Strategies for sustainable housing co-operatives in South Africa

An increasing number of people are in need of housing that would improve long-term tenure for them. Private ownership is a well-known incentive for peoples’ participation in housing programmes. The current difficulties in obtaining credit for housing, following the global economic crisis, show that private individual home-ownership is not effective enough in addressing the housing needs of the low and middle income groups. As a result of this, the need to find an option that will solve the housing needs of the people became intense. However, the implementation of the co-operative housing delivery option in South Africa has not been successfully implemented as a result of the actions or the inactions of the role players. The study sought answer to the causes of the inability to successfully implement the co-operative housing approach through the use of ‘triad model’ that has to do with the ideology of co-operatives, the praxis and the organisational structures of the various housing co-operatives. The study was domiciled in a pragmatic paradigm, using the mixed methods research approach by conducting a three-stage research whereby convergent parallel design was adopted as the methodology. Questionnaires were administered to the chairpersons of the housing co-operatives identified in this stage one of the study. Stage two consisted of conducting interviews with chairpersons of six housing co-operatives using the purposive non-probability sampling method. The final stage was the survey among the members of the housing co-operatives interviewed. It was discovered, inter alia, that the membership of housing co-operatives was not voluntary; policy and legislative documents on social housing were biased against the co-operative housing approach; limited understanding of the co-operative approach exists among officials of government responsible for the implementations and a lack of training to members of the housing co-operatives by agencies of government responsible for propagating the approach was evident. Based on the findings, framework for sustainable housing co-operatives in South Africa was proposed from the strategies identified. The strategies identified were classified into the following factors: Policy and legislation; support services; education, training and information; and governance

Strategies for sustainable housing co-operatives in South Africa

An increasing number of people are in need of housing that would improve long-term tenure for them. Private ownership is a well-known incentive for peoples’ participation in housing programmes. The current difficulties in obtaining credit for housing, following the global economic crisis, show that private individual home-ownership is not effective enough in addressing the housing needs of the low and middle income groups. As a result of this, the need to find an option that will solve the housing needs of the people became intense. However, the implementation of the co-operative housing delivery option in South Africa has not been successfully implemented as a result of the actions or the inactions of the role players. The study sought answer to the causes of the inability to successfully implement the co-operative housing approach through the use of ‘triad model’ that has to do with the ideology of co-operatives, the praxis and the organisational structures of the various housing co-operatives. The study was domiciled in a pragmatic paradigm, using the mixed methods research approach by conducting a three-stage research whereby convergent parallel design was adopted as the methodology. Questionnaires were administered to the chairpersons of the housing co-operatives identified in this stage one of the study. Stage two consisted of conducting interviews with chairpersons of six housing co-operatives using the purposive non-probability sampling method. The final stage was the survey among the members of the housing co-operatives interviewed. It was discovered, inter alia, that the membership of housing co-operatives was not voluntary; policy and legislative documents on social housing were biased against the co-operative housing approach; limited understanding of the co-operative approach exists among officials of government responsible for the implementations and a lack of training to members of the housing co-operatives by agencies of government responsible for propagating the approach was evident. Based on the findings, framework for sustainable housing co-operatives in South Africa was proposed from the strategies identified. The strategies identified were classified into the following factors: Policy and legislation; support services; education, training and information; and governance

Achieving sustainable procurement practices in the Nigerian construction industry: examining potential barriers and strategies

Procurement is a main procedure in realising construction project management. This study reviewed the existing procurement practices in the Nigerian construction industry with the aim of identifying barriers to sustainable procurement and develop strategies that will enhance procurement practices and ensure the construction industry perform sustainably. A sequential mixed methods research design was adopted in this study. The qualitative method was first employed to understand the current status of the procurement practices by using semistructured interview and document analysis as tools. The study revealed that the most severe barrier to sustainability is lack of government commitment, and that the best strategy is to ensure that competent people are saddled with the responsibility for integrating and implementing sustainability issues. The study concluded that the current procurement practices in the Nigerian construction industry is yet to embrace the triple bottom line of sustainability initiatives as it places more emphasis on the economic aspect of procurement. Therefore, Nigerian Governments should join the global campaign through the review of current procurement Act to embrace sustainability. This will assist in addressing the barriers of sustainable development through procurement practices by leveraging their impact as major customers of good and services in the industry.Keywords: Barriers; Construction industry; Nigeria; Procurement and Sustainabilit

