Identifying factors of risk management for the construction industry

Abstract: Delays and cost overruns are recurrent in construction projects. Risk management (RM) has been developed to curtain risks associated with construction projects. However, there is no consensus of what factors should constitute RM for construction projects. Therefore, this paper scrutinises preceding studies on the theme of RM and establish core risk management factors (RMFs) that are indispensable to make the concept valuable in the construction industry (CI). A literature search related to RM was conducted in order to identify common RMF. It was indicated that there is still misunderstanding and disagreement over the factors that should constitute RM in construction. However, the RMFs of organisational environment, defining objectives, resource requirement, risk measurement, risk identification, risk assessment, risk response and action planning, communication, monitoring, review and continuous improvement dominate the literature. Identifying RMF that can effortlessly be understood and implemented will contribute to ameliorating the current RM status and boosting the body of knowledge

Underlying structures of risk response measures among small and medium contractors in South Africa

Although attention has been given to the measures used to respond to risk in the construction industry (CI), there is limited literature that scrutinizes underlying structures of risk response measures (RRMs) especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study, therefore, presents findings from an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of RRMs. A positivist paradigm was adopted to collect empirical raw data from 181 conveniently sampled respondents in Gauteng, South Africa (SA), using a structured questionnaire. The results support the extant literature and empirically established the structural composition of risk response by two constructs. The construct with emerged measures was termed trailing measures while the one with popular measures was termed leading measures of risk response. However, the study yielded a two-factor model with all the six items supposed to measure risk response. Based on the results obtained, it seems that risk avoidance and risk mitigation are reliable measures for measuring risk response. This study could thus serve as a reference for the accurate measurement of risk response and for the development of agreed responses for each risk, including an appropriate strategy and specific responses to implement the chosen strategy. The study was limited to the CI and to a lesser extent, construction SMEs in Gauteng; hence the findings cannot be generalized to all SMEs in SA

The issue of communication in the construction industry: A case of South Africa

Abstract: Communication within construction presented exceptional problems. This is particularly evident within the construction sector, where interactions have the tendency to be characterised by unacquainted classes of people coming together for brief periods before dispersing to work on other ventures. Owing to its specific characteristics, the construction industry creates a complex communication environment. This paper sought to improve communication in construction. In order to define the problem in more detail and to achieve the purpose of the study, an exhaustive literature review on communication in construction was conducted, a total of ten experts on the practice of communication in construction in Gauteng (South Africa) were interviewed, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Findings revealed that the majority of issues regarding communication in construction were reported to be between demand and supply-side stakeholders. The robust interaction in construction projects between stakeholders seems to make construction projects very exposed to communication problems. Furthermore, a waste of time was revealed as a result of poor communication, a discrepancy in stakeholders ‘power and about poor consensus particularly in the public sector, and a lack of stakeholders’ ability to sympathise with the other parties involved

Evaluating the influence of risk management practices on project success of small and medium construction enterprises in the South African construction industry

M.Tech. (Construction Management)Abstract: Risk management is acknowledged as a key activity in project management in order to deliver successful construction projects. However, the complexity and the risk environment in which construction projects are undertaken leads to poor project performance, especially among small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) whose contribution to the economy is substantial. The main objective of this study was to establish the risk management practices that are tailored for the successful delivery of construction projects undertaken by SMEs. Therefore, develop a construction risk management model at project level for SMEs. A critical review of relevant literature was conducted which was used to develop a structured questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was first pilot tested with four construction SMEs before its dissemination to construction SMEs who were conveniently sampled in the Gauteng province of South Africa. A total of 225 questionnaires were sent out, 187 were returned of which 181 were deemed usable representing approximately 80% response rate. Descriptive and inferential statistics using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 23 were used to empirically analyse the data. The validity and reliability of the nine factors of the risk management model were determined using Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation rotation. Furthermore, Kaiser’s criterion and parallel analysis were also used as measures of the nine factors as well as the forty-two variables. Multiple regression analysis (MRA) was used to establish the relationships of the risk management factors and the project performance outcome. Empirical findings established that variations by the client, design variations, incomplete approval and inadequate program scheduling were deemed to have a high impact on project time outcome. It was further revealed that design variations had a high impact on project cost outcome followed by variations by the client, occurrence of dispute and incomplete or inaccurate cost estimates. Furthermore, project quality outcome was highly impacted by the lack of coordination between project participants, low management competency of subcontractors, design variations, and incomplete or inaccurate cost estimates. In addition, accidents due to poor safety procedure, the absence of fire safety systems on site, equipment damage and labour injuries were deemed to have a high impact on project health and safety outcome. Further exploration of the empirical findings revealed that variation by the client, design variation, incomplete approval, and unsuitable construction program planning can..