Shaw &
Carter, 2002). Networking traditionally is described as a cunning inception,
sustainability of interpersonal connections for the purpose of commercial gain or an
activity in which owners of construction firms build and manage personal relationships
with particular individuals in their environment to gain market share (O‘Donnell, 2004),

265
set of actors and some set of relationships that link them (Hoang & Antoncic, 2003), act
as a conduit for information and improve possibilities of success and survival (Jack,
Moult, Anderson & Dodd, 2010). Colloquially networking is described as a verb, which
deals with the initiation and sustenance of interpersonal connections for business gain
(O‘Donnell, 2004). In this paper, networking and affiliation will be used
interchangeably.

O‘Donnell (2004) described the strength of network in which construction firms

engaged to enhance their performance as the frequent use of the relationship based on
its level of maturity, degree of trust and the nature of past experience between the two
parties. O‘Donnell (2004) further describe strong ties as relationships on which business
owners can rely on, and weak ties are described as superficial or causal relationship in
which people basically have little emotional investment. Networking is believed to play
a vital role in company development, adding value to business activities and gaining
competitive advantage (Gilmore, Carson, Grant, O‘Donnell, Langley & Pickett, 2006),
and is mostly used by construction firms to break through complicated markets and
provides understanding of inter-organizational relationships and business relationship
with key players in the network arena (Olkonnen, Tikkanen & Alajoutsijarvi, 2000), and
also to survive in a dynamic climate with larger competitors.

Shaw (1999) noted that a popular approach by which previous researchers understood
construction firms marketing strategy is by examining the network in which they are
engaged. However, the impact and extent of networking and the level and strength of
affiliation of construction companies in South Africa with other industry stakeholders
that brings about their competitive advantage is not known (Coviello, 2005). This paper
therefore, examines whether clients, consultants, suppliers and sub-contractors as
industry stakeholders to whom the construction companies are strongly affiliated
enhances their competitive advantage. The paper reports an initial pilot study conducted
to test the validity of the questionnaire. First of all, pertinent literature on strategies used
by construction companies to assess work, key players in a construction network and the
relationship between the strategies used by construction companies and corporate
performance are reviewed. Finally, the paper discusses the research findings and its
contribution to construction company performance and growth, which will be the
subject of further research.

Overview of Marketing Strategies used by Construction Companies

Past research has validated that construction firms have both formal and informal
network relationships with industry stakeholders in the construction industry (Ritter,
Wilkinson & Johnston, 2003). Business networking/relationship can be described as a
collaboration of a firm with a strategic actor to form strong and extensive service that
enhances the firm‘s performance (Chell & Baines, 2000). Korkmaz and Messner (2008)
identified marketing strategy as a key business performance factor. Empirical studies
undertaken by Rush, Bessant, and Hobday (2007), Zahra and George (2002), Bakar,
Razak, Yusof, and Karim (2011), De Haan, Voordijk, and Joosten (2002), Zollo and
Winter (2002), Eisenhardt and Martin (2000), Perry (2006), Chidiac (2006), Coutu and
Kauffman (2009) and Brumwell and Reynolds (2006), provide a steady stream of
evidences that support a positive correlation between marketing strategy philosophy and

266
networking of construction companies and their corporate performance. However,
scholars such as Smyth (2009) have argued that an increase in market share yields
decrease in profitability and that capacity alone could not enhance firms‘ performance.
These scholars agree on several variables like technical and managerial skills of
companies, maintaining high quality product, profitability, market share and good
financial backing as significant factors responsible for firms‘ performance and growth
and their lack will result in firms‘ failure. Watson (2011) noted that networking is
somehow difficult for emerging contractors due to limited experience and knowledge in
the industry in which they operate. This study argues that construction firms that are
performing and enlarging in operations must have acquired specific advantages and
resources through market strategies and the level of their affiliation with construction
industry stakeholders like clients, which enables them to be more competitive and
perform at higher levels when compared to their counterparts in the construction
industry who have not acquired these (Day, 2000).

