Effective Material Management in Building Construction Site

Effective Material Management in Building Construction Site

Chapter One

AIM AND OBJECTIVES  

Aim

The aim of the research is to assess professional’s perception on material management practices on construction sites in selected states in Nigeria with a view to proffering solutions to the identified problems.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this research are;

1. To establish theoretical frame work on construction materials management.
2. To study the practices of construction material management by construction firms in Nigeria 3. To investigate the factors militating against effective materials management on construction site in Nigeria
3. To assess professionals perception on the measures to be put in place to ensure effective materials management in the construction industry in Nigeria.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

 MANAGEMENT FUNCTION

For any kind of organization to run smoothly, it needs to implement core management concepts. This necessitates that the four management functions – planning, organizing, leading and controlling be precisely understood. According to (Kondalkar, 2007), the following are the four types of management function

Planning

Planning is the process used by managers to identify and select appropriate goals and courses of action for an organization.  There are steps to good planning:

What goals should be pursued? ii.How should the goals be attained?

When resources should be allocated?

The planning function determines how effective and efficient the organization is and determines the strategy of the organization.

Organizing

In organizing, managers create the structure of working relationships between organizational members that best allows them to work together and achieve goals. Managers will group people into departments according to the tasks performed.  Managers will also lay out lines of authority and responsibility for members. An organizational structure is the outcome of organizing. This structure coordinates and motivates employees so that they work together to achieve goals.

 Leading

In leading, managers determine direction, state a clear vision for employees to follow, and help employees understand the role they play in attaining goals. Leadership involves a manager using power, influence, vision, persuasion, and communication skills. The outcome of the leading function is a high level of motivation and commitment from employees to the organization.

Controlling

In controlling, managers evaluate how well the organization is achieving its goals and takes corrective action to improve performance. Managers will monitor individuals, departments, and the organization to determine if desired performance has been reached.  Managers will also take action to increase performance as required.  The outcome of the controlling function is the accurate measurement of performance and regulation of efficiency and effectiveness.

₦3,000.00 – DOWNLOAD CHAPTERS 1-5 PROCEED TO DOWNLOAD Added to cart

 

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

PREAMBLE

This chapter highlights the data collection procedures in the study. It also explains the parameter in the methodology such as the research design, data collection, population of the study, sampling techniques, sample size, and method of data analysis. In addition, several discussions with professionals were conducted with a view to extent valuable information that helped in constructing a frame work for this research

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research was designed in such away to assess the problem of effective materials management practices in Nigeria construction sites and also to investigate professionals’ perception on the measures to be put in place to ensure effective materials management in the construction industry in Nigeria.

DATA COLLECTION

The primary data was obtained through field survey. In order to collect data and to meet the set objectives of the research, a structured questionnaire based on the aim of this study was designed. The questionnaire consisted of section A and B. Section A was used to generate data on the respondent’s profile which includes: profession, years of working experience and educational qualification.

Section B of the questionnaire was used to gather information on the Materials Management Practices in Nigeria Construction Sites which includes: factors militating against materials management, components of materials management, problems of materials management, causes of materials wastage on site, ways and means of improving materials management in Nigeria construction sites and among others. Respondents were asked to rate them on a 5-point likert scale with ‘5’ indicating strongly agree and ‘1’ indicating strongly disagree

POPULATION OF THE STUDY

The population was all professionals in the construction industry, i.e. Architects, Builders, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors who were managing construction projects at a senior cadre level in all categories of construction firms duly registered with the corporate affairs commission in Nigeria.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCULSIONS

 ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

As stated previously, questionnaires were used to obtain primary data for this research work. The result of the returned questionnaire is presented in the table 4.1. From the table, it gives the breakdown of the administered questionnaires based on the number of responses obtained

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusion could be drawn from the research work;

