scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities in Employing Locals in the Construction Industry: Saudi Arabia Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 129-139
Author(s):  
Mazen A. Al-Sinan ◽  
Abdulaziz A. Bubshait
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

scholarly journals Lean Construction Implementation in the Saudi Arabian Construction Industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Ghazi Sarhan ◽  
Bo Xia ◽  
Sabrina Fawzia ◽  
Azharul Karim
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cost Overruns ◽  
Current State ◽  
Level Of Use ◽  
Aided Design ◽  
Lean Methods

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed a huge increase in construction during the last two decades. However, many projects experienced time delays, cost overruns and the generation of massive amounts of waste. To address these challenges, lean construction has been introduced into the Saudi construction industry; however, it is still in its infancy. This study therefore investigates the current state of lean construction implementation in the construction industry in the KSA. The objectives are to identify: the types of construction waste, level of use of tools that support the implementation of lean construction, stages of application of lean methods, and the benefits of lean construction. To achieve these objectives, a structured questionnaire survey of 282 construction professionals was carried out. After the analysis of the collected data using mean score and Anova test, the following conclusions were made.  In the construction industry in the KSA, waiting is the most common type of waste, while Computer Aided Design (CAD) is the conventional tool supporting the implementation of lean construction. Furthermore, the data suggests that lean construction is most commonly used in the construction stage of projects while customer satisfaction is the main benefit derived from lean construction practices. This study concludes that the level of implementation of lean construction in the KSA construction industry is increasing. The results will help benchmark the current state of lean construction implementation, which will enable the construction industry to identify strategies to implement lean construction in Saudi Arabia in accordance with their needs and project goals, to achieve better productivity.

scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities of E-Procurement in the Construction Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansur Hamma-adama ◽  
◽  
Abdul-Basit Sa’eed Ahmad ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Lack Of Commitment ◽  
Cost Of Construction ◽  
Construction Works

Construction Industry is evolving amid the fourth industrial revolution. Transportation, commerce, manufacturing and many other industries ripened the current technological advancement and are striving to utilise every development in the IT sector. The procurement of construction works is known to be very conventional and backward in the adoption of digitalisation. The construction industry's procurement and supply chain are blamed for the most inflated cost of construction projects, mainly attributed to a lack of transparency and trust between the industry stakeholders. This research explores the challenges of E-procurement adoption in the industry and identifies the potential opportunities for its usage. This investigation's data are acquired through interviews, and the data are analysed using qualitative content analysis. This study reveals compounding challenges (i.e., corruption and lack of commitment) that lead to the failure of such efforts in Nigeria and the potential prospects (i.e., transparency and efficiency). This study is essential in developing a more effective and transparent process of procurement so that the Nigerian construction industry is not be left behind in the fast-digitalising markets.

scholarly journals Barriers to implementing lean construction practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Sarhan ◽  
Bo Xia ◽  
Sabrina Fawzia ◽  
Azharul Karim ◽  
Ayokunle Olanipekun
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
The Body ◽  
Item Score ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Principal Factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers to implementing lean construction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry and to prioritise the principal factors that constitute these barriers. Design/methodology/approach A literature review was initially used to reveal the global barriers to implementing lean construction. Subsequently, these barriers were incorporated into a structured questionnaire, and a convenience sample of 282 construction professionals in the KSA construction industry was surveyed. The results were analysed using mean item score (MIS), Mann–Whitney U test and principal component analysis (PCA). Findings The findings revealed 22 barriers to lean construction implementation in the KSA construction industry. Principal factors that constitute these barriers were found to be traditional practices, client related, technological, performance and knowledge and cost-related barriers in descending order of pervasiveness. The study also proposes solutions to overcome these principal barriers. Originality/value This study provides a global overview of the barriers to implementing lean construction. It contributes to the body of knowledge, as it uncovers for the first time the barriers to implementing lean construction in the KSA construction industry with reference to the socio-cultural, economic and operational context of the KSA. Thus, it is relevant to other countries in the Middle East because of their shared similarities to the KSA. Furthermore, the solutions proposed to overcome these barriers in the KSA construction industry can be applied in other countries where similar barriers are identified.

FinTech in the Saudi Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
Faisal Abubotain ◽  
Petros Chamakiotis
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
University Students ◽  
Long Tail ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Late Arrival ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
University Curricula ◽  
Banking Operations

With the constant development in FinTech globally, Saudi Arabia is a late arrival in the FinTech world. However, the FinTech growth pace in Saudi is fast and not slowing down. This fast pace is confusing stakeholders, including bankers. This chapter unpacks how FinTech is developing in Saudi Arabia, considers the challenges and opportunities that FinTech may be facing in Saudi, and discusses how these changes may affect current bankers and how future bankers can be ready to enter the new market. The study draws on interviews with professionals in the banking and FinTech industries and makes two contributions: It suggests that FinTech is affecting retail and long-tail clients of banks (i.e., the effect on core banking operations, such as corporate banking and treasury). Findings also highlight that professionals should upgrade their knowledge around matters necessary to retain their jobs in the sector. The study has implications for future bankers (i.e., university students), suggesting that university curricula should be updated to include relevant knowledge and professional placements.

BIM in the Saudi Arabian construction industry: state of the art, benefit and barriers

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al-Yami ◽  
Muizz O. Sanni-Anibire
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Although there is a boom in the construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), it is yet to fully adopt building information modeling (BIM), which has received a lot of attention in the US, UK and Australian construction industries. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide the current state of the art in BIM implementation in Saudi Arabia, as well as perceived benefits and barriers through a case study. Design/methodology/approach A broad overview of BIM, the construction industry in KSA and the research and implementation of BIM in KSA was presented in this study. The research further established the perceived benefits and barriers of BIM implementation through a case study of a local AEC firm. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain lessons learned from the BIM team of the pilot project and was further analyzed using the RII approach. Findings The study’s findings include the lack of policy initiatives in KSA to enforce BIM in the construction industry, as well as the lack of sufficient research in the domain of BIM in KSA. Furthermore, the case study also revealed that the most important benefit of BIM adoption is “detection of inter-disciplinary conflicts in the drawings to reduce error, maintain design intent, control quality and speed up communication,” whereas the most important barrier is “the need for re-engineering many construction projects for successful transition towards BIM.” Originality/value The study provides a background for enhanced research towards the implementation of BIM in Saudi Arabia and also demonstrates the potential benefits and barriers in BIM implementation.

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