scholarly journals Positioning the Nigerian Construction Industry and Desiderata for Global Competitiveness in the 21st Century

Author(s):  
K. C. Okolie ◽  
F. O. Ezeokoli ◽  
D. O. Fadumo

The research evaluates the drivers toward positioning Nigerian construction industry for global competitiveness in the 21st century. Being a survey research, questionnaires containing information relating to issues and drivers on global competitiveness were administered to selected construction practitioners in Anambra State, Nigeria. Accordingly, a total of 84 questionnaires were administered out of which 80 copies were completed, returned and found useful.  This corresponds to a response rate of 95%. Data collected were analyzed and presented using mean score, percentages, relative importance index (RII) and tables. The study found that the identified twelve (12) drivers of global competitiveness were all significant in the study area. However, the most perceived significant drivers for global competitiveness in the study area is labour market efficiency. Also, the study observed that the Nigerian construction industry operates at the level of factor-driven economy. Therefore, the study concluded by recommending that construction firms must   find appropriate strategies that would help to improve and strengthen their digital innovation, institutional, technological and infrastructural needs. This will place them in good standing for global competitiveness in the future.

Author(s):  
F. O. Ezeokoli ◽  
C. I. Onyia ◽  
C. B. N. Bert-Okonkwor

Aim: This study examines the extent of readiness of Nigeria construction firms toward digital transformation within the study area. Study Design: It was a survey research, questionnaires containing information relating to digital Technologies, trend and transformation were administered randomly to selected construction practitioners in Anambra State, Nigeria. Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in Anambra State, Nigeria for a period of 6 months. Methodology: A total of 84 questionnaires were administered to selected respondents; 80 copies were completed, returned and found useful, thus, giving a response rate of 95%. Data collected were analysed and presented using mean, percentages, relative importance index (RII), bar charts and pie charts. Results: The study found out that 63% of construction professional is satisfied with their firm readiness to digital transformation. However, the application of digital technologies skills and its transformation in the study area is still at foundation level. The use of mobile and social technologies (83%), entrepreneurship (73%) and Customer experience & strategic thinking (59%) are common in the study area while InMemory Databases skills (36%), Cloud Computing (39%) and Big Data Analytics (44%) are rare. Furthermore 35%, 53% 1% and 11% of the firms are planning to kick up digital transformation, undergoing some forms of digital transformation, attained or don’t see the need for digital transformation respectively. Conclusion: The study was concluded by recommending that construction practitioners should be properly sensitised on the need to understand and conceptualise on how digital transformation and technology will impact construction processes & activities and ability to manage or work within digitally-savvy environments.


Author(s):  
F. O. Ezeokoli ◽  
M. I. Okongwu ◽  
D. O. Fadumo

Aim: The study evaluates how COVID-19 safety rules were applied in construction sites in Anambra state, Nigeria. Study Design: The study being a survey research was effected through literature review, a well-structured questionnaire and interview. Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in Anambra State, Nigeria for a period of 6 months. Methodology: Being a survey research, questionnaire containing information relating to COVID-19 guidelines were randomly administered to selected construction practitioners in Anambra State, Nigeria. Accordingly, a total of 84 questionnaires were administered while 81 copies were completed, returned and found useful. This corresponds to a response rate of 96%. The data were analyzed using Relative importance index and ranked appropriately. Results: The study found out that maintaining stay at home policy if one is sick (0.827), use of face covering/face mask (0.793), placing wash stations or hand sanitizers in multiple locations at construction sites (0.714), maintaining a daily attendance log for all staff and visitors (0.689) and use of provision of personal protective equipment (0.679) are the commonly used covid-19 safety guideline in the study area. The study also, observed that greater percent of the COVID-19 safety guidelines are rarely applied in the study area. Conclusion: The study concluded by recommending that construction sites in the study area should integrate the recommended safety guidelines in its daily operations and/or activities despite the fact that such practices may attract extra cost and disrupt site activities were contacts are necessary as well as take more time to adjust to the new normal in construction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-158
Author(s):  
Shadrack Mutungi Simon

