Quality Control Compliance as an Environmental Response to Sustainability in the Nigerian Construction Industry

The concept of sustainability has become integral to the environmental dialect within the building construction industry. At present, providing an avenue by which the construction industry can meet its sustainability obligations has remained a topical issue globally. An environmentally oriented movement toward sustainability in building construction, however, still hinges on the traditional principles of cost, quality, and performance. This paper x-rays the unethical performance traits evident in the construction industry in Nigeria and the project delivery practices by indigenous firms that significantly influence the quality and thus the sustainability of construction output. Issues associated with quality control compliance are statistically analysed to determine existing trends. Multivariate analysis is deployed to measure the degree to which quality control parameters explain the participation level of indigenous local contractors in executing government projects. The study mathematically expresses the relationship between quality control adherence and indigenous participation in the execution of government contracts. The statistical analysis shows that the five quality control independent variables (internal organizational factor; the level of enlightenment; adequacy of designs; conducting of relevant tests and supervisory adherence) explain 47% of the variation in the level of indigenous participation. Poor quality control associated with the execution of contracts by indigenous construction companies in Nigeria may thus partly account for the low level of indigenous participation evident in the construction industry

The trickle-down effect of psycho-social constructs and knowledge deficiencies as organizational barriers to cost performance on highway projects

Purpose The study proffers a theoretical narrative explaining the poor financial performance of public highway agencies in Nigeria. This study critically spotlights seminal works in the literature offering theoretical narratives on the poor financial performance of public infrastructure projects, to discuss whether they adequately capture the relationship between psychological factors, project governance/leadership issues, and knowledge/skill deficiencies related to the cost performance of infrastructure projects in the developing world. The evaluation reveals the predominant contextual exclusivity of these theoretical narratives to the developed world, which tend to under-represent developing countries, such as those on the African continent. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study research strategy, longitudinal documentary/archival data for 61 highway projects were analyzed. Sixteen interviews were also conducted with highway officials from the three highway agencies responsible for the execution of the projects. A two-stage deductive-inductive thematic analysis of the collated data was carried out to identify barriers to the financial management of public highway projects, the result of which is cognitively mapped out. Findings The study showcases empirical insight on cost overruns experienced in Nigerian public projects, due to the trickle-down effect of human and organizational environment, as well as due to workers’ knowledge/skill deficiencies. Research limitations/implications The developed theory is contextual to Nigeria, as such there is scope for testing its generalisability to other developing nations. Originality/value The in-depth trajectory provided, uncovers an intricate web of technical and psycho-social, organizational and institutional issues, which have not been identified and explained by previous theoretical narratives

Latent geotechnical pathogens inducing cost overruns in highway projects

Purpose: This paper investigates the statistical validity of geotechnical risk factors in accounting for cost overruns in highway projects. The study hypothesizes that ‘Latent Pathogens’ due to mismanaged geotechnical risk, which lay dormant in the organisational practises of highway agencies, trigger cost overruns. Design/methodology/approach: To test this hypothesis, cost and geotechnical data gathered for 61 completed highway projects, executed in the Niger Delta, recording unusually high cost overruns, along with qualitative data from 16 interviews with the project commissioners, were comprehensively analysed via regression modelling, to statistically explain recorded cost variance. Findings: The results provide empirical evidence supporting a cause-effect relationship between the extent of cost overrun and key geotechnical factors. It is suggested that positive changes made in the geotechnical practises of the highway agencies will produce an expected exponential decrease in the level of cost overruns recorded in highway projects. Research Limitations/Implications: The study is limited to explaining the propagation of unusually high cost overruns in the geologic setting of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. As such there is need to test the generalisability of the theory presented. Practical Implications: The emergent view of geotechnical practice, calls for further research, necessary to align geotechnical best practice into highway project delivery in the Niger Delta region