Procurement selection criteria for projects in the public sector: evidence from Nigeria

The selection of suitable procurement practice for construction projects is a very complex and demanding tasks for stakeholders in the construction industry. In spite of the overabundance of techniques and tools accessible to the stakeholders in selecting an appropriate procurement method, clients are faced with the decision as to which of the selection criteria can be adopted for a given construction project to achieve project goals and objectives. This paper focused on evaluating the existing procurement methods being practised in the Nigerian construction industry with a view to identifying and establishing the parameters for selection that will improve contract delivery systems. In this research, quantitative approach was used to collect data from 420 contractors, consultants and clients based in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja where large numbers of building projects are being procured. The findings revealed six most commonly considered criteria and deduced that, the quality, cost and duration of the project determines the type of procurement method to adopt. It is therefore stated that in selecting any particular procurement method for building construction projects, the complexity of such project should be clearly defined and the other performance indicators be given adequate consideration for a successful project delivery that will enhance the achievement of the client’s goal

Total Quality Management Practices in the Nigerian Construction Industry

Total quality management (TQM) is one of the many quality-oriented techniques that has been identified as a successful management philosophy that can be effectively implemented in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of Total Quality management (TQM) practices on organisational performance in medium and large sized construction companies in the Nigerian construction industry. A comprehensive review of relevant literature was carried out to identify the variables to be included in the questionnaire survey which was later self-administered to 155 managers of medium and large sized construction companies in Abuja, Nigeria. The data obtained from the survey were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The findings from the survey revealed that there are six areas of quality practices within the organisations studied: Top Management Commitment, Customer Focus, Supplier Relationship, Employee Involvement and Empowerment, Work Environment and Benchmarking which were found to be statistically significant to TQM practices in their various organisational performance levels. The findings further indicate that construction companies implement TQM to a high extent in their various organisational levels which implies that TQM practices have high influence on organisational performance in construction companies. The findings from Africa on practices of TQM in the construction industry especially from the Nigerian construction industry perspective should arose the interest of researchers globally who are keen in using comparable paradigm for continuous business improvement. Limited research on this subject in the study area attests to its originality. However, the findings presented here are of invaluable benefits to the management of construction companies as well as major stakeholders in construction in Nigeria and other developing countries to achieve excellence in organisational performance

Influence of Teamwork Diversity Factors on Organisational Performance of Construction Firms in Nigeria

Teamwork is sine qua non to the project success of construction firms in Nigeria, and the entire world. There are many factors external and internal to the construction firms that influence teamwork diversity. This paper assessed the influence of teamwork diversity factors on organisational performance of construction firms in Lagos and Abuja through the self-administration of 254 structured questionnaires using random sampling technique. The data were analysed using multiple regression analysis, correlation analysis, and mean score ranking. The outcome of the research showed that factors that influence teamwork diversity are loyalty, motivation and responsibility (5.8850), that people worked collaboratively (5.8482) and ability to handle people and supervise, monitor and ensure the implementation of the project (5.7257) among other factors. Furthermore the results of the correlation, and multiple regression analysis revealed that teamwork is positively correlated with organisational performance which informed the rejection of the null hypothesis with the effect size (F) greater than one. This established the theory that there is significant relationship between teamwork and organisational performance. The paper concluded that for construction firms to have better organisational performance the teamwork intrinsic should be emphasised and given more attention. It is therefore recommended that efforts be made by the firms to create cultural teamwork diversity heads that will see to the implementation of adequate incentives and cultural inclusiveness among team members

An Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Building Construction Projects