Key Players in Construction Networking

According to Gilmore et al. (2006), network team basically comprises those that might
provide specific service or support or from whom service or support is expected. Ritter,
Wilkinson, and Johnston (2003) opined that key players in construction business
networking are mostly clients, consultants/architects, suppliers, and other contractors.
Marketing network done by construction firms encapsulates managing and expanding
their marketing activities (Chell & Baines, 2000). Firms network with various
organizations or individual because they directly or indirectly affect their production
and the firm‘s ability to deliver value to the client, thereby enhancing its corporate
performance (Chell & Baines, 2000). The survival/performance and growth of firms
depends on the ability of the firm to network with other players in the industry. The key
player in construction networking in this research effort refer to individuals or firms
(Figure 1) that promote the interest of the construction firm for acquisition of job for
continuous operations and thereby enhancing performance in the industry (Chell &
Baines, 2000).

Figure 1: Key Players in a Construction Companies‘ Network

(Source: Ritter et al., 2003)

267
Level of Networking by Construction Firms
The relationship that exists between firms and construction industry stakeholders
depends on the level of trust between them (O‘Donnell, 2004). The range of
relationship a firm participates in represents its relationship portfolio which may include
but not limited to suppliers, customers and colleague contractors, clients, consultants,
architects (Ritter, 1999). The effectiveness of the network established depends on the
capabilities of the actors as well as the working relationships existing between the
clients and construction companies. Previous research also shows that a company‘s
relationships are intertwined with other players. According to O‘Donnell (2004), the
level of relationship established by a firm could either be a strong or weak tie. Strong
ties generate new information and fresh perspectives to create and explore business
chances of growth and development whilst weak ties or relationship may be of short
duration with less impact on business performance. Companies/individuals linked by
strong ties trust each other because they share information in common (O‘Donnell,
2004). Networking relationship as proposed by sociologists (Ayvari & Jyrama, 2007),
describe the players as individuals and relationships between them and the structures as
the interaction roles of the persons and relationships between these roles, which
continuously and simultaneously play a significant part in trust building.

Methodology

The rational for the examination is based on the high failure rate of small and medium
sized construction companies in South Africa (Windapo & Cattell, 2011) and on the
premise that the impact and extent of networking and the level and strength of affiliation
of construction companies in South Africa with other industry stakeholders that brings
about their competitive advantage is not known (Coviello, 2005). This research effort
adopted questionnaire and interview approach as data collection instrument. The
complete questionnaire was divided into three sections; work category of respondents,
work designation of respondents and perception of the respondents regarding factors of
contract procurement. Firstly, the respondents were asked to indicate their work
category as well as their work designation and lastly, the respondents were also asked to
rate the strength of their affiliation with industry stakeholders on a five point Likert-type
scale from very poor to excellent.
A purposive but convenient and snowball sampling technique was used for data
collection. Sampling in this research effort describes a specimen or part of a whole of
the population under survey which would reflect the characteristic of the remaining
population. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling techniques was used
in identifying the study sample (Naoum, 2007). The sample size of the study was
limited to grade two to six building and civil engineering contractors because these
grades of contractors are often used in contractor training and development programmes
on government housing projects in South Africa and also form the major contributors to
infrastructure delivery in the construction industry. All potential participants were
contacted by telephone to invite them to take part in the study. The survey questionnaire
was emailed to one hundred (100) participants who agreed to participate in the study.
The study was carried out between July and September 2012 (a ten week period) at the
end of which 35 valid responses were collected. This represents an overall response rate
of 35%. Participants who did not complete the survey via email were reminded

268
intermittently via phone calls. A descriptive and multi-attribute methods and rank
correlation was used in analysing the data collected (Chang & Ive, 2002), which is
deemed by Mbachu and Nkado (2007) as appropriate for quantitative and qualitative
research data and questions. In order to rate the strength of affiliation between the
contractor and the various construction industry stake holders, a relative important
index was computed with a minimum value of 0, and a maximum value of 4.
The study is limited to the identification of the strength of affiliation that exists between
construction firms and construction industry stakeholders that enhances their corporate
performance and competitiveness. Strength therefore refers to the competitive
advantages and performances, which can be explored by the firm in the market.
Weaknesses on the other hand, are limitations, which hinder the progress of a company
in a certain direction. In order to rate the strength of affiliation between the contractor
and the various construction industry stake holders, a relative important index with a
minimum value of 0, and a maximum value of 4 was assigned to very poor, poor,
average, good and excellent affiliation with each identified construction industry
stakeholder.
The important index was calculated using the formula.

