scholarly journals CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION INSTRUMENTS RELATED TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.V.M.K. Wijerathna ◽  
◽  
M.D.T.E. Abeynayake ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Regulatory Instruments ◽  
Level Of Significance

The construction industry is required to improve sustainability to increase the rapid growth of the economy of Sri Lanka. The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has introduced Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) survey, Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), and Environmental Protection License (EPL) as environmental protection instruments that have been correlated with construction projects. To interrupt the smooth performance of the EIA, IEE, and EPL, many challenges have been associated with these procedures. The research problem was approached through six preliminary interviews to refine the identified challenges and issues related to EIA, IEE and EPL with their processes within the Sri Lankan context. Based on the preliminary interview results, forty questionnaires were distributed to investigate the level of significance of the challenges and issues with regard to EIA, IEE, and EPL related to development projects. For this research, mixed research approach is used. Collected data were analysed in terms of statistical analysis and content analysis using NVivo 12 software respectively. The analysed data were revealed different issues of EIA, IEE, and EPL instruments in Sri Lanka. Especially challenges related to regulatory bodies were identified. According to the research, there were many adverse effects due to the ineffective implementation of environmental protection regulatory instruments. Similarly, it revealed that issues were affected to the time, cost, and quality of the construction projects. Ultimately, it provided proper guidance for implementing EIA, IEE, and EPL instruments and the necessity of implementation of a post-monitoring mechanism for environmental protection instruments.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATION OF PLANT AND EQUIPMENT OPERATORS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.G.A.S Waidyasekara ◽  
◽  
K.I. Ridmika ◽  
N.M.G.H. Sandagomika ◽  
A.N Konara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Data Collection Tool ◽  
Social Returns ◽  
The Status ◽  
Essential Input

The construction industry, which is a labour intensive and skill development of the industry would yield both economic and social returns to the national economy. Among other occupational categories, there is a significant demand for the plant and equipment (P&E) operators in the construction industry. Nevertheless, limited numbers of research are available on the said area. Hence, the aim of this paper is to investigate the status of P&E operators in Sri Lankan building construction projects. Accordingly, this study encompassed a qualitative research approach, and six semi-structured expert interviews were conducted as the data collection tool. The study revealed that mainly two categories of P&E as moveable and immovable and further identified subcategories under each. Based on the results, occupational map was developed for the P&E operators in building construction projects in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the study revealed that technical and mechanical skills as an essential input for an efficient P& E operator. Moreover, the paper discussed issues with P & E operators. Accordingly, inconsistency, taking long leave, poor health conditions, less experience, and less motivation were identified as prominent issues.

Critical factors affecting the performance of large construction projects in developing countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-556
Author(s):  
Djoen San Santoso ◽  
Polwatta Gallage Madusha Piumal Gallage
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the factors affecting the performance of large construction projects in Sri Lanka. The causes, impacts and mitigations in association with the critical factors are explored and discussed. Design/methodology/approach The research focuses on the evaluation and perspectives of clients and contractors of large projects in Sri Lanka. Combined quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in this research. Initially, a questionnaire survey was conducted with clients and contractors involved in large projects to evaluate the factors affecting the performance of projects and to identify the ten most critical factors. Interviews with the clients and contractors of three large projects were conducted to examine the causes and impacts of the critical factors and the approaches used to mitigate them. Findings Significant differences in the factors were observed for more than 40 per cent of the total factors under study, the contractors assigning more weight to most of the factors than the clients. The study identified nine internal factors and one external factor as the critical factors. Of these, seven were related to the contractors, which suggested that the contractors have greater roles in defining performance. Lack of management and technical skills of the parties involved, human capacity, lack of understanding and knowledge of the local context, changes in government policies and political interference were identified as significant causes of the critical factors. Originality/value The study analysed the factors affecting the performance of large projects in Sri Lanka, which, at the time of research, had just ended a 26-year-long civil war and was pushing the construction of large projects to be competitive. The challenges faced in this effort were explored as lessons learnt that might improve the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure development in Sri Lanka. The combined quantitative and qualitative methods applied in this study are expected to provide new insights in the project performance research, especially the interviews of the critical factors to gain an understanding on how the factors occurred and manifested themselves in real projects. The findings are, however, expected to be applicable to other developing countries that are currently aggressively developing their large infrastructure.

scholarly journals NEGLIGENT USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT BY CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IN SRI LANKA: ANALYSIS OF INDIVIDUAL MANIFESTATIONS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.P.M DASANDARA ◽  
◽  
D.M.P.P. DISSANAYAKE ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Occupational Accidents ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Individual

