Maintenance Task as a Responsibility of a Professional Builder

This paper begins with a broad definition of building maintenance and an overview of its importance to all and sundry. It lays emphasis on the works and services department/maintpnance sections of some of government establishments in three key states of the south western part of the country namely Oyo, Osun and Ondo. This is also drne in such a way that it cuts across all the three arms of government · Federal, State and Local via the distribution of questionnaires and direct contact with the Directors of Works and Services and heads of maintenance units of these ministries/parastatals. Fifteen government establishments were covered in each state thereby bringing the total number to forty·five and this is with a view to finding the adequacy of representation of Professional Builders in the Works and Services/Maintenance sec.tions of these parastatals as well as the negative effect which the absence of these key professionals !Builders) might bring to the development of maintenance culture in the country. The results Indicated that 25 out of the 45 Directors of Wor~s and Services interviewed representing 55.56% are civil engineers while only 4 representing 8.89% are builders and out of these just two are Corporate Members of NIOB. On the other hand, 16 out of 45 heads of departments of the maintenance units representing 35.55% are civil engineers while 8 are builders and out of these only three are Corporate Members. This paper then concludes by offering suggestion on what the government, builders' registration council and the professional builders themselves can do sq as to give maintenance work the priority it deserves as well as having adequate representation of professional builders in the government establishment

Direct Labour System of Project Execution in Nigeria: A Case Study of Osun State College of Technology,Esa-Oke

This paper reviews the activities of direct labour a pproach with particular reference to my place of work. That is, Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke. It starts by highlighting the origin of direct labour which had been in light operation since the 1930's to 1960's but which was popularised and given a full legal backing by the Sheu Shagari Administration in the late 1970's/early 1980's when the escalati o~ cost of the contracting system of project execution became a source of worry to them. The need for carrying out direct labour work is analysed,and the merits and demerits which the direct labour practice has over contract system are also fully elucidated. This is followed by the practice of direct labour in my place of work which is Osun State College of Technology , Esa-Oke and the necessary areas of improvement for the direct labour practice are laid down . Conclusion is then made by proierlng some useful sugges tions towards i n1p rove n~nt and better efficiency of the syste

The Role of Trade Unionism in a Developing Economy

This paper takes a colossal look at the function and performance of trade unionism in a developing nation with a special emphasis on West Africa as a whole and Nigeria iJ;l particular. It began with a broad definition of trade union in an ordinary sense and from a legal perspective. This was followed by a general review of the history of trade \ unionism in Nigeria and West Africa from 1912 to 1938,1938 to 1976 and 1976 to date. Some of the notable unions during the period of 1912 to 1938 were the Railway Workers' Union led by Pa M.A.O. Imoudu, the Nigerian Union of Teachers and the Nigerian Marine African Workers' Union. The unionism from 1976 to date on the other hand witnessed vibrant, radical and purposeful leaders like Hassan Sunmonu, David Ogeli, Ali Chiroma, Pascal Bafyau and Adams Oshiomhole. The paper thP.n revealed that the functions and objectives of trade unions can be classified under economics, political, educational and social activities. It was further revealed that workers nom1.ally join unions because union is better placed and stronger than the individual worker with financially and otherwise, in promoting and defending the terms and conditions of employment. The paper concluded by emphasizing that the trade unions have a vital role to play not only in the management of industrial relations but also in the progress of the community

A Comparative Study of the Time and Cost Performance of Labour-Only Subcontractors in the Construction Industry in South Western Nigeria

The main contractors are continuously involved in a process of transforming inputs (materials, labour and- capital} into outputs such as constructed faci lities but they are usually accompanied by subcontractors and financial institutions among other firms. This study therefore examined the performance of labour-only subcontractors in the Nigerian construction industry. The principal objective was to find if any significant difference exists between the time and cost performance of these speciality contractors. In achieving this objective, one hundred questionnaires were distributed to each of the four categories of respondents in the Southwestern region of Nigeria. 75, 88, 56 and 42 questionnaires were respectively filled and returned by the main contractors, labour-only subcontractors, clients and consultants in the study area. Descriptive, parametric and non parametric statistical techniques were used for the analysis. Results indicated that significant difference exists between time and cost performance of labour-only subcontractors. Their mean scores were 4.30 and 3.29 respectively. The labour subcontractor performed creditably well in project delivery (time) but there is always cost overruns when compared with the initial estimates of the projects. It was also discovered that subcontractors' time performance is sometimes at the expense of work quality as a result of the speedy execution of work at hand in order to pave way for another engagement. It is therefore suggested that project monitoring and supervision should be given a priority attention if this procurement method is to achieve its expected success

