ABSTRACT
Construction industry has complexity in it nature because it contains large number of parties such as clients, consultants and contractors. The factors that influence construction management practice differ from country to country, due to prevailing conditions. The objective of this project is to identify factors that influence construction management practice in Nigeria construction industry and elicit perceptions/ranking of the severity using relative importance index of the various factors. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to generate a set of factors believed to influence construction management practice in Nigeria. A questionnaire survey was conducted and fifty-seven (57) factors were identified, grouped into nine (9) categories, evaluated and ranked from the construction actors perspectives. 108 questionnaires was produced and distributed to the key construction actors as follows: 45 to contractors, 33 to consultants and 30 to clients. Out of these questionnaires distributed, 92 were received (85%) as follows: 40(88.9%) from contractors, 28(84.8%) from consultants and 24(80%) from clients as respondents. They nine categories considered in this research work are as follows: quality management during design, quality management during construction, construction management techniques used in practice, economic policy, management style, socio-political consideration, motivation of staff, obstacles facing construction management practice and benefits of applying construction management tools in practice.
The enlarged features included those from both previous Nigerian studies and other related international studies represented in the literature. The degree of agreement between parties regarding the ranking of factors was determined according to Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance and the survey findings indicate from three target groups (contractors, consultants and clients) agree that the most important factors that influence management of construction projects are as follows: conflicting design information, effective co-ordination of resources, critical path method, materials availability, setting timeliness, civil strife of riots, sense of belonging & identification with the project team, lack of construction management knowledge and known work progress.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background
The construction sector in Nigeria plays an important role in the development of our nation’s economy. The construction industry is said to have contributed about half of the total stock of fixed capital investment in the Nigeria economy (Olaloku, 1987). During the last decades, the Nigerian construction sector has experienced some rapid changes and advancement in construction practices as well as the management of the construction works.
Many definitions have been given to Construction Management by different authors due to the fact that it has different meaning from different perspective and orientation in the engineering profession.
The term construction is no longer limited only to the physical activities involving men, materials and machinery but covers the entire gamut of activities from conception to realization of a construction project (Gahlot, 2002). While management is a social process by which a co-operative group (superiors) directs the action of others (subordinates) towards accomplishing a common goal (Drucker,
1999).
Construction projects in Nigeria are worth Billions of Naira, it is of great importance that construction management practice is given great attention, including the best practice methods of construction and it challenges. Moreover, construction management makes adequate provision of necessary leadership and motivates employees to complete their tasks within a particular time frame.
Serious concerns has been expressed about construction projects which have not been delivered in various parts of the country after huge financial mobilizations has been made. The practice of construction management requires appropriate skills and techniques that go beyond technical expertise only. It encompasses good and sound management skills to manage resources within the budget, monitor the progress of work, prepare job schedule and unpredicted outcomes, while at the same time dealing with people and organizational issues (Abbasi & Al-Mharmah, 2000). The application of construction management practice is an efficient approach which would aid in improving management
capabilities and enable the construction sector to efficiently deliver projects and attain developmental objectives (Arnaboldi, 2004).
The need for professionalism in the practice of construction management assumes special significance in order to ensure that the huge resources invested in the construction industry are deployed efficiently for the benefits of Nigerians (Gahlot, 2002). The application of modern construction management method in practice has a great effect in the construction sector. In Nigeria, the practice of construction management has not been well defined; this resulted in failure by contractors in performing their duties concerning the budget, specifications and deadlines of project awarded. However, when practiced efficiently it would result in tangible benefits in all aspects of planning, scheduling, monitoring the time, cost and specification of the project.
In the practice of construction management, experience, quality of the materials used in the project will be of great importance amongst others. According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 8402, 1994), Quality can be defined as the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its inability to satisfy stated or implied needs (Project Management Institute, 2000). The special conditions affecting the project are reflected during the planning and organizing stage of the construction to ensure that quality is fully built in even before the actual construction takes off (Idike,
2004).
In construction management, the level of competency of a project manager may directly or indirectly affect the project. The information flow process determines the nature, quality and timeliness of project execution. A weak link in the process, such as lack of project management competence could adversely affect timely execution / timely completion of projects (Dainty et al., 2003). According to Cookie – Davies (2001), project management is a tool for project success; it is people who deliver projects and not processes and systems. Effective project management is a derivative of competency and authority levels.
The project will investigate how various factors influence construction management practice in Nigeria both positively and negatively, construction management tools, their challenges and proffer solutions to the challenges.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
The construction sector is the major contributor of GDP in Nigeria and in the practice of construction management there are some tools to be used to achieve the best results in project delivery. Also there are some challenges faced in the process which is of great detriment to the nation’s economy. In management of construction projects, there are factors that have great influence in management of construction projects such as quality management during design & construction, management techniques, economic policy, management style, socio-political consideration, motivation of staff and some practices concerning construction management practices such as time management, time management, safety management etc. Therefore, this research will appraise the factors affecting the management of construction projects in Nigeria in order to assist clients, consultants and contractors to overcome management problem and to improve performance of their construction projects.
1.2 Objectives of Study
The main objective of the study is to appraise construction management practices in Nigeria. The objectives of the study are as follows:
i) To investigate the level of construction management practice in Nigeria.
ii) To study and evaluate the factors that influence’s construction management practice in Nigeria. iii) To identify the factors that affect construction management practice and to examine their
relative importance.
iv) To evaluate the factors affecting construction management practice using enlarged indicators that could be related to various dimensions such as quality management during design & construction, management techniques, economic policy, management style, socio-political consideration, motivation of staff etc and hence the overall project sustainability.
1.3 Significance of Study
The Nigerian construction sector is facing some challenges in which a greater percentage of the problems are management oriented. It is therefore important to plan and ensure due process in the management of construction projects so to achieve the best practice and quality delivery of the products.
Also, this research work will enable the entire construction actors (i.e clients, contractors and consultants) to be able to appreciate the importance of best practice of construction management in Nigeria right from the design stage to the commissioning stage.
1.4 Scope of Study
i) The scope of this research is limited to construction management activities in Nigeria.
ii) The research is targeted to know how construction management is practiced and the management tools used in practice.
iii) The result will be analyzed using basic statistical method.
1.5 Limitation of study
A number of factors militated against this research work. These include: the attitude of respondents who were reluctant to provide answers to the questions asked in the questionnaire, the security challenges in some parts of the country and a study of this magnitude requires a much longer time compared with the normal academic load.
1.6 Hypothesis:
In order to know whether there is disagreement or agreement between the target groups (contractors, consultants and clients) on the ranking factors, a test of hypothesis was used.
Null Hypothesis: H0: There is a disagreement in ranking among the three groups.
Alternate Hypothesis: H1: There is no disagreement in the ranking among the three groups.
1.7 Thesis Structure:
The research consists of five main chapters as follows:
Chapter one: Introduction: This chapter shows the main objectives of work, statement of problem etc. Chapter two: Literature review: This chapter gives a historical review from previous studies
concerning construction management practice.
Chapter Three: Methodology: This chapter discusses the methodology used in this research in order to achieve the required objectives.
Chapter Four: Data Analysis: This chapter discusses as well as analysis, description and discussion of research results.
Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations. Appendix
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
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