scholarly journals Limiting collusion in the construction industry: A review of the bid-rigging settlement in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardin Ratshisusu

This paper undertakes a critical case analysis of the process and outcomes of the Competition Commission (CCSA) Fast Track Construction Settlement Project relative to the mandates of the CCSA and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). The study reviews the information from the CCSA’s settlements, analysing the breakdown by private and public projects, type of project and the nature of bid-rigging. It provides an assessment of the practices involved and considers the cooperation that is required for the successful implementation of large infrastructure projects and how these can be organized in a way that ensures rivalry while enabling co-operation. The paper further reviews the barriers to entry, and the complementary measures that can be taken to ensure greater effective rivalry and participation. Interventions that could be necessary at the regulatory, procurement and firm level to ensure that the construction sector charts a new sustainable competitive path are highlighted. 

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1625-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Alexander Silverio-Fernandez ◽  
Suresh Renukappa ◽  
Subashini Suresh

Purpose The decentralisation of information and high rate of mobile content access in the construction industry provides an ideal scenario for improvement of processes via the implementation of the paradigm of the Internet of Things (IoT). Smart devices are considered as the objects interconnected in the IoT; therefore, they play a fundamental role in the implementation of digital solutions during the execution of construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to assess the critical factors for a successful implementation of smart devices in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study was performed in the Dominican Republic. This country, located at the heart of the Caribbean, presents an economy that strongly relies on the construction industry. Following a systematic approach, a qualitative data collection and analysis was performed based on semi-structured interviews and content analysis to professionals of construction companies in the Dominican Republic, enquiring the concept of smart devices and critical success factors for implementing the devices in the industry. Findings The key success factors obtained from the contestants were leadership, technology awareness, company size, usability of proposed solution, cost of implementation and interoperability. Originality/value This paper provides information to clients of the construction sector regarding the benefits of embedding smart devices into their business activities. Furthermore, this study provides a better understanding of the key factors to be considered by construction organisations when embedding smart devices into their projects. This study also provides recommendations for distinct stakeholders of the construction sector, such as policy makers, clients and technology consultants. Policy makers should especially consider factors such as technology awareness and leadership to develop the right policies for the integration of the IoT in construction projects. Technology consultants should be aware of the latest case studies of successful implementation of smart devices and IoT systems in the world in order to adapt and implement smart devices and IoT in their projects.


Author(s):  
Renard Y. J. Siew ◽  
Samad M. Sepasgozar ◽  
Ali Akbarnezhad

The construction sector lags other industries when it comes to the implementation of sustainability. This paper highlights some of the key barriers in implementing sustainability within the construction industry sector and proposes recommendations to address them. The paper suggests that the four main barriers faced by the construction industry in implementing sustainability are unclear definitions of sustainable construction, ineffectiveness of sustainability reporting tools (SRTs), slow adoption of ‘green’ technology and the negligence of human resource management. This paper provides an original perspective and challenges current practices (or lack thereof) which hinders the successful implementation of sustainability in construction. It will be of interest to project owners, contractors, academics and other construction practitioners who are interested in the outlook of sustainability within the property and construction industry.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xosé Luís Fernández-López ◽  
Pablo Coto-Millán

Despite its contribution to the Spanish economy, as far as the authors are aware, the technical efficiency of the Spanish construction industry has neither been measured nor have the factors influencing it been analyzed. This paper measures the technical efficiency of the Spanish construction sector before and during the current financial crisis and investigates the degree to which factors influencing efficiency levels in this sector have changed. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) methods are applied to firm-level data (692 constructions firms) over the period 1996-2011. The results show that the average Technical Efficiency of the sector is 0.85. Results also indicate that variables affecting Technical Efficiency in the construction sector must be analyzed depending on real state cycle. Based on the findings, policy recommendations to improve the sector efficiency were developed.Important factors affecting efficiency change have been identified, and some managerial recommendations to increase the sector efficiency have been developed. The main recommendations for construction companies include: (1) cooperation and company mergers have a positive impact on companies’ efficiency; (2) accumulation of excessive financial burden damages the business long-term stability; and (3) business strategy should be tailored to economic prospects.Paper Type: Viewpoint


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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui Ye ◽  
Yuhe Wang ◽  
Yuxin Zhang ◽  
Liming Wang ◽  
Houli Xie ◽  
...  

Total factor productivity (TFP) is of critical importance to the sustainable development of construction industry. This paper presents an analysis on the impact of migrant workers on TFP in Chinese construction sector. Interestingly, Solow Residual Approach is applied to conduct the analysis through comparing two scenarios, namely the scenario without considering migrant workers (Scenario A) and the scenario with including migrant workers (Scenario B). The data are collected from the China Statistical Yearbook on Construction and Chinese Annual Report on Migrant Workers for the period of 2008–2015. The results indicate that migrant workers have a significant impact on TFP, during the surveyed period they improved TFP by 10.42% in total and promoted the annual average TFP growth by 0.96%. Hence, it can be seen that the impact of migrant workers on TFP is very significant, whilst the main reason for such impact is believed to be the improvement of migrant workers’ quality obtained mainly throughout learning by doing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5012
Author(s):  
Wesam Salah Alaloul ◽  
Muhammad Ali Musarat ◽  
Muhammad Babar Ali Rabbani ◽  
Qaiser Iqbal ◽  
Ahsen Maqsoom ◽  
...  