Risk Analysis and Management in Technological Project

The paper discussed the technological industry ' s perception of risk associated with its activities and the extent to which the industry uses management techniques. This was achieved on the basis of oral interviews conducted on a random sample of thirty (30) respondents comprising of technologists and contractors / suppliers in Oyo and Osun States. The results showed that though, little is relatively known about risk management among the technologists and contractors, greatest priority is still attached to financial and contractual risk respectively in the technologicaql industry. It then concluded that risk management is essential to technological activities in minimizing losses and enhancing profitability

Lightweight Concrete Elements from Burnt Palm Nut Shells

This paper investigates the characteristiCS . technology and the use of burnt palm ke.r nel shells as a replacement for aggregates 1n light weight concrete The need to find ' alternative sources to imported and expens1ve building matenals for construction led to the investigation of Qurnt palm kernel shells as a poss11;>1e substitute for some aggregates. Investigation into the physical and structural charactenSttcs of the burnt palm k.ernel shells was conducted. The paper was used concrete mi.x 1 :2:4 design. Different tests were also performed on the wet and cured light weight concrete prepared by replacing 0%. 10% and 25% of the fine and coarse aggregates with the shells burnt to 1 00°C. 300°C, 500°C and thos€ shells burnt in the open air. The result indicated that compressive strength of concrete with burnt shells was lower than that of concrete with unburnt shells at the same percentage replacement. The compressive and tensile strength were found to be decreasing with temperature increase of the burnt shells up to 300°C but picked up tremendously with shells burnt to 500°C The result showed that burnt palm kernel shells is a viable substitute for aggregates for light weight concrete in floors. partitions. insulated panels and lawn tennis concrete floor

Impact of Non-Monetary Incentives on Carpenters' Productivity in South-Western Nigeria

The research examines 1ne effect of non-monetary incentive schemes on the productivity of carpenters in Southwest Nigeria . The primary objective was to find a relationship,if any, between the productivity of these construction operatives and the application of non-monetary incentives. The employed the use of questionnaires and personal interview conducted on both the management and the carpenters that were drawn from large, medium and small sized construction firms within the study area. One hundred and seventy questionnaires each were distributed to the management and operatives, ·103 and 1"18 were duly completed/returned by the management and the operatives respectively On-site investigation and measurements were also embarked upon to study the activities of carpenters on forty (40) construction sites using six of the identified variables of non-monetary incentive schemes found to be relevant in this 1espect The results indicated that the applied non-monetary incentives had significant effect or; carpenters· productivity an cf that these incentive schemes accounted for between 6% and 25% of the variation in percentage productive time of these trades men

The Performance of Traditional contract procurement on Housing projects in Nigeria.

The traditional contract procurement has been widely criticized as an ineffective procurement method because it often involves time and cost overrun on construction projects. Yet the method is still being widely used in Nigeria most especially for the procurement of housing projects. It is suspected that this procurement method may not be ineffective in all cost categories of housing projects. Therefore time and cost performances of the procurement method on 57 housing projects of varying cost categories initiated by the Nigerian government between 1993 and 1999 were studied. The category of one to five million naira (US$1.00 ≈ 92 Nigerian Naira in 1999) showed the least time overrun of 18.98% while the highest time overrun of 99.64 % was shown in the five to ten million naira. The over ten million naira category had the least cost overrun of 9.13% while the highest cost overrun of 34.55 % was shown in the less than one million naira. The one to five million naira cost category exhibited weak correlation between time and cost overruns but the five million naira and above categories showed strong correlation. It was concluded that one to five million naira cost category is quite suitable for traditional contract procurement on housing projects in Nigeria