The environment is threatened severely by so many problems, some of which are caused by the activities of Construction Projects. The global concern to address environmental degradation caused by various developmental actions (construction projects inclusive) is the basis for calls to assess environmental impacts of building construction projects in Nigeria. Data for the study were collated through a questionnaire survey administered to stakeholders of Nigeria’s building construction industry. Data collected were analysed and ranked using Relative Importance Index (RII), result shows impacts listed are above the mid (RII) index of 3.0 suggesting that they significantly impact on the environment thereby causing environmental degradation. The research also reveals major environmental impacts of building construction projects to include environmental pollution, resource depletion and habitat destruction causing Destruction of ecosystem, Desertification, Soil Erosion and increasing Material Wastage. Waste Management, Pollution Control and Ecology Conservation were ranked as the most important environmental protection measures used in controlling building construction environmental impacts. The study therefore suggest that in order to reduce environmental degradation, building construction stakeholders must adopt fully environmental impact assessment document and other regulations relevant for environmental protection. Also, all environmental regulatory agencies and sensitization organizations should continuously sensitize the building construction public on requisite environmental management practice and sanction erring agents. Keywords: Environmental Impacts; Building Construction Projects;

Women professionals’ participation in the nigerian construction industry: finding voice for the voiceless

The construction industry is a male-dominated industry globally, with poor women representation in every facet of the construction profession and the involved jobs. In this context, this study investigated the current level of women participation, challenges faced by professional women, factors that influence them in the course of developing careers in construction and the criteria that can be used to encourage women participation in the Nigerian construction industry. This was done through self-administration of 145 structured questionnaires to 93 women professionals in the built environment and 52 employers of built environment labour in Abuja, Nigeria. The analyses showed that the construction industry is largely dominated by men, with women having a lot of challenges ranging from lack of self-confidence to compete with their male counterparts to insecurity in the midst of men to execute their work as professionals. Therefore, the study recommends that making young women aware of construction industry opportunities is needed to encourage them to build their careers in construction from the school stage in order to increase the number of professional women participating in the future. In addition to this, professional women should be given equal job opportunities as their male counterparts to ensure better representation of women so that the impact of women professionals in the construction industry can be extended

Cultural Diversity Management of Construction Firms in Abuja-Nigeria

Construction firms in Abuja are multicultural comprising of different tribes which cut across the country. The interactions of these tribes on site pose a big problem to the organisations that employed them besides the advantage it offers if it is adequately managed. The study is aimed at determining the best managerial style that will mitigate the problem of cultural diversity through the use of embedded mixed methods methodology. This was achieved by interviewing ten managers/supervisors of construction sites and self-administration of 277 well-structured questionnaires. The results of the interview and questionnaires analysis showed that construction firms in Abuja have not really acquired the managerial skill needed to effectively manage the diverse workforce. The cultural dimensions for the tribes on sites were determined to act as a new found managerial style that could be adopted by managers to effectively managed the diverse workforce on construction sites in Abuja, FCT

Assessment of barriers to the implementation of blockchain technology in construction supply chain management in Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to assess the barriers to the implementation of blockchain technology in construction supply chain management in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed a quantitative research approach through a questionnaire survey that was conducted among professionals in the Nigerian construction industry using the snowball sampling method, which resulted in a selection of 155 respondents. The collected data were analysed using descriptive and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), while Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability. Findings – The analysis revealed that all barriers ranked above the average mean item score. It also revealed that all professionals have a convergent opinion on the barriers. EFA was used in clustering the identified barriers into two categories: technological and socio-political barrier. Research limitations/implications – This research was carried out in the Southwestern region which is one of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria using a cross-sectional survey method. Practical implications – The findings provide valuable insights into the barriers to the implementation of blockchain in supply chain management for professionals and practitioners in the Nigerian construction industry. Originality/value – The research categorised the barriers into technological and social-political barrier and identified that lack of digitalisation is the major barrier to the implementation of blockchain technology in construction supply chain