The construction industry can be identified as one of the main sectors in Sri Lanka where the majority of occupational accidents happen. When considering the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), occupational accidents have been significantly happened due to many reasons. Among those reasons, negligence of the use of PPE by construction workers has become prominent. Different factors can affect this situation. Among them, individual manifestations such as perceptions, beliefs, experiences and attitudes of the workers can make a significant impact. Hence, there is an emerging need to explore the reasons under these individual manifestations, which encourages the negligence use of PPE. This paper therefore aimed to analyse the individual manifestations to unveil the reasons behind the negligence of use of PPE by construction workers in Sri Lanka. A qualitative research approach was followed to achieve the aim of the study. Case studies were conducted using two SME construction projects. Fourteen semi structured interviews were conducted in both cases with managerial and worker level respondents. Collected data were analysed using code based content analysis. ‘Considering PPE as a disturbance’, ‘lack of experiences of the workers’, ‘poor education level of the workers’, ‘inadequate knowledge and skills of the workers’, ‘poor income level’, ‘age of the workers’, ‘number of dependencies’, ‘poor health condition’ and ‘different lifestyles of the workers’ were revealed through the empirical research findings as the key reasons under individual manifestations, which affect for the neglect usage of PPE by the workers. The knowledge generated through this study can be used in many ways by the industry practitioners to make safe working environment within the construction sites.

scholarly journals ACCURACY OF TRADITIONAL CONTINGENCY ESTIMATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Jeyananthan ◽  
◽  
A. Shandraseharan ◽  
U. Kulatunga ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Hypothesis Test ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
Traditional System ◽  
Motivating Factor

Contingency amounts are allocated in the construction projects to deal with uncertainties arising during the projects. Contingency amounts are usually estimated traditionally by simply adding a percentage of the estimated contract amount. However, the traditional system of contingency estimation is heavily criticised as ineffective due to several reasons. Therefore, this research focuses on evaluating the level of accuracy of current contingency estimation techniques in the Sri Lankan context. This study adopted a mixed-method research approach. Empirical data were collected using expert interviews and questionnaire survey. Data collected from the expert interviews were analysed using manual content analysis. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the questionnaire survey data. Findings revealed that inexpensiveness is the highly motivating factor for the rigid usage of the traditional method to estimate contingency in the Sri Lankan context. Estimated contract amount, procurement method, payment method, and type of client were identified as highly influencing factors in contingency estimation. Finally, the hypothesis test of this study revealed that the traditional contingency estimation is ineffective. Since the traditional contingency estimation proved ineffective and highly inaccurate, experts in the industry should consider a flexible alternative approach in contingency estimation to improve the accuracy of the contingency amount.

scholarly journals AN INVESTIGATION ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF CONSTRUCTION ORGANISATIONS IN DISASTER IN SRI LANKA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.B. NANAYAKKARA ◽  
◽  
Y.G. SANDANAYAKE ◽  
B.J. EKANAYAKE ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Disaster Situation ◽  
Corporate Social

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept, which is broadly determined as ensuring the efficacy of the organisation in integrating social and environmental considerations into organisational operations. In Sri Lankan context, a great enthusiasm can be seen among organisations to engage in CSR initiatives. Having considered the importance and impact, the study aims to investigate the importance of CSR initiatives by construction organisations in disasters in Sri Lanka. Thus, a mixed method research approach was followed as the methodology of this study. Findings are based on semi-structured interviews held with construction industry professionals. Findings of this study revealed that the implementation of CSR initiatives is more important during a disaster situation in the aspects of both affected party and aiding party. Moreover, construction organisations implement CSR during disaster situations by considering it as a mandatory responsibility of an organisation. Further, most of the construction organisations engage in CSR implementation during natural disaster situations. In practice all the construction organisations tend to engage in reactive initiatives. More importantly, it is revealed that both the organisational work force and society are benefitted through CSR implementation in disaster situations.

scholarly journals An Investigation into the Significant Causes of Disputes in the Sri Lankan Construction Industry

10.29007/vbwk ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vajira Edirisinghe ◽  
Dianne Marsh ◽  
Fiona Borthwick ◽  
Alison Cotgrave
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Cost Optimization ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Construction Disputes ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Cost Of Construction

Disputes in construction projects affect not only delay in construction progress but also its cost and potentially its quality. The construction industry of Sri Lanka contributes significantly to its economy and the cost of construction disputes can influence its economic welfare. It is important to understand the significant disputes in the Sri Lankan construction industry in order to mitigate this cost. A qualitative descriptive study has been conducted through semi-structured questionnaires analyzed using a thematic approach. The sample comprised of 10-construction industry professionals all involved in the dispute resolution process. The literature identified 7 main dispute causes as being owner related, contractor related, project related, design related, contract related, human behavior related and consultant related. The interviews identified sub themes from each, which were then ranked in order to identify those that were most significant. It was found that many of the sub themes were inter related and that one cause could be the creation of another. The lack of appropriate communication between parties and lack of team spirit were identified as the genesis of disputes in the Sri Lankan construction industry. The next stage of this research is to identify the dispute resolution methods specific to Sri Lanka in order to develop a framework for cost optimization of dispute resolution methods that link specifically with the causes of dispute as identified in this study.

scholarly journals MANAGEMENT OF VARIATIONS WITH THE USE OF STANDARD FORMS OF CONTRACT IN PUBLIC SECTOR BUILDING PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. SENADEERA ◽  
◽  
D. C. SIRIMEWAN ◽  
B. A. K. S. PERERA ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Standard Form ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Qualified Personnel ◽  
Public Construction ◽  
Variation Management