Relative Importance Index (RII) =

Where: n1, n2, n3, n4 and n5 = Excellent, Good, Average, Poor and Very Poor respectively.

Findings and discussion of results

The data collected in the study are presented in the following sub-sections: Table 1
shows that 22 civil engineering contractors responded which gives 62.86% of the
percentage responses, 4 general building contractors responded which gives a
percentage response rate as 11.43, 7 civil engineering and general building contractors
responses were received which gives the percentage response rate as 20% and 2 civil
and M&E contractors responded which also gives a percentage response rate as 5.71%.
The overall responses received were 35 out of the 100 questionnaires sent to
participants which give 35% of the total responses. Idrus and Newman (2002) consider
any questionnaire in the range of 20% to 30% responses to be adequate and valid for
research in construction industry.

Work Category of Respondents

The work categories of the respondents‘ company in the study are presented in Table 1.
Table 1 shows that a considerable number of the respondents are highly placed
individuals in the organisations in which they work. 80% of the respondents are owners
or directors in the companies studied. This implies that the information provided by this
cohort of respondents is reliable and valid.

269
 Table 1: Work Category of Respondents‘ Company
Work Category No. of Respondents Percentage (%)
Civil Engineering Contractors 22 62.9
General Building Contractors 4 11.4
Mechanical Engineering Contractors 0 0.0
Electrical Engineering Contractors 0 0.0
Civil Engineering and General Building Contractors 7 20.0
Civil, Building and M&E contractors 2 5.7

Work Designation of Respondents

Table 2 presents the work designation of respondents used in the study. Table 2 shows
that the respondents are highly placed in the organisations in which they work. This
implies that the information provided by this cohort of respondents will be reliable and
valid.
Table 2: Work Designation of Respondents

Respondents’ Work Designation No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

Owner 20 57.1
Director 8 22.9
Management Staff 5 14.3
Technical Staff 2 5.7

Highest Rand Value Contract Companies have received

It emerged from the study that the highest Rand value contract received by the
companies studied ranged from R200 000.00 to R10m, which implies that the
companies surveyed in the research effort are active in the construction industry and
have been able to get work that is commensurable to their Grade on the cidb Contractor
Register.

Perception of Respondents Regarding the Factors which Assist Contract

Procurement
This research effort is aimed to gain an understanding in the perception of contractors
regarding the factors which assisted them in procuring contracts. Data collected in this
regard is presented in Table 3.
From a ranking perspective (Table 3), it emerged from the study that contractor
affiliation with clients is perceived by the contractors as a key factor to assist their
contract procurement efforts, followed by the contractors‘ capacity in terms of plant and
equipment and contractors affiliation with consultants. Conversely, this research effort
shows that contractors perceive that their affiliation with suppliers and contractors/sub-
contractors is the least factor that assists their contract procurement efforts.

270
 Table 3: Level of Impact of Factors Perceived to Assist Contract Procurement

Rating of Respondents’ RII Rank

Factors Perception – frequency
None Low……….…..Very High
Contractors‘ affiliation with clients 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.0 14.0 3.40 1

Contractors‘ Capacity (Plant) 0.0 4.0 12.0 17.0 2.0 2.91 2

Contractors‘ affiliation with consultants 0.0 0.0 11.0 19.0 5.0 2.83 3

Contractors‘ affiliation with suppliers 0.0 0.0 12.0 17.0 6.0 2.83 3

Contractors‘ Tender Value 0.0 0..0 11.0 16.0 8.0 2.49 4

Contractors Experience 0.0 11.0 13.0 7.0 4.0 2.11 5

Contractors‘ affiliation with other contractors 0.0 12.0 16.0 7.0 0.0 1.86 6

Strength of Affiliation of Construction Companies with Industry Stakeholders

Table 4 shows the strength of affiliation of construction companies in the study with
industry stakeholders
Table 4: Strength of Affiliation of Construction Companies with Industry Stakeholders

