THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PROJECT DELIVERY: A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 169-177
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ghandour

Purpose of study: The study aimed at establishing the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on project delivery in the UAE with a significant focus on the construction industry. The study also sought to determine some of the negative implications of COVID-19 for the construction industry. Methodology: The within-subjects research design was employed in the study. Purposive and simple random sampling was used in the selection of the respondents. A total of 116 project managers in the construction industry were sampled for the study. Data was collecting using self-administered online questionnaires. The SPSS software was applied to analyze the collected data using the paired samples t-test analysis method to compare the means of the projected number of days taken to complete a project before and during the COVID-19 period. Main Findings: The study findings revealed that there is a statistically significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of days taken to complete projects in the construction industry in the UAE. The findings of the study revealed that the pandemic resulted in a lack of access to raw materials and labor, thereby leading to a delay in the completion of projects. Application of the study: The revelation of the implications would inform the policy and decision-makers in the country to devise effective ways of addressing the challenges for the stability of the sector. The researcher recommends the same study to be replicated in other areas to identify the effects the pandemic has had on other industries. Another study should also be conducted on the effective strategies that should be adopted to address the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry in the UAE. Novelty/originality of the study: This is contemporary studies that deal with a current issue. The study concluded that the construction industry became a victim of COVID-19 to the extent that it has brought its projects to a halt and significantly eroded the market of its beneficiaries. Unlike other industries, construction projects cannot accommodate distance working but facing challenges making on-time delivery impossible and therefore construction industry is at risk.

The United Arab Emirates construction industry is beset with negative project performance outputs, such as defects, low productivity, delay in completion, and higher costs. Most critical among the recorded reasons for having these undesirable outputs is the engagement of unskilled craft workers. However, the demand for construction projects in the UAE is continually increasing, especially after Dubai won hosting of Expo 2020, as this consequently translates to increased demand for skilled construction craft workers, if optimal project delivery performance must be achieved. Therefore, subject matters related to skillfulness and productivity of construction craft workers become research windows for academic scholars and industry investigators in the UAE built environment. The main purpose of this study is to explicate the reasons behind employment of unskilled craft workers in the construction projects from the management level perspective. To meet this purpose, the authors conducted in-depth interview with construction project managers. The results show number of reasons why unskilled craft workers are been hired and the effect of specialized certificates on hiring the craft workers


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-84
Author(s):  
Wadhah Amer Hatem ◽  
Samiaah M. Hassen Al-Tmeemy

     Suicide attacks, bombings, explosions became the part of daily life in Iraq. Consequently, the threat of terrorism put the Iraqi construction sector in the face of unique and unusual challenges that not seen on other countries. These challenges can have extensive impact on construction projects. This paper seeks to examine the impact of the terrorist attacks on construction industry and determine the extent to which the impact of terrorism on construction projects in terms of cost, schedule, and quality. This study adapted quantitative and qualitative approaches to collect data using questionnaire survey and interviews, as well as historical data. The study focused on projects that have been the target of terrorist strikes in Diyala governorate. A variety of statistical procedures were employed in data analysis. The results revealed the extent to which terrorist attacks impact construction projects in terms of cost, time, and quality. The results of this study will enhance the awareness of all construction parties to the impact of the terrorist attacks against construction projects. Eventually, this can develop a risk management assessment and assist contractors to properly protect projects and buildings to minimize injuries and fatalities in the event of terrorism.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese Daddow ◽  
Martin Skitmore

Despite its obvious theoretical benefits, there has been some reservations regarding the practical implementation of Value Management (VM) for construction projects. In particular, these concerns the extra time and costs involved in conducting VM in relation to the actual benefits gained as a consequence of its use. This paper provides the result of an interview survey of the experiences and observations of 17 professionals working in the property and construction industry to establish the extent to which this is an issue. The main conclusion is that the process is working well, with VM being popular among those with experience in its use - which has been extended into the area of consultant selection. However, in contrast with the prescriptive literature, much of the participants' experiences appear to be more concerned with VM's contribution to the identification and management of the risks involved in project delivery than the straight value-for-money aspects. This may be due to the higher levels of uncertainty involved in construction work than in VM's original use in construction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 05 (07) ◽  
pp. 01-07
Author(s):  
Akram Subhe Suleiman ◽  
Jafar Subhi Hardan Abahre

