A structural model for mitigation measures of critical cost overrun factors in highway projects in sindh province

Construction industry plays a major role in improving the socio-economic growth of any country. However, this industry is facing a serious problem of cost overrun globally and particular in Pakistan. Rapid growth in the construction sector in Pakistan has been observed along with many challenges, especially in highway projects. The most critical issues in highway projects are the cost overrun and lack of their mitigation measures. Hence, the objective of this research is to determine the critical factors of cost overrun, its significant mitigation measures and to develop a structural model of significant mitigation measures for critical cost overrun factors. The preliminary survey helped in identifying the critical factors of cost overrun in highway projects. In total, 64 common factors for cost overrun were identified from the literature review. Based on the common factors, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among the 30 selected experts to determine the critical factors of cost overrun. Out of 64 common factors, 24 were reported critical. The pilot study was carried out by developing a semi-structured questionnaire which was distributed among the same 30 construction experts for the purpose of determining the mitigation measures, which resulted in 113 measures. These mitigation measures along with the relevant 24 factors helped in the development of the final questionnaire to further narrow down the significant measures. This finalized questionnaire was distributed among 350 construction experts of highway projects to identify the significant mitigation measures for critical factors of cost overrun. The collected data was further used to develop a structural model for mitigation measures of critical factors of cost overrun by Smart PLS. Performance of the model has moderate explaining power as the predictive relevancy value is greater than 0.13. Significant mitigation measures of these critical factors were determined from the power loading of mitigations measures. This research would be helpful for construction managers in mitigating the relative risk to the project. Thus, it will directly benefit the construction community and contribute in raising the economy of the country

Factors of Delay in Highway Construction Projects In Pakistan

A project is called successful when that project is completed on approved time. However, due to so many reasons construction industry is failed to complete projects within approved time frame. Construction industry of Pakistan is facing a critical problem of delay in construction of highway projects which has adverse and negative impact to many stakeholders. The main objective of this research is to identify the most critical factors of delay in construction of highway projects and mitigation measures. A questionnaire was designed and distributed among 130 respondents of highway projects and they were asked to rank each factor according to experience. After analysis, mitigation measure of each factor was asked by same respondents. This research will help to stake holders to overcome identified factors of delay by using mitigation measures suggested by respondents.    Keywords: Construction of highway projects, Delay, Critical factors, Pakistan.

Triad of Supply Chain Orientation, Strategies and Competencies in Construction Industry

Construction sector is considered as the pillar of Pakistan's economic development. Numerous researchers have emphasized the role of supply chain orientation and supply chain strategies to uplift the sustainability within supply chains of construction industries. However, the lack of studies focused on the impact on supply chain orientation in Pakistan. Hence, this article examines the impact of supply chain orientation, supply chain competence and supply chain strategy of the Pakistani construction sector. The study adopted the non-probability sampling approach and 183 questionnaires survey data is collected from 75 construction firms in Sindh. The study is applied Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling technique to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study revealed that all the relationships are positive and significant. The supply chain orientation (SCO) with supply chain strategy (SCS) with p<0.000, β=0.11, supply chain orientation (SCO) and supply chain competence (SCC) with p<0.000, β=0.34, SCO having a positive significant effect on SCC with p<0.000, β=0.22, SCS is playing a mediating role between SCO and SCC. It means that SCO improves SCS as a result p<0.000, β=0.15 and the relationship of SCS further improves SCC with p<0.000, β=0.11. The result shows that SCO is an important and significant tool in order to increase SCS and SCC. Hence, this study can help to device certain policies to cope up the issues that are the reasons for declining the construction performanc

Most Common Factors Causing Cost Overrun with its Mitigation Measure for Pakistan Construction Industry

Cost overrun is known as the leading challenge for stakeholders of the construction sector. Like most countries, Pakistan also facing this challenge for the last few decades. Literature review was conducted and managed to identify 34 factors which contributed to cost overrun in the construction industry. These factors were used as the main content in designing the questionnaire. Respondents were required to rate these factors based on 4-ponits Likert scale on the degree of commonly occurred. Survey was carried out involved 130 stakeholders of the construction sector to determine main factors of the overrun. Data was collected, analysed statistically using the average index method and found 10 most commonly occurred of cost overrun factors for Pakistan construction industry are financial crisis faced by the client; mistakes in making proper estimation; faults in drawing; delay in getting approval from the client; poor planning by client; incompetency of contractor; poor supervision of the consultant; delay in payment to the contractor; communication gap between parties and natural disaster. These factors were further explained together with its mitigation measure. The findings of this study can help to Pakistani construction community in controlling the cost overrun for their construction projects

Comparative Study on Flexural Performance of Foamed Concrete Beam Containing Plastic Fibres

Foamed concrete is considered as light weight concrete which possesses lot of benefits in context of speedy construction, light weight and durability. In this study, foamed concrete beam, containing the plastic fibers were analyzed under flexural load by experimentally and also by finite element analysis in terms of load bearing capacity, load deflection profile and cracking pattern. The Finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted by utilizing ABAQUS software to simulate the foamed concrete beam under flexure load. The beam consist the dimension was 100mm thickness, 200mm breadth, 1000 mm length. The experimental and FEA outcomes were compared in context of the beam’s ultimate load, load deflection and cracking pattern. The outcomes demonstrate that the difference between ultimate loads was 5 to 8% between FEA and experimental results whereas the maximum deflection was 3 to 7 % decreased in FEA compare to the experimental analysis. The parametric was conducted by changing the reinforcement area the results demonstrates that by increasing the main reinforcement area the ultimate load was rises and deflection was decreases compare to the control sample. To approve a single suggestion, mouse over it and click "✔" Click the bubble to approve all of its suggestions. To approve a single suggestion, mouse over it and click "✔" Click the bubble to approve all of its suggestions. To approve a single suggestion, mouse over it and click "✔" Click the bubble to approve all of its suggestions. To approve a single suggestion, mouse over it and click "✔" Click the bubble to approve all of its suggestions. To approve a single suggestion, mouse over it and click "✔" Click the bubble to approve all of its suggestions. To approve a single suggestion, mouse over it and click "✔" Click the bubble to approve all of its suggestions