Rating of Respondents’ Perception - RII Rank

Industry Stakeholder Frequency
Very Poor………..…………………..Excellent
Clients 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.0 14.0 3.40 1
Consultants 0.0 0.0 11.0 19.0 5.0 2.80 2
Suppliers 0.0 0.0 12.0 17.0 6.0 1.87 3
Other Contractors/Sub-Contractors 0.0 12.0 16.0 7.0 0.0 1.86 4

Table 4 indicates that from a ranking perspective, construction firms have very strong
affiliations with their clients which were ranked first with an RII of 3.40, followed
distantly by consultants, suppliers and other contractors/sub-contractors affiliation with
RIIs of 2.80, 1.87 and 1.86 respectively. It reveals that contracting firms rely more
heavily on clients‘ affiliation as a marketing strategy for use in job procurement and
increases in market share.

271
 Figure 2: Average Strength of Affiliation of Construction Companies with Industry Stakeholders

Figure 2 shows the network and average strength of affiliation that exists between
construction firms surveyed and industry stake holders and the relative factors perceived
to assist contract procurement. The research effort reveals that the average small and
medium sized construction company is more affiliated to their clients with an average
rating of 4.34, than with consultants and suppliers with average ratings of 3.82
respectively and sub-contractors/other contractors with average ratings of 2.86. This
research effort also indicates that the level of network achieved by the contractors
surveyed is higher with clients. Furthermore, Figure 2 also shows that the contractors
perceive that clients are in a better position to assist them in project procurement than
all other construction industry stakeholders, and these might explain their strength of
affiliation with the clients.

Conclusions and Further Research

This study provides insights into the marketing strategy of small and medium sized
construction firms based on their affiliation with construction industry stakeholders. It
can be concluded that small and medium sized contractors tend to build strong
affiliations with their clients which gives them repeat business, experience and
inadvertently enhances their corporate performance (Bakarr et al., 2011). Literature
validates that repeat business gives experience which enhances a company‘s
performance (Bakarr et al., 2011). This research effort reports the pilot study of an on-
going research into the impact of networking strategy of small and medium sized
contractors on their corporate performance. Further research to test the relationship
between the level and type of affiliation achieved by the construction companies with
industry stakeholders and the company‘s corporate performance will be the basis of
future studies.

272
Limitation of the research
The finding of this research was focussed only on building and civil engineering
contractors in Grade 2 to 6 on the cidb Contractor Register. Furthermore, the research
was limited to two provinces – Guateng and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
The findings of the research may not be generalizable to the total population of small
and medium sized contracting companies in South Africa due to the smallness of the
sample size and the limited number of provinces surveyed. The findings and
conclusions are also limited to the quality of the responses on the salient information
relating to the research questions given by the respondents in the study.

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful and thankful to the firms that participated in the study and also
acknowledge the input, instructive and helpful feedback from two anonymous
reviewers.

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 Development of a Conceptual Framework for
Electronic Document and Record Management System
(EDRMS) for Small and Medium Building
Construction Firms
AD Abdul‘Azeez1, YM Ibrahim2, CO Egbu3, K Bala4 and IK Zubairu5
1245
Faculty of Environmental Design,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
Email: engraazeez@gmail.com, balakabir@yahoo.com
3
School of the Built EEnvironment,
University of Salford, United Kingdom
Email: C.O.Egbu@salford.ac.za

Abstract:
This paper is concerned with the status of records management and its practice among
small and medium sized construction firms in Nigeria. It examines the challenges in the
implementation of the record management practice by the firms. The research adopted a
combination of methodologies using both quantitative and qualitative techniques
together with a literature review to identify challenges that hinders the efficient
implementation of record management practice. The questionnaires were designed to
ascertain the status of records management in building construction firms providing a
snapshot study that served as a diagnosis of the problem, whilst the latter technique
provided a prescription that offered solutions to the underlying problems embracing the
discipline. From the findings, storage space, filing system, searching and security of
records constitute the major challenges the building construction firms faced in
implementing efficient record management system, while high cost of database record
management software and the technical skills required to operate these database systems
constitute the problem of embracing the available information technology (IT) facilities
by these firms in the record management practice. To address these problems, a
conceptual framework for electronic document and record management system
(EDRMS) was developed on which to base an appropriate technique for developing an
affordable and user-friendly computer prototype EDRMS that will enhance building
construction records management practices.

