Common Contractual Behaviour of Key Participants in Civil Engineering Projects

The delivery of civil engineering projects in Malaysia largely has been beset by cost overrun, schedule delays, shoddy workmanship. Previous studies have replete that most of the problems which hinder the project success are related to the unfavourable contractual behaviour of the project key participants who do not adhere to and comply with the terms of the contract in project implementation. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that hindered the success of civil engineering projects focusing on the aspect of contractual behavior of key participants. The objective of this study is to determine the common contractual behavior of key participants in civil engineering projects in Malaysia. The data of this study was obtained from professional civil engineer registered with Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and Grade G7 contractors registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) via a questionnaire survey. Based on the result from 288 questionnaire survey, this study highlighted five (5) contractual behaviour of key participants which all this while hindered the civil engineering project success. They were the delay of interim payment, delay of contractor’s work progress, delay of issuing project information, ineffective communication between engineer and contractor and unauthorised instructions. The severity of contractual behaviors’ occurrence is important to be empirically researched to understand the contractual root causes that largely affect project performance and eventually can comprehensively be placed more concerned for improvement for future projects

The implementation of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) among G7 contractors in Malaysia / Hamimah Adnan ... [et al.]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of way to encourage among the stakeholders to improve not only the society, but environment and economy of affected people. This paper aims to identify the implementation, challenges and ways to enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among G7 Contractors registered under the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board. (CIDB in Malaysia. Quantitative and qualitative methodology were involved which involved questionnaires survey and interviews. Questionnaires were distributed to 150 respondents with 32 replied and 5 interviews were held among the respondents. The findings show that the highest level of CSR implementation is in the relationship with clients and suppliers. Most respondents agreed that the biggest challenges in implementing CSR were lack of support from top management and lack of time. It also showed that most respondents agreed that the ways to enhance the implementation of CSR were the involvement of system of governance transparency with investors and shareholders, application of policy by employees, close relationship with the clients and suppliers, concrete actions towards community and adoption of measures on the environmental impact. It is recommended for the implementation of CSR and ways to overcome the challenges needed to be enhanced to reach the highest level of implementation and every stakeholder needs to act for effective improvement to enhance the implementation

The implementation of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) among G7 contractors in Malaysia / Hamimah Adnan … [et al.]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of way to encourage among the stakeholders to improve not only the society, but environment and economy of affected people. This paper aims to identify the implementation, challenges and ways to enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among G7 Contractors registered under the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board. (CIDB in Malaysia. Quantitative and qualitative methodology were involved which involved questionnaires survey and interviews. Questionnaires were distributed to 150 respondents with 32 replied and 5 interviews were held among the respondents. The findings show that the highest level of CSR implementation is in the relationship with clients and suppliers. Most respondents agreed that the biggest challenges in implementing CSR were lack of support from top management and lack of time. It also showed that most respondents agreed that the ways to enhance the implementation of CSR were the involvement of system of governance transparency with investors and shareholders, application of policy by employees, close relationship with the clients and suppliers, concrete actions towards community and adoption of measures on the environmental impact. It is recommended for the implementation of CSR and ways to overcome the challenges needed to be enhanced to reach the highest level of implementation and every stakeholder needs to act for effective improvement to enhance the implementation

Towards a Successful Extension of Time (EoT) Claim: A Consensus View of Construction Professionals via a Modified Delphi Method

Undeniably, the claim document provides an opportunity for the claimants to defend and fight for their rights. Hence, it should be prepared in a well-organized, professional and convincing manner to facilitate the assessor in assessing the claim. However, it is not an easy task as a good claim not only requires fact and evidences but also demands other important elements that complement each other. Despite the many studies that have been carried out with regard to improving the management of contract claims, yet very little research has been conducted to address the issue in relation to the extension of time (EoT) claim, specifically as to what constitutes a good EoT claim and the possible measures that can be taken by industry players towards the successful settlement of an EoT claim. This paper reports on a Delphi study focusing on identifying the success elements for EoT claim specifically in the Malaysian construction industry. Two rounds of a modified Delphi surveys were conducted and consensus was obtained from twelve experts. The Delphi survey has successfully elicit experts’ consensus on the elements that perceived to be the most important element in producing a quality EoT claim that may lead to a speedy, successful and amicable settlement of such claim. Findings from this study is expected to provide an aid in assisting the claimants in the preparation of claims through the identification of the success elements for EoT claims that will then lead towards achieving harmonious claim settlement