Resource Planning and Leveling are two critical areas of resource management which need to be implemented by contractors to aid in construction project execution. However, in the process of undertaking these processes in their projects, contractors meet a number of challenges which discourage them from implementing Resource Planning and Leveling. Nonetheless, Resource Planning and Leveling has a number of benefits which may not be known by some contractors. The purpose of this research therefore was to establish and evaluate the challenges and benefits associated with Resource Planning and Leveling. A survey design was adopted by the researcher. A sample of 106 respondents was selected randomly and a response rate of 76% was achieved. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and relative importance index analysis while qualitative data was analysed thematically. Contractors were found to experience serious challenges in their quest to execute Resource Planning and Leveling in their projects. The three most pressing challenges experienced by contractors were found to be: project delays (RII=0.8597); technical incompetence (RII=0.8564); materials shortages or late delivery (RII=0.8390). A number of benefits were found to entice contractors to carry out Resource Planning and Leveling in their projects. The three most significant benefits were: establishing plans for material delivery (RII=0.9215); balanced resources, reducing over allocations or overtime (RII=0.9165) and determining or predicts resources needed (RII=0.9139).


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2100-2107

Construction-related conflict is one of the issues that require considerable attention in the construction industry. Hence, this study intends to identify the factors causing conflict among the construction players in Sarawak, Malaysia. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents for this research. Respondents for this research comprised contractors, consultants, and clients in organizations. Out of 196 distributed copies of the questionnaire, a total of 80 copies were completed and returned amounting to40.81% response rate. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to obtain descriptive statistics. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to rank the factors causing conflict. A total of twenty-five (25) factors were identified. Insufficient funding was ranked the most severe among factors causing the client-related conflict. Changes in design was ranked first among factors causing the contractor-related conflict. Poor contract management was ranked first among the factors causing the consultant-related conflict. The findings in this research complement the existing body of knowledge on construction-related disputes. This research has provided a better understanding of the factors that could lead to conflicts among the construction players during the execution of construction projects.


Author(s):  
Muizz Sanni-Anibire ◽  
Abubakar Mahmoud ◽  
Majed Al-Ayouni

The construction industry is recognized as one of the most hazardous industries globally. Moreover, the rising trend of urbanization in many developing countries has ushered in a new era of high-rise construction, thus increasing the frequency of hazards related to working at height. Accident records in Saudi Arabia reveal that the construction industry accounted for 46.4% of industrial accidents, while fall-related injury accounted for 27% of the recorded injuries. Scaffolding is the most common access equipment used to work at height. Thus, the first stage in controlling the risks of falls from a height may be to identify the causes of scaffold accidents. This study presents 36 causes of scaffold accidents classified into five relevant groups, which have been identified through a thorough review of the extant literature. Additionally, the causes have been arranged in a survey designed based on a Likert scale of importance. Subsequently, 120 copies were administered to construction professionals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with a 75% response rate. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was adopted to analyze the feedback. The results revealed that the top three causes of scaffold accidents include: “insufficient bracing/anchorage” (RII of 0.927), “scaffolding erected by incompetent professionals” (RII of 0.926), and “missing/faulty guardrails” (RII of 0.919). This study is of potential benefit to concerned stakeholders in the construction industry.


Author(s):  
Aly Elgayar ◽  
Salwa Mamoun Beheiry ◽  
Alaa Jabbar ◽  
Hamad Al Ansari

Purpose Over the past decade, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced several green regulatory guidelines, federal decrees, and a considerable number of environmentally friendly initiatives. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the top green materials and systems used currently in the UAE construction industry as per the new laws dictate as well as see if professionals are switching over to incorporate more green materials, systems, and/or designs. Design/methodology/approach The work involved reviewing internationally popular green materials and systems for construction, developing a questionnaire based on the literature review, surveying professionals in the seven UAE emirates, and ranking the findings based on the relative importance index. Findings Findings found the top used green materials and system in the UAE’s construction industry. As well as identified that there is a communication gap between the design and implementation phases that is possibly hindering the use of more green materials and systems. Originality/value This study sets a baseline to measure the UAE’s progress over the coming years in terms of integrating more green construction materials, systems, methodologies, and trends.