Keywords:
Conceptual Framework, Electronic Document and Record Management System, Record
Management, Small and Medium Building Construction Firms

Introduction
According to Cox (2006), records play a crucial role in most human endeavours and
they are essential to many of our business and social interactions. The introduction of
computers in the middle of the twentieth century affected the role of record keeping in
underpinning effective administration and businesses operations as organisations were

276
beguiled by the impressive characteristics of digital technology, particularly in the
creation, storage and retrieval of information along with apparently reliable security
features. It is essential for organisations to have reliable record keeping systems for their
sustainability, particularly for censorship and retention policies, intelligence, security
and intellectual property purposes.

In spite of its importance, Thurston et al. (1996) discovered a pattern of inadequate

records management systems and argue that the situation is endemic. They observed
that poor records systems have serious consequences for both government and citizens
and affect governments' ability to manage resources effectively and to comply with
international conventions. The knowledge contained within the construction-based
records must be captured into the organizations or project memory if it is to be shared
amongst the wider team (Beastall, 1998).

Other problems associated with the record management practice in the building
construction firms, particularly in Nigeria, are the use of EDMRS facilities. Even
though there exist several of these facilities such as, IBM, Laserfiche, Oracle,
Microsoft-Share Point, WatchDox, etc. (Capterra, 2012). Most of these building firms
are not aware of these applications, while some avoid its use because of high cost in
obtaining it, wider technical skills needed to operate the system and high cost of training
personnel that can use the applications.

The aim of this research paper is therefore to develop a conceptual framework of the
EDMRS for managing records in small and medium building construction firms with a
view to enhancing project records management practices, and the objective is to capture
the requirements for EDRM system and to identify the challenges associated with the
traditional form of project records management and how they influence management
practices in small and medium building construction firms.

Literature Review Perspective on Document and Record

‗Document‘ and ‗record‘ are terms that are frequently used interchangeably. An
understanding of these terms is essential to facilitate the capture of records that are
judicial evidence of organisations. The International Records Management Trust
(IRMT) defines a ‗document‘ as a unit of recorded information, while for the
International Standard Organisation (ISO, 2001), is defined as recorded information or
object, which can be treated as a unit. The similarity of these definitions that embrace
documents and records supports smooth administrative and business operations.

Building Construction Project Records

According to the literature, the extent of record keeping required for a particular
construction job will depend on the type of contract. However, some record keeping
would be required in any case because it is: Required by law; required by the terms of
the contract; needed to control the on-going work; needed as data for estimating future
work; and needed for preserving the contractor's rights under the contract. Perhaps the
best case that can be made is that, if the contractor wishes to remain profitable he must
maintain control of his on-going work, and control of on-going work requires on-going

277
records. Studies have however, shown that most of these records are poorly kept by
supervisors (Sommerville et al., 2004).

Recordkeeping, Record Keepers and Recordkeeping System

Based on the ISO 15489 (ISO, 2001), and discussion by McKemmish et al. (2005), the
writer is able to conclude that the term ‗recordkeeping‘ should be understood as
referring to the creation and maintenance of complete, accurate and reliable evidence of
business transactions in the form of recorded information. The above writers suggest
that the record keepers must fully appreciate their job and responsibilities in
recordkeeping functions and activities aimed at protecting the integrity and authenticity
of records as evidence of accountability in the electronic environment. A
"recordkeeping system" is a manual or automated system that collects, organizes, and
categorizes records, facilitating their preservation, retrieval, use, and disposition. A
recordkeeping system has four components: These include records, people, processes
and tools that will capture, organise, store, track and retrieve the records.

Records Management Standard

ISO 15489 was published in 2001 and the first ever-international standard on records
management. The Standard outlines the elements that are required for good records
management – appropriate policy, assigned responsibility, understanding of the
environment and records management principles, design and implementation of records
system, use of processes to support records systems, monitoring and training. At the
core of the standard is a process for design and implementation of the record system
(Dan, 2002).

Consequently, many organisations tend to ignore the evidence that organisations

without records management programmes are at risk. Hare and McLeod (1997) reported
that, for organisations without records management programmes, 40 per cent of those
that suffer a disaster go out of business within a year; 43 per cent never reopen; and 29
per cent cease business within two years. When a records management system works
well, the information contained in records can be readily retrieved. The disposal of
unneeded records and the retention of valuable information can be managed effectively,
and space, facilities, and resources can be used efficiently and economically.