An exhaustive literature search revealed that not much research has been done on factors causing problems in managing a construction project in a country under military occupation like Palestine. So, it is the main goal of this research is to identify these factors which could be used by the decision makers to select the appropriate project manager who bosses the suitable skills and competencies to deal with these problems. The study is a step toward determining means to improve the effectiveness of projects through identifying project manager competencies. It is important for Palestinian construction industry to progress in terms of project success; the problems that face the project managers must be determined and identified, in order to achieve the best results with less risk. A clear understanding of such problems helps the Palestinian construction industry of finding the suitable solutions to overcome these problems. A questionnaire survey was carried out to achieve the main aim of this research. The respondents were engineers have more than 3 years in the position of project manager in the Palestinian construction industry. The survey was based on factors drawn from findings of another researches in different countries, together with special factors identified as potentially affecting Palestine. The results identified many factors created problems; they were clustered in eight groups. These groups were arranged according to respondents in descending order as follows: the political situation of Palestine, lack of consultants` technical competencies, lack of resources, insufficient planning, team members uncommitted, conflicts between departments, breakdowns in communications, and changes in goals. As a result of this study one could conclude that managing a project in Palestine is as difficult as the complication of the political situation of the country. The project manager should have a complicated mixture of skills and competencies from dealing with Israeli occupation to dealing with stakeholders to lack of resources and unclear goals. The study has recommended to the Palestinian government to improve the regulations and laws to meet the impact of closure and segmentation of the Palestine.


Author(s):  
Omayma Motaleb ◽  
Mohammed Kishk

The growing rate of delays in project delivery is considered a major criticism of the construction companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This paper aims to investigate the causes and effects behind the delays pertaining to delivery of construction projects in the UAE. The study is exploratory in nature, and incorporates a pilot questionnaire survey and interviews. An extensive literature review indicates potential factors that have possible effects on construction completion delay. The questionnaire forms were sent to 50 construction companies. Thirty-five (70%) completed responses were received. Analysis of the survey data has revealed that about 42 potential causes and effects of delay relate to various groups of stakeholders. The results show the top fifteen factors relate to clients, project managers and finance aspects. It was found that cost and time overruns are the most significant effects. These results are in partial agreement with previous studies. The paper argues that the key determinant in ensuring project control is on-time project delivery. The results of the study can provide moderate support for a suggested hypothesis, through a framework of project success factors. It should be of high concern to knowledge managers in various roles and decision-makers.


Author(s):  
Peter S. P. Wong ◽  
Luke Edmonson ◽  
Michael Phillip Kanellopoulos

Prefabrication has been widely adopted in the construction projects in recent years. It has also been advocated as a greener and more sustainable approach of project delivery. However, with a wealth of evidence supporting other reasons as the drivers of using prefabrication, it is questionable whether the real goal of prefabrication is to achieve sustainable construction. This study aims to investigate the roles of prefabrication in fostering sustainable construction. The effectiveness of prefabrication on fostering sustainable construction was evaluated on the five aspects enlisted by the UK’s Green Construction Board: Waste, Water, Carbon, Materials, and Biodiversity. An industry survey was conducted in Melbourne, Australia for data collection. 200 questionnaires were sent via email or post to a variety of fields within the construction industry. Entropy ranking analysis was adopted to analyze the effectiveness of using prefabrication in construction. The results suggest that prefabrication is effective in reducing construction waste and sourcing energy efficient materials. However, the utilization of prefabrication was found unsuccessful in reducing carbon emissions during the construction process. It is suggested that proactive actions should be taken at the design stage to unleash the potential of prefabrication in construction.


