1,720,962 research outputs found
A Study of Factors Influencing Overruns of Construction Projects in Nigeria
Get PDFThe impact of cost and time overruns on construction projects is an undesirable experience both to the clients and stakeholders in the industry. This has regularly led to dispute, unfriendly working relationship, abandonment, low quality and environmental nuisances. This paper evaluated factors contributing to overruns of construction projects and their impact on projects performance in Nigeria. Data were collected through questionnaire administration on professionals in the industry. Mean Item Score (MIS) and Relative Significant Index (RSI) were employed to analyse data collected. Increase in material cost, inaccurate materials estimation and underestimating of project costs among others are the most significant cost factors while the most significant time factors include unexpected site condition, increase in project scope, lack of timely progress payment and inadequate planning. It becomes obvious that giving adequate consideration to factors contributing to construction overruns would minimize their ugly consequences on project performance and efficiency. Among recommendations made are that, cost estimators should improve on methods of cost determination, designers to make the full designs available at every stage in construction process and contractors should also carry out adequate site visit for better understanding of site conditions before pricing and cost forecastin
Area Of Productivity Improvement In The Nigerian Construction Industry
No full textThis paper discusses the areas where productivity improvements are required in the Nigerian construction industry. The questionnaire used for the study was adopted from the research of Arditi and Mochtar (2000) with additional questions on the factors influencing productivity and the actions thought necessary to improve productivity in the Nigerian construction industry. A combination of judgmental and snowballing (both non probability) sampling techniques were used for the study. The reason for this is that, the combination gives a strong semblance of probability sampling technique and this advantage makes it possible to make conclusive inference based on the findings of the research. The questionnaire for the study was distributed among construction contractors and design professionals that were located within the Lagos Island axis of Lagos state. Sixty-four (64) questionnaires were retrieved out of the one hundred and eighty (180) that were distributed to the respondents and this gives a total of 35.6% retrieval. The results of the research show that productivity improvement is mostly required in the Nigerian construction industry in four categories which are communication, management, computer utilization and labour. It was also discovered that most Nigerian contractors and designers are not willing to contribute funds to support programmes aimed at improving construction productivity. However, they were willing to serve as members of groups that would identify productivity problems and attend construction productivity conferences and meetings
Area Of Productivity Improvement In The Nigerian Construction Industry
No full textThis paper discusses the areas where productivity improvements are required in the Nigerian construction industry. The questionnaire used for the study was adopted from the research of Arditi and Mochtar (2000) with additional questions on the factors influencing productivity and the actions thought necessary to improve productivity in the Nigerian construction industry. A combination of judgmental and snowballing (both non probability) sampling techniques were used for the study. The reason for this is that, the combination gives a strong semblance of probability sampling technique and this advantage makes it possible to make conclusive inference based on the findings of the research. The questionnaire for the study was distributed among construction contractors and design professionals that were located within the Lagos Island axis of Lagos state. Sixty-four (64) questionnaires were retrieved out of the one hundred and eighty (180) that were distributed to the respondents and this gives a total of 35.6% retrieval. The results of the research show that productivity improvement is mostly required in the Nigerian construction industry in four categories which are communication, management, computer utilization and labour. It was also discovered that most Nigerian contractors and designers are not willing to contribute funds to support programmes aimed at improving construction productivity. However, they were willing to serve as members of groups that would identify productivity problems and attend construction productivity conferences and meetings
Perceived Effects of Prevalent Errors in Contract Documents on Construction Projects
Get PDFOne of the highly rated causes of poor performance is errors in contract documents. The objectives of this study are to investigate the prevalent errors in contract documents and their effects on construction projects. Questionnaire survey and 51 case study projects (mixed method) were adopted for the study. The study also involved the use of Delphi technique to extract the possible errors that may be contained in contract documents; it did not however constitute the empirical data for the study. The sample of the study consists of 985 consulting and 275 contracting firms that engaged in the construction of building projects that were completed between 2013 and 2016 and were above the ground floor. The two-stage stratified random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The data for the study were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics (based on Shapiro-Wilk’s test). The results of the study indicate that errors in contract documents were moderately prevalent. However, overmeasurement in bill of quantities was prevalent in private, institutional and management procured projects. Traditionally procured projects contain 68% of the errors in contract documents among the procurement methods. Drawings contain the highest number of errors, followed by bill of quantities and specifications. The severe effects of errors in contract documents were structural collapse, deterioration of buildings and contractors’ claims among others. The result of the study implies that, management procurement method is the route to error minimization in developing countries, but it may need to be backed by law and guarded against overmeasurement
Analysis of Project Success Criteria in the Nigerian Construction Industry
Get PDFThis paper examined the relative importance of the project success criteria in the Nigerian construction industry. It also determined the correlation among the project success criteria. Based on the literatures reviewed, the study proposed a framework for measuring project success in the construction industry. The respondents for the study were the government, private clients, consultants and contractors. Three hundred copies of questionnaires were distributed to capture data on the subject, but only 86 were returned and used for the study. The paper captured respondents that are resident in Lagos state, Nigeria and chosen by convenience from selected organizations used for the study. The data were analysed with SPSS 16 through the use of frequencies, mean scores, factor analysis and correlation. Factor analysis was employed because the mean scores showed that all the project success criteria were at least important. Nine principal components were finally merged into 4 through the factor analysis using the Varimax rotation with Keiser normalization. The study found out that all the project success criteria were important but their level of importance differs according to the factor analysis carried out. Therefore, it was concluded that there are four major components of construction project success in Nigeria- user-related factors, professionals’ factors, organisational factors and other minor factors. The minor factors were found to be related to both organizations and projects but were not highly rated by respondents for determining construction project success. The study also concludes that project success criteria goes beyond meeting cost, time and quality target, it includes users’ satisfaction, professionals’ fulfilment and achievement of organizational goals. The recommendation of the study was that for construction projects to be successful, attention must be paid to users’ related factors, professionals’ factors and organizations’ factors
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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