Plant Resource Control as an Effective Tool for Project Delivery in the Building Industry
Chapter One
Aims and Objectives of the Study
The main aim of this research is to examine plant resource control as an effective tool for project delivery in the building industry using the Abacus Building Service in Abuja as a case study. The specific objectives of this study are:
- To Examine if Plant resource control processes can serve as a tool in construction projects.
- To Explore the influence of planned resource control in project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay.
- To Determine project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay caused by poor Plant resource control practices.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
BUILDING INDUSTRY
The building profession may be the oldest profession known to man; for shelter is the most basic of necessities for survival (Shute, 1573). The editor of International Construction magazine, places the value of global construction at seven-and-a-half trillion dollars, roughly 10- percent of the global economy (Sleight, C., 2014). The documented role of building in human society has a history of more than 4,500 years; and construction laws, or building regulations, are known to date back to 1750 B. C.; whenHammurabi’s Code, with its “eye for an eye” system of justice ruled in the Middle East; Hammurabi code provision number 229 states: “If a builder build a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then the builder shall be put to death” (Allensworth et al., 2009).
The early European settlements in America, particularly religious and trading companies, employed carpenters to design and construct buildings in societal settings. These trades were composed of master carpenters and journeymen. By the early eighteenth century, other building artisans, such as masons, bricklayers, joiners, glaziers, painters, and plasters came into existence.
The building industry was changing from the master and apprenticeship relationship. Though demand for buildings had increased, the master was becoming the employer, the apprentice was becoming the employee. The employer, the master builder (master carpenter), was now often responsible for very large-scale projects and spent more of his time concerned with managing finances, materials and employees. The superintendent, employed by the architect on behalf of the owner would become increasingly important to manage the job site. As was common in Britain, the superintendent would contract with individual suppliers and craftsmen, coordinate and manage their activities, and ensure the quality of materials and craftsmanship. This would further distinguish the position of the architect in a supervising role, in which he visited the job site on occasion, relying more on the superintendent.The 1920’s experienced significant changes in the U. S. building industry, including federal government efforts for a “Reconstructing Construction” effort. The U. S. Department of Commerce expanded their development of standards beyond materials and measurements, engaging with newly formed building specialty organizations in the standardization of building 16 materials and methods. A report issued in 1921, tiled “Waste in Industry,” provided a scathing review of all U. S. industries, but particularly dedicated almost 50 pages to a thorough analysis of the Building Industry. The United States was in the middle of its first post war depression and industries were adjusting to non-war activities. In general industries were criticized for their waste. Waste was identified in four areas: faulty management of materials, facilities, equipment and labor; interruptions causing idle labor, materials, plants and equipment; restrictions that were intentionally caused by owners, management or labor; and lost productivity due to ill-health, defects and accidents. Specifically in the building industry the main cause of waste was from irregular work use of labor, inefficient management, and labor regulations. This was followed by unsafe working conditions and poorly designed equipment. Management was deemed the most important. And what followed was the need for project planning, resource control and material management.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried out to examine plant resource control as an effective tool to project delivery in building industry using Abacus Building Service(ABS) in Abuja as case study. Contracts in ABS form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of thirty-six (36) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only thirty (30) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 30 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY
The main focus of this study is to examine plant resource control an an effective tool for project delivery in building industry using Abacus Building Services (ABS) Abuja as case Study. It examined if Plant resource control processes can serve as a tool in construction projects. It explored the influence planned resource control in project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay. It determine if project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay caused by poor Plant resource control practices.
The study adopted a survey research design and conveniently enrolled 36 participants who are contractors and field engineers in Abacus Building Service were enrolled for the study. Well structure questionnaire which provided answer to the research questions was issued to the participant. A total of 30 responses were received and validated for the study. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
CONCLUSION
The main reason for construction material to be so influential in a construction project is because the cost for material handling may range from 30 – 80 % of total construction cost. Therefore ineffective Plant resource control can cause inevitable loss for a construction project. Plant resource control can be considered as a prime uncertainty in a construction project. As Plant resource control is interrelated to other processes and stages of the construction project and is dependent over various other factors it has high uncertainty. Especially the nature of construction project being fragment basis with unstructured communication and no clear responsibility between the parties, increase the challenge of implementing effective Plant resource control. Although Plant resource control problems highly impact the construction professionals all over the world, they are more critical for factor to be considered by construction professionals.
The study also revealed that, the most prevalent practices of materials management are purchasing of materials, material planning method, transportation of materials while the prevalent challenges are lack of proper work planning and scheduling, cash flow problems to contractors due to delayed payments and burglary, theft and vandalism are problems associated with materials management. This gives light to the fact that pre-planning is important in controlling the total project cost and effective material management
Findings from the study shows that Plant resource control processes can serve as an effective tool in construction projects. More so in the absence of effective resource management Poor plant resource control can significantly affect project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay.
RECOMMENDATION
From the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that plant resource control and material management practice by building engineers should be improved ranging from forecasting, planning purchasing, transportation and introduction of new possibilities as this will enable efficiency in delivering the project. Also contractors should ensure they manage all materials from the design stage to the completion stage because poor management of construction materials affects the overall performance of construction projects in terms of time, cost, quality and productivity.
REFERENCE
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