1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Fazio ◽  
O. Moselhi ◽  
P. Théberge ◽  
S. Revay

The growing use of professional construction management has been synonymous with the development of new project delivery systems such as the phased construction approach and the fast-tracking technique. This paper establishes the distinction between these two types of approach which have become increasingly popular for reducing project duration. The paper further illustrates, through a case study, the possible consequences of compressing and overlapping design activities in a fast-track program to expedite project delivery. A delay analysis shows the impact of this accelerated technique on construction activities. The far-reaching effect of mistakes during the early design/engineering phase in a fast-track program is usually underrated. Accelerating a project through fast-tracking is a major decision, and construction professionals often are not aware of its implications. Based on the case study examined in this paper and other fast-track constructions previously analyzed, trouble areas requiring special attention have been depicted and recommendations with regard to the effective use of this technique are presented. It has also been shown that if intensified effort on problem areas is lacking, such a popular accelerated technique could result in unexpected delays. Key words: fast-tracking, phased construction, professional construction management, design management.


Author(s):  
Tochukwu Moses ◽  
David Heesom ◽  
David Oloke

It is clear that challenging economic times inspire innovative abilities and solutions in the construction industry. In particular many of these innovations focus on cost implications, saving project time, reducing or eliminating waste, increasing productivity or redefining value. There is increasing pressure in the UK construction industry for new construction innovations, technology and processes with ability to lever a significant impact relative to disrupting the existing status quo; creating solutions that promote construction efficiencies deploying means to exploiting offsite construction approaches. The increased concern and challenge globally is that as knowledge and experience grows, the offsite manufacturers and suppliers are expected to demonstrate absolute innovative solutions that will heighten the proportion of project value being delivered through the use of offsite solutions on the bases that it makes sound project and business sense. Unparalleled huge cost saving benefits to clients and end users which is more than just creating a model is yet to be realized.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (08) ◽  
pp. 31-38
Author(s):  
Siddharth Jain ◽  

Construction 4.0 (a concept of Industry 4.0) is an ongoing transformation that aims at digitalization and automation of traditional construction and industrial practices using modern smart technology. The technological development especially of the construction sector is of utmost importance to meet the requirements of rapid construction projects aiming at quality work, increased productivity, and cost savings. One such technology that has come to the limelight is Virtual Reality (VR), which is a computer-generated smart environment that is artificially created using various types of hardware and software. This smart environment is created to resemble a real-life structure that can be explored, visualized, and interacted with by users using electronic devices for better decisionmaking before actual construction. The purpose of this paper is to design a Virtual Reality model using Building Information Modelling (BIM) and to examine the impact and influence of Virtual Reality Technology in the Indian construction industry with the help of a questionnaire survey. This study provides necessary information for implementing Virtual Reality technology in the construction industry. The results of this study provide a research road map to researchers for their future efforts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Ajay Krishnan ◽  
Ajithkumar S ◽  
Manishankar G ◽  
Upendra K ◽  
Kabilan A ◽  
...  

In India, Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is in practice as a tool for prioritizing and managing real estate projects in construction organizations. But due to insufficient funding, improper judgment of experts during the crisis situation, the selection of optimal project portfolio prototype can be viewed as a risk based decision making process involving various risk factors. The objective of this study is to analyze the importance of project portfolio management and the risks associated with it in the construction industry taking into account the impact of novel corona virus COVID 19. This research identifies the adoption of more consistent project governance, risk management techniques and way more careful project portfolio management as the core area of study. A conceptual framework for Project Portfolio Management is also designed after analyzing various parameters of Project Portfolio Management of construction industry with the help of Bayesian framework. The key motive for undertaking this part of examination on real estate sector of Indian construction industry in southern part of India to reduce the impacts and increase the return on investment from the projects by mitigating the effect of risk factors associated in the projects.  Project Portfolio Management tools and techniques are very useful for managing multiple construction projects.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document