Benefits of EDRMS
Streamlining business processes and increasing efficiency are fundamental concerns for
any organisation, regardless of size or sector. In today‘s increasingly-strict regulatory
environment, compliantly managing documents and records of all types, whether paper,
electronic, audio, video or email, takes significant time and money that could better be
spent achieving mission-critical objectives. By implementing document and records
management software, business owners can realize many benefits that noticeably
improve organizational efficiency. EDRMS can help organization succeed by saving
money; saving time; increasing efficiency; increasing productivity; increasing inter-
departmental and inter-organizational communication and collaboration, generating
revenue; and enabling automation.

278
A study report by Smarter (2007) showed a typical worker would take 12 minutes to
process a single document. Nine of these 12 minutes are spent searching for, retrieving
and refilling the document—meaning that only three minutes are spent actually using
the information they have found. PriceWaterhouseCoopers study reports that the
average worker spends 40% of their time managing non-essential documents, while the
IDC estimates that employees spend 20% of their day looking for information in
hardcopy documents and that, 50% of the time, they can‘t find what they need.
Laserfiche estimates a 20% timesaving based on filing and retrieval efficiencies,
eliminating misfiling and workflow efficiencies. Increased efficiency, as well as greater
staff productivity, can save up to 6,000 hours annually, or 2.4 full-time staff positions

Research Methodology
This paper is part of an on-going PhD research entitled ―Development of a Prototype
Electronic Document and Record Management System (EDRMS) for Small and
Medium Building Construction Firms‖. The PhD research employed a combination of
both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It begins by reviewing relevant literature
from journal, textbook, government publications, conference papers and research papers
to capture an understanding of record management practice. The data collected from
structured questionnaire was used to determine the EDRMS requirements and
challenges involved in the implementation of record management practice. The aim is to
gain a clearer understanding on the key concepts in order to pave the way for the
development of the conceptual framework.

A case study approach was employed in this study. Small and medium building
construction firms contracting at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria were used as
the unit of analysis for the research. This approach is chosen because is an ideal
methodology when a holistic, in-depth investigation is needed in a study of this nature.
Samples of 113 small and medium construction firms having construction activities
with the University were surveyed. The instrument for the research requested the
respondent to provide some biographical details. The questionnaire used was divided
into two sections. The first section captured the requirements of EDRMS for these firms
through examining the current trends in document and recordkeeping management
standard practice by the firms, and the second identified the challenges the firms faced
in traditional record management practice and the electronic system they used to
supplement it.

Findings and Discussion

One hundred and thirteen questionnaires were administered to the small and medium
building construction firms with the questionnaires being completed by their
representatives. Follow-up efforts were made. In the process eighty-two completed
questionnaires were received and the response rate to the questionnaire was 72.57%.
This is judged to be a high rate of response which can be attributed to the follow-up
efforts. A Descriptive statistics of data analysis using Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS VS 20) was used to analyse the returned questionnaires. The result
form the study shows that 42 firms have 0 – 9 employees (Micro), 32 firms have 10 –
99 employees (Small), while 8 firms have employees ranging from 100 – 299

279
(Medium). Thus, all the firms surveyed for the study fall under small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) category.

In order to ascertain the requirement for the proposed EDRMS, the study examined the
current trends in documents and record keeping management standard being practiced
by the surveyed firms, and the standard requirements set-up by ISO 15489 was adopted
as a guide. The result shows only 22 (26.8%) respondents are adopting a particular
standard in managing records, while the remaining 60 (73.2%) respondents admitted
they do not use any standard in managing their records. Out of this only 2 (2.4%) firms
adopt ISO 15489 standards in managing their project records, while none of the firms
are using standard established by Australian Government, AS 4390. Respondents using
their own standard in managing records account to 20 (24.4%), while 60 (73.2%)
admitted for not using any standard in managing records in their firms. The lack of
proper standard methods in managing records could therefore affect the smooth running
of these firms.