Mitigation measures for significant factors instigating cost overrun in highway projects

Construction industry has created numerous employment opportunities and playing a role model in economic growth of Pakistan. This industry is facing serious and critical problem of cost overrun especially in highway sector in country Pakistan particularly in Sindh Province. The purpose of this study is to identify mitigation measures for significant factors of cost overrun in highway projects of Sindh Province. In this study, mixed-mode research approach has been used. Quantitatively, a structured questionnaire based on 64 common factors of cost overrun from in-depth literature review was developed and distributed to30 selected respondents among the client, contractor and consultant having more than 15 years of experience in handling highway projects in Sindh Province. The collected data was statistically analyzed using SPSS where 8 most significant factors of cost overrun were identified. Qualitatively, the identified eight most significant factors were then incorporated in open ended questionnaire and distributed to 30 selected experts for them to write possible mitigation measures for each of the significant factors. The data was then analyzed through content analysis technique to rank the mitigation measures according to their substantiality. The results of this study would be helpful for construction practitioners to be used as reference in taking up appropriate measures in controlling cost overrun in highways projects in Pakista

Thermo‑mechanical properties of various densities of foamed concrete incorporating polypropylene fibres

Concrete has been extensively used in the development of urban infrastructure works. However, it has the tendency to absorb solar radiations, and these radiations are released back into the air in the form of heat energy. Dense concentration of infrastructures releases more heat, causing urban heat island (UHI) effect in which the ambient temperature of the urban areas rises slightly than the surrounding areas. Tropical countries which have a hot climate throughout the year are more affected by the UHI effect. Therefore, thermal insulating materials need to be introduced in the field of concrete construction. Foamed concrete, which has air voids in its matrix, is a potential thermal insulating material. But due to reduced density, it, however, achieves lower strength. Polypropylene (PP) fibres are used to reinforce the foamed concrete and improve its compressive and tensile strengths. In this study, three different densities, 1400, 1600 and 1800 kg/m3, were cast, and 0.8% PP fibres were added. The thermo-mechanical properties were investigated in terms of thermal conductivity, surface temperature, compressive and tensile strengths with and without the addition of PP fibres. Based on the findings, the addition of PP fibres gained more strength and reduced thermal conductivity in the lower densities of foamed concrete. In contrast, it had an opposite impact on 1800 kg/m3 density. The addition of PP fibres also indicated that it could reduce the surface temperature of higher-density foamed concrete compared to lower densities

The Impacts of Operational Risks in the Supply Chain of Construction Projects in Malaysia

Construction glitches have become serious issues for Malaysian construction projects. The construction industry is one of the industries driven by supply chains and affected by interconnected risks. Any disruption happening anywhere will halt the whole project or even other projects. However, massive literature is available to deal with various kinds of risks from the supply chain (SC) of the construction industry that have never been discussed before. This is an empirical investigation and the data was collected through a questionnaire distributed to the construction industry through systemic probability sampling. Final and purified data was analyzed with Structural Equation Modelling through Smart PLS. A total of three types of risks were identified from literature namely supply side risks (SR), process side risks (PR) and demand side risks (DR). It has been found that supply side risks and demand side risks have significant negative effects on supply chain performance (SCP) while process side risks also have negative effects on supply chain performance but not significant. This study will help managers to understand how supply chain risks (SCR) affect the construction industry and what type of risks they should be more aware of. This study covers only operational side risks while future research can be on other risks. Furthermore, various approaches can be proposed for mitigation but there is also a need to verify these approaches for Malaysia

Measures to Mitigate Causative Factors of Budget Overrun in Malaysian Building Projects

Completion of a construction within planned budget is one of the main criterion of project success, however budget overrun has become a recurring phenomenon in construction industry. Budget overrun can cause multiple negative effects such as loos of economy, disputes among construction stakeholders, project abandonment, and drop in construction activities. This study aims to identify causes of budget overrun in Malaysian Building projects and then to establish mitigation measures for the identified main causes. Literature review, questionnaire survey and interviews were used in this study. Detailed literature review results in identification of 28 causes of budget overrun. The main causes of budget overrun in building projects in Malaysia were investigated through a questionnaire survey of 83 contractors, 57 clients, and 40 owners. The feedback of questionnaire survey was analyzed statistically. The significant causes of budget overrun were:  improper planning, variation in materials price, poor site management, lack of communication between parties, frequent design changes, incompetent contractors, mistakes during construction, shortage of site workers, delay in material procurement, and   low speed of decisions making.   After questionnaire survey, interviews with 16 construction exports were carried out in order to develop mitigation measures for the top ten significant causes. On the basis of interviews, a list of mitigation measures for each of the top ten significant causes were established. The findings of this study can be useful for construction practitioners in controlling budget overrun and to achieve project success