Factors influencing direct costs dynamics of building projects - team members perception in Delta state, Nigeria

Inaccurate costs forecast of building projects is traceable to variation in direct and indirect costs caused by several factors. This study evaluates the severity of the impact of eighty factors responsible for direct costs  dynamics of building projects in Delta State, Nigeria. The objective is to compare consultants and contractors perception of the severity of the  factors on direct costs differential. A field survey of 85 contractors and 67 consultants was conducted with the aid of structured questionnaires. Data were analysed using mean score, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis  tests. The study concludes that consultants and contractors have similar  perception of the effect of the direct cost variation factors (p-values  between 0.365 and 0.930). Construction, resources, and performance  factors are the most significant of the groups (MS range = 3.66 to 4.33), though no significant variation among groups’ importance in the evaluation (p-values = 0.42 and 0.19). The study recommends that clients should  count on consultants and contractors for direct cost advice, provided they accommodate all the direct cost variation groups during cost advice, with priority on the leading factors of each group. Key words: Building projects, Consultants, Contractors, Cost dynamics, Direct costs

Design for occupational safety and health of workers in construction in developing countries: A study of architects in Nigeria

Purpose. Design for safety (DfS) of workers is amongst the prominent ways of tackling poor occupational safety and health performance in construction. However, in developing countries there is extremely limited research on DfS. This study thus makes an important contribution to the subject of DfS in developing countries by specifically examining the awareness and practice of DfS amongst architects within the construction sector of Nigeria. Materials and methods. A survey of architects, yielding 161 valid responses, was conducted. Results. While there is high awareness of the concept of DfS, the actual practice is low. Additionally, although there is high interest in DfS training, the engagement in DfS training is low. Significantly, awareness of DfS, training and education related to DfS, and membership of a design professional body have very limited bearing on the practice of DfS by architects. Conclusions. The findings are thus symptomatic of the prevalence of influential DfS implementation barriers within the construction sector. Industry stakeholders should seek to raise the profile of DfS practice within the sector. Furthermore, similar empirical studies in the construction sector of other developing countries would be useful in shedding light on the status of DfS in these countries

Productivity Improvement in the Construction Industry: A Case Study of Mechanization in Singapore

Globally, the construction industry is a key contributor to national economies including Singapore's. However, the industry is a serial productivity underperformer. The literature argues that mechanization, automation and use of advanced technologies help improve construction productivity, but real-world case studies are limited in number. This paper presents a case study of the introduction of mechanization to improve the level of construction productivity in Singapore. The case study under investigation was the production/fabrication of steel gratings, the conventional process of which depends heavily on labor with few workers present on site. The majority of these workers are migrant workers, which contributes to a significant social concern in Singapore. The case study organization introduced a more advanced laser cutting machine to the process. The project team observed the process of using the laser cutting machine, and quantitative and qualitative data were obtained. The researchers observed the processes, both conventional and updated, and recorded the data on both methods. The quantitative data were comparatively analyzed to investigate the relative quality, efficiency and productivity of the two methods. The data revealed that the mechanization process achieved a productivity improvement (or savings) in man-days of at least 78%. Material wastage was reduced, and moreover, less reliance was placed on migrant workers, which helped to mitigate the social concerns created by the influx of foreign workers to Singapore. The findings also shed some light on the positive influence of government incentives to improve the industry's productivity