Significant Factors Affecting Civil Engineering Project Performance

Civil engineering projects trigger the economic growth by providing infrastructure facilities and job opportunities as well as attracting the attention of foreign investments. Due to their significant contributions toward the nation growth, the performance of civil engineering projects has become the upmost concern by the government. Unfortunately, many civil engineering projects in Malaysia are dominantly associated with unsatisfactory performance in terms of cost, time and quality of the delivered products. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the underlying causes which lead to unsatisfactory performance by determining the factors affecting civil engineering projects. The objective of this paper is to identify the civil engineering project characteristics and the quality of Standard Form of Contract (SFoC) adopted and the contractual behaviour of key participants of civil engineering project which affecting the performance. Questionnaires survey were conducted to undertake the research. 124 feedbacks received out of 300 questionnaires distributed to the G7 contractors registered under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and consultant engineer registered under Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). The data was statistically analysed using SPSS 21 and descriptive analysis was used for rank assessment of factors. It was found that the top three (3) most significant factors affecting civil engineering project performance are delay in making payment, environment uncertainty and the clarity of SFoC. These factors belong to three categories i.e the contractual behaviour of key participants, project characteristics and the quality of SFoC category. Thus, these categories are paramount to be put more concern on the performance of civil engineering projects in Malaysia

Ideal procurement system for New Zealand private sector construction clients : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Construction at Massey University

Making the right choice of a procurement system at the onset ensures successful project delivery, a satisfied client, a successful service provider, and a reputable construction industry. Research has shown that client's requirements have not been properly addressed due largely to wrong choice of procurement systems. This research aims to identify the priority needs of clients and the appropriate procurement system that can ensure the delivery of satisfactory outcomes. Investigations were limited to the views expressed by private sector construction clients, consultants and contractors, registered with their respective umbrella organizations in New Zealand. The descriptive survey method was used, which involved pilot interviews and structured questionnaire surveys. Content analysis, multi-attribute analysis and rank correlation tests were used in the analysis of the data. Results showed that clients' would prefer a procurement system that can ensure the delivery of the project within time, budget and quality/specification targets. Other priority needs include fixed price tender, competitive/ lowest price tenders, separate service provider for the design and management of the construction, life cycle cost, risk preference and to accommodate variation orders without incurring financial penalties. Construction management type of procurement system offering responsibilities for monitoring and coordinating the construction process is the ideal procurement route that could best meet the needs of the New Zealand construction clients. However, the sequential traditional procurement system is the most commonly used; clients are not prepared to adopt any other system that could better meet their procurement needs. The most influential reason for this is the perceived risk evasiveness of clients in the adoption of other systems which are not tried and tested. The use of partnering clause in the prevailing sequential traditional system is recommended to ensure win-win outcomes for all stakeholders and to motivate service providers to deliver more satisfactory outcomes to their clients. Keywords Construction clients, construction industry, clients' needs, construction management, procurement system

Factors influencing civil engineering project performance

Civil engineering projects trigger the economic growth by providing infrastructure facilities and job opportunities as well as attracting the attention of foreign investments. Due to their significant contributions towards the nation growth, the performance of civil engineering projects has become the upmost concern by the government. Unfortunately, many civil engineering projects in Malaysia are dominantly associated with unsatisfactory performance in terms of cost, time and quality of the delivered products. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the underlying causes which lead to unsatisfactory performance by determining the factors that affect civil engineering projects. The objective of this paper is to assess the factors i.e the civil engineering project characteristics and the quality of Standard Form of Contract (SFoC) adopted and the contractual behaviour of key participants of civil engineering project which affect the performance. The perceptions of consultant engineers and contractors were compared relatively to a list of these factors derived from the review of literature in construction of project performance. Questionnaires survey were conducted to undertake the research. 214 feedbacks received out of 500 questionnaires distributed to the G7 contractors registered under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and consultant engineer registered under Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). The data was statistically analysed using SPSS 21 and descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the rank of factors. It is found that the civil engineering project characteristics namely project complexity, ground uncertainty, ease of site access and design completion before construction starts perceived to have high influence of project performance. Meanwhile, the quality of SFoC factors i.e completeness and clarity and contractual behaviours of key participants’ factors i.e delay in making payment and communication skill between engineer and contractor were also ranked as the high-influence factor influencing civil engineering project performance. Thus, as a proactive measure, these factors are paramount to be put more concern in monitoring the performance of civil engineering projects in Malaysia