With respect to maintaining records, the result shows that all respondents (100%)
reported that they maintained a collection of project records relating to the
organisation‘s building construction activities. This was determined to be an indication
that all the surveyed firms attached a degree of the importance to maintaining project
records to enable them to carry out their business activities. Figure 4.1 and 4.2 shows it
appears that the staff assigned to manage the firm‘s records are unlikely to have
received appropriate professional training in records management. The inconsistency in
the data obtained indicates that in some firms, more than one person is given the
responsibility to take charge of their records. This data also implies that there is no
strong correlation between post designated and qualification of personnel employed to
handle the firm‘s records. Again, it infers that firms are not clear about what constitute
records management. The general perception they have is that any personnel can handle
records. This is confirmed when 59.8% of the firms answered that personnel handling
their records are without appropriate qualification.

Fig. 4.1 Designated title of person responsible Fig. 4.2 Trained personel responsible for
for firm's project records firm's project records

280
Figures 4.3 and 4.4 shows more than half of the respondents (57.3%) reported that the
firms records are not stored in a cental location, they were scattered. None have records
in a single central store, this indicate that most firms surveyed are ignorant of one of the
major benefits of a records management system, namely removing records from
relatively expensive to relatively cheap accommodation. The expected correlation
between the persons responsible for records and their locations was not evident from the
responses to this findings. Secondly it shows that respondents are unable to rationalise
the importance of setting up a central location (i.e. a records centre) to accommodate
their inactive records on the grounds of costs of records centre storage against office
storage.

Figure 4.3: Locations where project records are kept Figure 4.4: Responses regarding the presence of a
record management programme policy

Challenges of Traditional Records Management in Small and Medium Building

Construction Firms
The result shows that all respondents (100%) reported facing some challenges in using
traditional (paper) form of record management. This indicates that the surveyed firms
have some degree of the problems pertaining to maintaining records, and thus, affecting
the general performance of these firms.

Figure 4.5 shows the most frequent challenges facing the surveyed building construction
firms is the large storage space required to manage paper records. This shows that the
volume of records that can be stored using the traditional record management system
(TRMS) is a serious challenge, because as the volume of records increase, so also does
the physical space required storing them. Time consuming for searching and filing
records scored 52% each from the respondents‘ point of view. Almost 50% of the
respondents have security challenges in managing their records. This is an indication
unauthorised personnel could gain access to the organisations‘ records. Records loss due
to natural disaster, like, fire outbreak scored 44%. TRMS is slow and expensive (32%);
difficulty in locating records is 30%. Limited user access, where multiple users at
different work station cannot access the same data simultaneously ranked 29%. The
least challenge reported by the respondents is where records are misfiled, this scored
only 4%.

281
 Figure 4.5: Summary of challenges in traditional record management system

Conceptual Framework of the EDRM System

To develop the conceptual framework, the findings from this study were used to
develop the conceptual framework for the proposed EDRM system as shown in Figure
4.6. The framework captured the requirements for the EDRM system and addressed the
various challenges the firms face in using TRMS such storage space, searching,
retrieval, information sharing and security of the records. The security arrangement was
created into two sections. The first section is for the administrator, who would be
responsible in managing the firm‘s records. This is to comply with one of the ISO
requirements, which states that for proper record management, there should be a trained
personnel assigned to be in charge of organisation‘ record management. The second
section is provided for authorised users permitted by the organisation to have access to
the stored records in the database. Both administrator and users are required to have a
username and password before getting access to the database records.

Conclusions and Further Research

Given the bulk of information associated with construction projects, formal organisation
of the information is essential so as to avoid chaos. With the events of microcomputer
database managers, it is possible to develop formal computerized database for
organisations to manage records. Equivalent organisation of information for manual
manipulation is possible but tedious. Computer based information systems would
therefore have a significant advantage to play in rapid retrieval of information for
immediate use and in most instances lower overall costs of running the business. The
conceptual framework developed in this study when translated to a computer system
would go a long way in addressing most challenging issues in record management
practice being experienced by small and medium building construction firms. It is
therefore recommended for further research, that the framework developed in this paper
could be used to provide a guide towards developing a computer prototype electronic
document and record management system (EDRMS) that will ensure effective and
efficient record management practice by small and medium construction firms.

282
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Figure 4.6: Conceptual framework of the EDRM system

285