UCT Open Access Journals (Univ. of Cape Town)
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Building Information Modelling and Collaboration in the Nigerian Construction Industry
Get PDF Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a concept that is transforming the way construction is done internationally. Nigeria is lagging behind in adoption of BIM as a collaborative tool amongst professionals in AEC industry. The purpose of this paper is to study the adoption of BIM in Nigeria and determine to what extent it has helped in improving collaboration among consultants in Nigerian construction industry. The research methodology involved using structured questionnaires to 30 AEC firms selected through simple random sampling method. Results showed BIM has a high impact on client satisfaction, time for completion, quality and presentation of different concepts in schematic design. It also showed high impact on conflict resolution, supervision, construction programming and quality of completed jobs during post contract stage. Barriers to adoption of BIM were identified as lack of infrastructure, lack of skilled workers and lack of awareness of technology. Discussion with peers showed that barriers to collaboration included lack of support from leadership in the offices and lack of belief in usefulness of the software. For Nigeria to compete internationally in the construction industry, BIM should be adopted hence there is need for research on the subject. Recommendations include developing a curriculum that will incorporate the study of BIM in all construction courses. Learning centers should also be developed for private practitioners. Efforts should be made by the relevant professional bodies to increase awareness of the technology. Incentives should be given to offices to encourage adoption and collaboration among consultants
Human Resource Management in the Nigerian Construction Firms: Practices and Challenges
Get PDFImprovement of human resource management is critical to overall productivity and cost effectiveness in the construction industry. This study assesses the current human resource management practices in the Nigeria construction organisation and the challenges confronting it. Questionnaire survey was adopted using purposive sampling technique. Ninety eight human resource managers and construction professionals in two categories of construction organisations (client organisations involved in real estate development and contractor organisations) were sampled. The results reveal that prevailing recruitment practices are placement of the right staff in the right department for the achievement of company general goals, and screening of candidates for vacant positions. Most common training and development practices involve inducting, orienting and training newly recruited employee on software and use of tools, and assigning staff based on their skill and expertise.Provision of appropriate/modern working tools and equipment and provision of incentives and benefits to staff are prevailing motivation and labour union practices. The study further identified:competition for global mobile talents, labour turnover, recruiting the right person for a specific position, wages and compensation as some of the challenges facing HRM practice in Nigeria.The study concludes that recruitment and selection practices in the construction organisation are distinctly different from those of the manufacturing and banking industry and it centres on selection of skilled and technically competent personnel for organisation’s general goal. The study recommends that future study should assess the impact of the identified human resource practices on productivity and project performance
Bird distribution dynamics 8 - Hadeda Ibis Bostrychia hagedash in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland
Get PDFThe Hadeda Ibis can be a mundane and somewhat automatic addition to an atlas list within the core of its range, but it should be remembered that Hadeda Ibis is one of the most dynamic and successful species in the SABAP2 region. In South Africa's most arid areas it is still expanding its range and increasing in abundance. The factors underpinning the increase are anthropogenic. As the effects of climate change play out - mainly drier and warmer conditions leading to ?hard, sun-baked soil? impenetrable to bills - it seems likely that the momentum of its expansion will be moderated and potentially reversed. The interplay of anthropogenic and climate change factors on the distribution and abundance of Hadeda Ibis makes this an interesting and important species to monitor during the forthcoming decades of the 21st century
The Greater Honeyguide: Reciprocal signalling and innate recognition of a Honey Badger
Get PDFThere are numerous claims that there is a similar mutualistic relationship between the Greater Honeyguide and the Honey Badger, but a literature review concluded that no convincing evidence had been published. Nevertheless, ..
Bird distribution dynamics 11 - the storks of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland
Get PDFThe papers considers the seven storks that occur in southern Africa. It presents maps showing the SABAP1 distribution, the SABAP2 distribution, and a range-change map which shows how the distributions have changed in the quarter-century between the two atlasing projects
Predation on Helmeted Guineafowl by Grey-footed Chacma Baboon in Mashatu Game Reserve, north east Botswana
Get PDFBaboons are Old World monkeys (subfamily Cercopithecinae) endemic to Africa and Arabia. Five species are currently recognized (Newman et al. 2004) and all are omnivores that readily, but sporadically, supplement their vegetarian diet with animal meat. The Grey-footed Baboon (Papio ursinus griseipes) is found in Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and northern South Africa, and is particularly common in the Mashatu Game Reserve on the Tuli Block in northeast Botswana. During numerous visits to the reserve in various months (2008-2017), three sightings of Grey-footed Baboon eating Guinea Fowl (Numida melegaris) were observed. Two involved direct ambush and capture of a bird by a baboon, whilst in the other instance prey was co-opted after being killed by another predator. These observations are detailed below and discussed in relation to other records of predation by baboons
Abnormal eye colour in a Sombre Greenbul Andropadus importunus
Get PDFOn the 16 April 2017 a Sombre Greenbul (Ring BE79158) was captured in a dry river bed on a dry Karoo farm called Modderfontein farm. The left eye is the typical adult eye colour with a white iris and small pupil. However, the right eye has a larger pupil and is greyish blue in colour
Kenya Bird Map: achievements from January 2014 to December 2016
Get PDFDuring its first three years (2014 - 2016), Kenya Bird Map achieved 11.4% coverage of the 6,817 pentads in Kenya. 2,607 full protocol checklists had been submitted, containing 113,371 records of bird distribution
Assessment of building maintenance projects success factors in Lagos, Nigeria
No full textBuilding maintenance projects have been characterized by poor quality delivery, which leads to client dissatisfaction. The maintenance contractor’s personnel evolve around the uncertainties that surrounds maintenance decisions, which makes the success of a maintenance project dicey. Hence, this study seeks to identify critical success factors that determine the performance outcome of building maintenance projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study using questionnaires and interviews for data collection. Mean score, ANOVA, and factor analysis was employed for the analysis of the data collected. The findings of the study indicate that the eighteen identified factors can be grouped under six critical success factors named team integration and knowledge transfer, project learning and maintenance methodology, stakeholders’ early project assessment, planning and control, information and communication management within project stakeholders,and quality and risks control. The effective management of these factors will improve building maintenance project’s outcomes in Nigeri
SAFRING Ringing Report for 2015.
Get PDFFollowing from the 49th summary of SAFRING ringing effort for 2014 (Paijmans & Oschadleus 2016), the database has grown to 2,516,615 records (initial, retrap, resightings and recoveries)