Factors Contributing to Delay of Interim Payment in Civil Engineering Projects

Delay of interim payment remains a chronic problem in the Malaysian construction industry and has relatively increased in number in recent years. Other than causing conflict among the contracting parties, the impacts it brings could shatter the entire delivery chain. Thus, the unfavorable contractual behavior of the client is a matter of great concern that should be addressed by all parties involved to ensure satisfactory project performance. However, research has revealed that the factor causing it is not solely because of the client's faults but also caused by other factors. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the factors that lead to the occurrence of delay of interim payment in government-initiated civil engineering projects in Malaysia. The perceptions of civil engineer consultants and contractors were compared in relation to a list of factors derived from the literature review. The data were collected through an industry-wide questionnaire survey from 288 respondents. This research developed a list of 22 items that might influence the delay of interim payment based on four domains, namely project characteristics, quality of Standard Form of Contract (SFoC), external factors and participants and local attitude. The results found that the occurrence of delay of interim payment in civil engineering project is very high frequency. Correlation analysis performed revealed that the three major factors are positively correlated, namely project scope and design changes, ground uncertainty under the project characteristics domain, and bureaucracy in government agencies under the participants and local attitude domain. These results can help the project participants to better understand the relationship between the groups of factors and the delay of interim payment and encourage them to find solutions or implement mitigating actions to improve the outcomes of civil engineering project

Significant Factors Affecting Civil Engineering Project Performance

Civil engineering projects trigger the economic growth by providing infrastructure facilities and job opportunities as well as attracting the attention of foreign investments. Due to their significant contributions toward the nation growth, the performance of civil engineering projects has become the upmost concern by the government. Unfortunately, many civil engineering projects in Malaysia are dominantly associated with unsatisfactory performance in terms of cost, time and quality of the delivered products. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the underlying causes which lead to unsatisfactory performance by determining the factors affecting civil engineering projects. The objective of this paper is to identify the civil engineering project characteristics and the quality of Standard Form of Contract (SFoC) adopted and the contractual behaviour of key participants of civil engineering project which affecting the performance. Questionnaires survey were conducted to undertake the research. 124 feedbacks received out of 300 questionnaires distributed to the G7 contractors registered under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and consultant engineer registered under Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). The data was statistically analysed using SPSS 21 and descriptive analysis was used for rank assessment of factors. It was found that the top three (3) most significant factors affecting civil engineering project performance are delay in making payment, environment uncertainty and the clarity of SFoC. These factors belong to three categories i.e the contractual behaviour of key participants, project characteristics and the quality of SFoC category. Thus, these categories are paramount to be put more concern on the performance of civil engineering projects in Malaysia

Kajian status sosial kanak-kanak keperluan khas di Sarawak dan Kelantan

The objectives of this study are to determine the social status of children with special needs in Kelantan and Sarawak and to identify the association of social status with study area, gender and diagnosis. The study involved 103 new cases children aged 6 to 18 years old. There are 67 (65% ) males and 36 ( 35% ) females and by diagnosis;26 ( 25.2% ) are Down’s Syndrome, 11 ( 10.7% ) are Cerebral Palsy while 66 (64.1% ) are Mental Retardation. The caretaker or the health personnel on each children completed a Quality Of Life questionnaire. The questions include 4 aspects ; (i) Problem in playing with friends, (ii) problem of sharing toys, (iii) problem of following instruction and (iv) take-turn problem. By associating the problems with gender, study area and diagnosis; there is a significant association between the problem of sharing toys, following instruction and take-turn with study area. Most of children from Sarawak; 44.8% are having problem in sharing toys compared to 14.9% children from Kelantan ( p<0.05 ); while 34.5% children’s from encountered problem in following instruction compared to Kelantan ( p<.05) and 37.9% children from Sarawak having take-turn problem compared to 13.5% children’s from Kelantan ( p<.05). There was no significant association between gender, study area and diagnosis with problem of playing with friends. The finding indicate that a special attention and a good intervention programme should be conducted in order to overcome the problems