Influence of Labour Productivity on the Cost Performance of Traditionally Procured Projects
Chapter One
Research Objectives
General Objective of the Study
To establish the influence of labour productivity and its underlying factors on the cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State
Specific Objectives of the Study
- To determine the influence of type of labour on cost performance of building projects in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
- To determine the influence of hiring method on the cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State,Nigeria
- To determine how the level of training of construction workers influence the cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State,Nigeria
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Review
This research study was framed around the following theories; Labour theory of value (LTV), and Contingency theory. The theories explain why the research problem under study existed.
The labour theory of value (LTV)
The labour theory of value by Adam Smith suggests that value attached to commodity can be measured using the average number of the labour hours that are taken to complete the product or the project. Building projects are labour intensive. By this Theory the value of goods or services are determined by the total amount of valuable labour needed to produce it, as opposed to the use or pleasure owner gets from them. The theory has its relative share of criticism but the concept of value has a logical bearing to this study as on the account of evaluating a project performance. Value relates to the measure of the benefits one gets from something in relation to the resources needed to develop it. In the context of building construction projects it would be expressed as the ratio between the functionality of the unit and the cost for that function. Thus, value of the finished project can be increased by improving its function or reduced cost of execution. In this study the cost of labour in the project execution was considered the major component of the projects’s whole life cost.
Contingency theory
This is an organizational theory which suggests that there is no single best way of organizing a corporation, to direct a company, or to make corporate decisions. The theory holds that the best choice of course of action depends on the internal and external situation prevailing at any particular time. According to the definition of a project by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project is identified as being unique; that it is not a routine operation but it is a specific set of operations that have been designed to attain a singular goal. So the project team often includes people who don’t usually work together, sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies. The contingency theory thus makes sense in that for any particular project, the success on the workers was dependent on the specific project circumstances meaning the labour factors when reviewing this study was the bearing on the productivity and hence the cost performance of a building project.
Theory of Performance
The Theory of Performance (ToP) by Richard Schechner (1988) develops and relates six foundational concepts (italicized) to form a framework that can be used to explain performance as well as performance improvements. To perform is to produce valued results. A performer can be an individual or a group of people engaging in a collaborative effort. Developing performance is a journey, and level of performance describes location in the journey. Current level of performance depends holistically on 6 components: context, level of knowledge, levels of skills, level of identity, personal factors, and fixed factors. Three axioms are proposed for effective performance improvements. These involve a performer’s mindset, immersion in an enriching environment, and engagement in reflective practice
Empirical Review
Previous studies and relevant literature on the dependent and independent variables for this study have been reviewed and the missing gaps identified upon which this research study was based on.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The researcher used descriptive survey research design. Descriptive study is concerned with finding out the what, where and how of a phenomenon, (Creswell, 2012). This research design was chosen because it enabled the researcher to collect data from the larger population in a short time and economically. It allows one to collect quantitative data which can be analysed quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Target Population
The target population comprised of 65 private developers registered with Nigeria Private Developers Association (NPDA), 121 Independent developers with projects valued over 50 million as approved by the County planning department of Akwa Ibom State and, 246 Building contractors class NCA 4 and above registered with National Contractors Authority 162 Projects Managers registered with the Nigeria Association of Project Managers (NAPM).
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION
Demographic Information
Gender of Respondents
Gender information indicates that there were more male respondents (87%) than there were females (13%) in building projects in Akwa Ibom State. This indicates that female participation in building projects is lower than that of males despite their important contributions in the County’s economy. This information is presented in Figure 4.1.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of Findings
Sample Characteristics
The study sampled total of 239 participants Of the 239 questionnaires issued to the selected sample, 159 were returned and responded to, yielding a response rate of 71%. Among specific categories of the respondents, the breakdown was as follows: Project Developers with NPDA (73%), Project Contractors independent (71%), Building Contractors NCA 4 and above (74%) and Project Managers (65%). The study collected background information concerning the cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State. The data that were included in this section comprised of data on gender, age, length of service, and level of education of respondents.
First, gender characteristics revealed that males were more than females indicating that females’ participation in building projects was lower than that of males. Secondly, the findings suggest that age is a factor in building projects with old aged participants showing keen interests. Comparison in the means of ages of both females and males participants using independent T-Test showed significant results at .05 levels (t=.438, d=167, p=.015). Findings of the study showed that majority of participants (40%) in the building projects in Akwa Ibom State had worked in the industry for more than six years. Only 21.3% of the respondents had worked for less than two years in the building projects.
Finally, regarding the level of education, majority of participants (2.7%) had attained a diploma level of education. This level was followed by participants with university education having a bachelor’s degree (37.3%). The participants with masters degree were few (10.1%). Ch-square test of independent between gender and level of education did reveal significant results at .05 levels (χ2 =92.456, d=1, p =.000).
Conclusions
First, from the results of findings, majority of respondents strongly agreed that both mechanical and manual labour (84.6%), cheap manual labour (78%), high speed of mechanized labour (79.9%), and better quality of mechanized labour(72.2%) all enhanced the type of labour. In addition, Pearson correlation coefficient between the type of labour and cost performance of traditionally procured projects (r=.754, p=.000) shows positive and highly significant results at .05 levels. The study can conclude that the enhancement of the type of labour leads to positive cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State.
Secondly, in the summary of findings, the results showed that majority of participants indicated that in using imported materials, artisans charged cheaper for labour and are able to work faster with results of best products. The correlation results indicated that there was a positive and significant relationship between source of building materials and cost performance of traditionally procured projects. The study can conclude that the enhancement of the source of building materials leads to positive cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State.
Thirdly, results also show that methods of hiring labour determines the cost of labour , either by using permanent labour was compared with cost of labour using casuals. It was also found out that the use of permanent labour as opposed to casual labour enhances speed of work and thus reduces building project completion time. The results also show that the method of hiring labour in building projects is directly related to their performance. The study can conclude that the enhancement of the methods of hiring labour leads to positive cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State.
Finally, the study findings showed that majority of respondents indicated that high level of training of construction workers ensures that projects are completed within the projected time frame and with best quality finishes, and satisfies customers more. In addition, Pearson correlation coefficient between the level of training of construction workers and cost performance of traditionally procured projects (r=.714, p=.013) shows positive and highly significant results at .05 levels. The study can conclude that the improvement in the level of training of construction workers leads to positive cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State.
Recommendations
The study findings revealed that the type of labour greatly influences the cost performance of traditionally procured projects. In particular, it was observed in the study that mechanized labour is cheaper than manual labour. However, a sizeable number of participants were still applying manual labour as a popular type of laour. This negatively affected cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State. This study recommends enhanced type of labour i.e. mechanized labour as opposed to manual labour.
The results of findings showed that the cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State is to a large extent influenced by the source of building materials. For instance, by using imported materials, participants indicated that artisans charged cheaper for labour, contrary to what they charged for in using local materials in building projects. However, there are a number of participants with a quest of using local materials in place of imported material only. The study therefore recommends that those developers interested in enhancing performance in building projects should use a mix of both local and imported materials.
The study findings indicated that the method of hiring labour greatly influenced the cost performance of traditionally procured projects in Akwa Ibom State. The study has in particular concluded that the use of permanent labour was preferred to using casuals. The study also established that use of permanent labour reduced the cost of labour and enhanced quality. This study recommends that developers should thoroughly interrogate the methods of hiring and in specific consider more the use of permanent labour as opposed to casuals. The study findings showed that the level of training of construction workers enhances cost performance of traditionally procured projects. However, majority of participants had only attained diploma level of training. The study recommends that all participants should enhance their level of training.
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