1. Materials management processes require a transformation to improve the overall in handling of materials for more efficiency and effectiveness on the construction site. This is because poor handling of construction materials affects the overall performance of construction projects in terms of cost, time, quality and productivity. The minimization of materials wastage during the construction phases is important in order to avoid loss of profits.
2. Only by proper management of materials in construction sites can aids materials management in Nigeria construction sites, as it aids the speedy completion period, it saves time of execution, it gives high quality works and reduces the materials wastage.
3. Materials management process improves the success rate of project planning and execution thus lowering the project cost.
4. From the projects surveyed, it had been found out that improper material management on site needs be discovered and prevented in order to achieve the desired output, such as; poor site planning, lack of competent operations, inadequate security, wrong ordering of materials, incompetence of the site manager/resident engineer, corrosion and decay of materials when not properly protected from weather, availability of space on site for storing fragile and valuable materials, inexperience personnel, difficulty to transport materials around sites e.t.c. if all these could be put into consideration before resuming any site and all necessary or adequate provisions are been made to prevent the occurrence of these; proper materials management will benefit the firm in terms of increase profit margin, quick execution and reduce cost of the project.

RECOMMENDATIONS  

Based on the results of this study, the following recommendations are made to foster effective materials management practice of construction projects in Nigeria:

1. The contractors should ensure effective control of materials from design to construction stage so as to adequately reduce processes that can lead to wastages in construction.
2. Construction firms need to evolve better means and facilities in which building materials could be well-stored with pallets at the base or as may be applicable to prevent undue damage which may lead to wastages.
3. The designer should co-ordinate dimensions between materials specified during design and those procured for use at sites so as to guide site personnel on how to prevent avoidable waste in the use of various types of materials during execution of construction projects.
4. The construction firms should create a functioning section that would see to the appraisal of the plan and compliance with its provisions through capacity building and manpower development.
5. Material management should be practiced on all sites and by all categories of building construction firms, whether large, medium or small.
6. There should be a proper planning of material management right from the inception of project execution and strict compliance with the project bill of quantities, schedule of materials, construction programme, specification, proper stock accounting and security systems is essential so as to ensure timely project execution and standard work delivery within reasonable cost, time and quality.
7. The use of incompetent hands (e.g. skilled and unskilled labour) as store officer or stock controller on construction sites should be discouraged. Competent and experienced personnel with basic managerial skill in material stock control or material management should be engaged in order to enhance material stock control practice.
8. The provision for materials storage in the preliminaries
9. The extent of work, nature of work to be done, and materials to be used should be defined in order to prepare a work study.

With these steps afore listed, successful materials management can be achieved in our various construction sites and without much effect of the size of the project affecting the management.

REFERENCES

• Abdul-Rahman, H., Berawi, M. A., Mohamed, O., Othman, M. and Yahya, I. A. (2006): Delay                 Mitigation in the Malaysian Construction Industry. Journal of Construction Engineering               and Management, Vol. 132, No. 2, pp. 125-133
• Abdul-RahmanH, and Alidrisyi M.N, (1994): “A Perspective of Material Management Practices in a Fast Developing Economy: the case of Malaysia”, Construction Management and Economics, vol. 12, pp. 412-422,
• Abubakar A.D. (2000): Evaluating Material Application Waste on Building Construction Sites, A case study of Kaduna state, department of Building, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
• Adafin, Johnson Kayode et al. (2011): an assessment of factors affecting material stock control                           practice on selected construction sites in Nigeria’, Continental J. Environmental               Design and Management 1 (1): 22 – 31, Wilolud Journals, 2011
• Ademeso O.S. and Windapo, A.O (2008): “Relationship between Material Management Approach and Scheduled Project Completion Time”, Construction and Building Research of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Conference, COBRA, Dublin Institute of Technology,
• Agapiou, A., Clausen, L. E., Flanagan, R., Norman, G. and Notman, D. (1998): The Role of Logistics in the Materials Flow Control. Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 131-137.
• Agarwal A. (2001): “Benchmarking wastage control of construction materials”, NICMAR Journal of Construction Management, Vol 16, No.1, January 2001
• Aibinu, A. A. and Odeyinka, H. A. (2006): Construction Delays and Their Causative Factors in Nigeria. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 132, No. 7, pp. 667-677.
• Al haddadEyad Abed El-Qader (2006): A Construction Materials Management System for Gaza Strip Building Contractors; The Islamic University of Gaza Deanery of Graduate Studies Faculty of Engineering Construction Management Program.
• Arnold J.R. and Chapman S.N, (2004): “Introduction to Materials Management 5th Ed.”, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,

₦3,000.00 – DOWNLOAD CHAPTERS 1-5 PROCEED TO DOWNLOAD Added to cart