In most of the public construction projects in developing countries, a large number of ‘variations’ that result from the changes made to the original scopes of the projects urge the need of variation management by the parties to a contract. This study explores the ways of managing variations in public sector building projects executed in Sri Lanka with the use of Standard Forms of Contract. It applied a qualitative research approach and used a comprehensive literature review expert interviews for data collection. Manual content analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The findings reveal numerous causes of variations for which the Employer, Consultant, Contractor, or certain other factors are responsible. The research also reveals that the variations could be minimised by adopting strategies, such as the preparation of a fully detailed Employer’s brief, review of the design and deployment of qualified personnel. The study proposes to modify the variation clause by adding more explanations in the Standard Form of Contract to facilitate effective variation management in Sri Lanka.

scholarly journals Perceived Readiness of Educated Youth towards Ethnic Integration in Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44
Author(s):  
M.S. Dimuthu Kumari
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Integration Model ◽  
Ethnic Integration ◽  
The Social

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic society hence the ethnic integration has been a hot topic for decades.   By 2021, it has been 73 years after the independence from British empires, however, natives still struggle for the reconciliation among themselves. Often occurred ethnic clashes usually account for a huge social and economic cost.  Various scholars have highlighted that youth is highly active in initiating ethnic clashes. And, it is quoted specifically for the ‘Educated youth’ in Sri Lankan context. Therefore, this study explores the perceptions of ‘multi-ethnic, educated youth’ in heightening ethnic integration in Sri Lanka. This study utilized quantitative research approach and survey method. Primary data was mainly used for the study and collected through an online questionnaire. 100 multi-ethnic youth who are studying in higher education institutions in Sri Lanka selected as the sample using random sampling technique.  The readiness of respondents was basically measured through their perceptions with respect to the social integration model proposed by Awang et al (2019). Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing data. The results showed that the overall readiness of educated youth in promoting ethnic integration is high in Sri Lankan context. The respondents are almost ready for the social acceptance and cultural appreciation levels of the model. However, they have showed, relatively a slight attraction towards compromisation and adaptation levels for which a high degree of ethnic tolerance is required. Therefore, it can be concluded that the majority of educated youth are social extroverts and are aware the importance of integration. However, since they showed a little attraction towards the upper layers of integration pyramid, there is a need of re-evaluating existing social integration policies. So that, some policy recommendations are suggested to enhance more operational activities in reconciliation process to reach the upper levels of ethnic integration (compromization and adaptation) in Sri Lankan context.

scholarly journals Management accountant’s role and society’s expectations: Sri Lankan study

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-232
Author(s):  
Shanmugavel Rajeevan
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Accountants ◽  
Contemporary Management ◽  
Business Sectors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain insights into the gap between management accounting professional’s role and the societal expectations of the management accounting professionals in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was adopted to identify the statistical gap of the management accountant’s role and society’s expectations. Four business sectors were selected from Colombo Stock Exchange as of 31 December 2018. Sample consisted of 160 entities; 480 questionnaires were distributed among three stakeholders (financial accountant/manager, management accountant and human resource manager). Out of the 228 responses received, only 171 responses were usable. Exhibiting an overall response rate of 35.6 per cent. Findings The role expectation of management accountants varies significantly across the selected business sectors in Sri Lanka. There is an increasing demand for contemporary management accounting skills in Sri Lanka. Practical implications The insights of this study would be of use to policy makers and policy implementers to examine and develop remedial measures to enhance the creditability and transparency of the management accounting profession in Sri Lanka. Academic and professional educational providers can identify future trends and necessary skills of management accounting to improve management accounting curriculum. Originality/value The evidence from this study contributes to the literature of societal importance of management accounting from a Sri Lankan perspective.

Management of variations in the public-sector building construction projects in Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.A.K.S. Perera ◽  
D.C. Sirimewan ◽  
A.D. Senadeera
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
Variation Management

Purpose Many public-sector building projects in developing countries are prone to variations owing to the changes made to their original project scopes, and economic depressions and stagnations. Cost and time-overruns are consequences of such variations. Thus, variation management in these projects is important. Hence, this paper aims to analyse the methods of managing variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a mixed research approach. Seventeen expert interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the causes and consequences of the variations, and the strategies that will help manage those variations. Manual content analysis and mean weighted rankings (MWR) were used to analyse the collected quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Findings The employer, consultant, contractor and several other factors are mostly responsible for the variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka. Cost and time-overruns, rework and demolition and disputes are the major consequences of such variations. The study findings reveal that a detailed employer’s brief, clearly defined project objectives, a comprehensive design and set of specifications, and preliminary investigations are the strategies that will mostly minimise the variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka. Originality/value The study proposes strategies to avoid or minimise the adverse impact of variations, which the industry practitioners can adopt for variation management in public-sector building projects. The study theoretically contributes to knowledge by revealing how variations in public-sector building projects in Sri Lanka can be managed by identifying their causes and consequences.

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