Author(s):  
Obi Chukwuemeka Emmanuel ◽  
Ogunoh Peter Emenike ◽  
Ezeokoli Fidelis Okechukwu ◽  
Ohaedeghasi Christian Ifeanyi

Poor productivity of construction craftsmen is one of the causes of cost and time overruns in construction projects. Successful delivery of construction of projects within the measurable tenets is driven by effective site supervision. Nevertheless, the inability of many supervisors to organize, communicate with workers, and direct activities sufficiently is primarily connected to the quality of the construction. Hence, this study examined how enhanced supervision styles can lead to the improvement of craftsmen performance in Anambra State, Nigeria. Being a survey research, the study employed the use of review of related literature and structured questionnaire. Accordingly, a total one hundred (100) questionnaires administered and seventy-five (75) were retrieved. This corresponds to a response rate of 75%. Data garnered were analysed and presented using relative importance index, mean scores and frequency tables. The study found out that listening to subordinates or supervisees was the most important supervision styles for improved building craftsmen performance in the study area. Therefore, the study concluded by recommending team work and effective communication channels should be adopted for improving building craftsmen performance as regards project delivery.


Author(s):  
Waqas Farid ◽  
Nadeem Ishaq Kureshi ◽  
Suqrat Babar ◽  
Shahid Mahmood

The aim of this paper is to identify various risk factors faced by construction industry during execution phase of the project. Relevant published literature was studied for the identification of the risk factors and professionals from the local construction industry of Pakistan were asked to rank these risk factors as per their impact on the local projects. Qualitative risk analysis was conducted using the RII (Relative Importance Index) scores and risk scores were calculated. To improve the quality of construction key risk factors highly influencing the local construction industry of Pakistan were identified. Amongst these factors, Construction delays due to unforeseen impediments, payment delays from Client and unreasonable and inflexible decisions were the crest causes highly influencing the project outcome. The top ten risks faced at projects in Pakistan were listed, discussed and conclusions were drawn.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak M.D. ◽  
Gangadhar Mahesh ◽  
Narotham Kumar Medi

Many studies have been conducted in relation with knowledge management (KM), indicating the benefit associated with KM; among which safety management (SM) improvement is one of them. So, the aim of this article is to assess the influence of KM on SM practices in construction industry. In this regard, various factors that affect KM and SM are identified through literature review. Then, a questionnaire survey was facilitated to collect data based on the identified factors. These factors are ranked using a relative importance index (RII) to ascertain the level of importance among its group. Further, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis are carried out to test and measure the strength of the relationship between KM and SM factors. Results indicate that there exists a definite and significant relationship between the factors of KM and SM in construction industry. Overall, the results obtained from the study will assist practitioners and professionals to develop and upgrade KM and SM practices in construction industry.


Author(s):  
Seng Hansen ◽  
◽  
Susy F. Rostiyanti ◽  
Angelia Nafthalie ◽  
◽  
...  

The poor level of women’s participation in the construction industry has been a concern for many years. In fact, women represent less than 3% of the total workers in the Indonesian construction industry. On the other hand, the industry is experiencing a worker shortage causing it to innovatively attract construction workers by increasing women’s participation in the industry. Thus, this paper aims to understand the motivating factors for women to work in the construction industry. It adopts multi-sequence research techniques including integrative literature review, expert interviews and questionnaire surveys to collect data for the study. The data was then analysed using relative importance index and factor analysis. The findings were discussed and synthesised to develop a motivational framework for women to work in the construction industry. While this framework was developed based on the Indonesian context, it can serve as a theoretical foundation for further research regarding women’s participation in the construction industry.


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