The Plant Resource Control As An Effective Tool To Project Delivery In Building Industry (PDF/DOC)
Building/construction projects relies, all things considered, upon how best the resources are overseen. Inability to deal with the resources accessible through planning is probably going to bring about expanded project costs, time overwhelms and low quality. 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. The study therefore 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.
Introduction
1.1. Background to Study
Constructions projects are one of the most common activities we encounter in our lives, yet it is also known as one of the most difficult humankind endeavours. As a matter of fact each project consist of sophisticated and complex processes which need to be carried out by different individuals of different professionals, who have special set of skills and knowledge. All the talent and skills have to be channelled towards a common goal to producing the project. To accomplish this goal, time and money are required. At the end these construction projects, provide us with facilities that are useful, functional, visually pleasing and enjoyable to occupy. This journey is called the project delivery process (Construction Specification Institute, 2011). Effective delivery is all about the control and management of uncertainty. Therefore one needs to identify the uncertainty related to the project and sculpt the best strategy to deliver the project so that the chances of success are increased.
Hence steering the way for accomplishing successful project is all about knowing all the tactics to tackle our way through the impending obstacles. So identifying these obstacles are crucial in order to confront them. Thereby a lot of researchers have immersed themselves in various studies to identify the causes of delay and cost overrun happening in various projects. The analyses on these factors have been carried on different contexts over a long period of time. This continuous effort on finding the causes or the factors for delay and cost overrun are more or less generated similar results and only the ranking have been swapped between the different context and time. Although the repetitiveness in this approach is observed, a change in perspective can provide an interesting insight in a common pattern in these factors. For instance, issues regarding construction materials have been highly ranked in both delay and cost overrun factors and also it is a common factor that is mentioned in almost all the research done on this area. Hence this ignites the curiosity to unfold the relationship between construction material and construction project.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The construction industry in Nigeria lacks a framework which can serve as guidance in the process of resource planning. Currently in the country, the process of resource planning is not based on a scientific approach which takes cognizance of all the prevailing conditions surrounding projects. This assertion is attributed to lack of literature locally explaining and correlating these prevailing conditions in the industry in a way that can guide contractors in the process of resource planning .The successful completion and performance of a construction process is pegged on three basic performance parameters which have evolved to be regarded as the three pillars of any successful construction project: these include finishing the project within budget and schedule without compromising on the desired quality thus majority of projects suffer from avoidable delays resulting from inadequate resource planning and control. Thus it is upon the premise that this study seeks to examine Plant resource control as an effective tool to project delivery in building industry.
1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study
The main aim of this research to examine plant resource control as an effective tool to project delivery in building industry using Abacus Building Service in Abuja as 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 planned resource control in project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay.
To Determine if project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay are caused by poor Plant resource control practices.
1.4 Research Hypothesis
HO1: Plant resource control processes cannot serve as an effective tool in construction projects.
H11: Plant resource control processes can serve as an effective tool in construction projects.
HO2: Poor plant resource control cannot significantly affect project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay.
H12: Poor plant resource control can significantly affect project delivery in terms of cost overrun and delay.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The findings from this research will serve as a guideline to the construction industry stakeholders. As a matter of fact construction Plant resource control practices in the construction industry have rarely been identified or recorded previously. Therefore this study will reveal the existing Plant resource control practices and the comparison between the different approaches will give the field professions a deeper insight into these practices. Moreover this study will generate a list of root causes for ineffective Plant resource control that can be used as a benchmark to control the existing and future projects. In addition to this how these root causes are related to the current Plant resource control practices will aware the stakeholders to be more cautious. Apart from this research being useful to the field professionals, this study will be valuable for the academicians too. As this study will serve as a support of what the past researchers have written about Plant resource control in construction projects. Furthermore it will also provide information for further researchers who are willing to investigate on this particular or similar case.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study borders on Plant resource control as an effective tool to project delivery in building industry. The study is however delimited Abacus Building Service in Abuja Metropolis.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
The following factors poses to be a limitation during the course of this research
Financial constraint
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint
The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1 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).
5.2 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.
5.3 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.
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