The construction sector exerts an exceptional impact on economic development all over the world. Adequate buildings and infrastructures made by the construction sector ensure that a country reaches certain targets like social development, industrialization, freight transportation, sustainable development, and urbanization. This study aims to determine the construction sector’s connectivity with other sectors through complex linkages that contribute immensely to the economy and gross domestic product (GDP). The data were collected from the Department of Statistics Malaysia and the World Bank from the year 1970 to 2019, and the Pearson correlation test, the cointegration test, and the Granger causality test were conducted. The vector error correction model (VECM) was created for short-term and long-term equilibrium analysis and impulse response function (IRF) was performed to study construction industry behavior. Afterwards, the forecasting was done for the year 2020 to 2050 of the Malaysian economy and GDP for the required sectors. It was revealed that some sectors, such as agriculture and services, have forward linkages while other sectors, such as manufacturing and mining, are independent of construction sector causality, which signifies the behavior of the contributing sectors when a recession occurs, hence generating significant revenue. The Malaysian economy is moving towards sustainable production with more emphasis on the construction sector. The outcome can be used as a benchmark by other countries to achieve sustainable development. The significance of this study is its usefulness for experts all over the world in terms of allocating resources to make the construction sector a sustainable sector after receiving a shock. A sustainable conceptual framework has been suggested for global application that shows the factors involved in the growth of the construction industry to ensure its sustainable development with time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
Svetlana Mikhailovna SYCHEVA ◽  
◽  
Elena Yury’evna KUZMINA ◽  

The article discusses the features of the implementation of investment projects in the construction industry, the main trends in project management in this area. The importance of the construction industry for the country’s economy is substantiated, the key indicators of the construction sector and its contribution to GDP are highlighted. The analysis of the development of the construction industry for the period from 2009 to 2020 is carried out. The reasons for the decrease in investment in construction are identified, among them the most important ones are highlighted. In the article discusses the key characteristics of the construction industry in our country. The conclusion is made about the need for a systematic and integrated approach to the management of investment projects. The authors propose to use the tools of project management to improve the efficiency of the implementation of investment projects. The main tools of project management (tools for defragmentation of work, tools for managing the time in the project, tools for managing resources for project implementation, tools for managing project costs) are named and examples of their use are given. The concepts of «team», «project management team», «matrix of responsibility» are considered.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 788-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Denny-Smith ◽  
Martin Loosemore

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers to entry for Indigenous businesses into the Australian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach A national survey was conducted with 33 Indigenous businesses operating in the Australian construction industry. Findings The findings show that Indigenous enterprises face similar challenges to many small non-Indigenous enterprises wishing to enter the industry. These include adjusting to unique construction industry cultures and practices, breaking into existing business networks and building social capital and being under-cut by industry incumbents and competitors when tendering for projects. These barriers are similar to those faced by other non-Indigenous social enterprises, although Indigenous enterprises do appear to experience relatively greater difficulty in starting-up their businesses and in securing sufficient capital, finance and assistance to enable them to scale-up and tender for normal work packages at a competitive price. Research limitations/implications The results are limited to Australian Indigenous businesses. The survey does not allow a comparison of non-Indigenous and Indigenous businesses, although comparison of results with existing non-Indigenous research into small to medium-sized firms in construction does allow some tentative insights. These need to be explored further. Practical implications These results indicate that there are significant barriers to be addressed within the Australian construction industry if government indigenous procurement policies are to achieve their stated aims of increasing the number of Indigenous firms in the industry. The results also have important implications for Indigenous businesses and for non-Indigenous firms operating in the Australian construction industry. Social implications This is an important gap in knowledge to address if countries like Australia are to redress the significant inequalities in income and health suffered by Indigenous populations. Originality/value In countries like Australia, with significant Indigenous populations, governments are seeking to address persistent disadvantage by using new social procurement initiatives to create quasi construction markets for Indigenous enterprises to participate in the construction industry. While there is an emerging body of research into the barriers facing mainstream small to medium-sized enterprises and, to a lesser extent, social enterprises in construction, the barriers to entry facing Indigenous construction enterprises have been largely ignored.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-70
Author(s):  
Huda Yaseen ◽  
Hafeth I. Naji

Construction projects are of a special nature affected by many factors, which makes them exposed to multiple risks that may lead to the abandonment of projects. Recently, the Iraqi construction sector is facing a number of problems. Abandoned construction projects are one of the most common and dangerous problems in the construction industry in Iraq, with their negative effects on stakeholders, the economy, and the environment due to the lack of sufficient financial and administrative capabilities to complete construction projects, which is reflected in exceeding the time limit for the completion of projects. The aim of this research is to use the analytic network process (ANP) technique to choose the best form of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts to fund abandoned projects in Iraq. using a questionnaire survey to determine the most criteria and alternatives for selecting appropriate financing for the abandoned project. The results shown final weight of the Build-Own-Operate (BOO) contract from ANP is 0.533, which is the best form of PPP contract among the alternatives proposed to fund the project.


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