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MATERIALS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ON PORT HARCOURT CONSTRUCTION SITES.

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Abstract

The current economic crisis has widened the gap between resources requirements to meet planned goals and the projected availability of funds for construction projects. Ineffective materials management has become a source of problem to successful construction project management, because materials take about 65 percent of the total cost of a construction project. In this study, fifty construction professionals provided the data on materials management in construction industry using Port Harcourt as the sampling site. Questionnaires were used to collect data from three main groups of project participants. (clients, consultants and contractors). The critical factors of materials management were summarized into five basic variables namely materials planning, material procurement, material handling, material storage and material usage. Six basic questions were asked on each and the numerical summation of the ratings of a respondent formed the observed value for the variable fo

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

The construction industry occupies an important position in

the structure of Nigeria’s economy. This assertion becomes

necessary when one considers the role played by the sub sector

to the growth of other sectors as well as the economy in general.

Olaloku (1986) reported that this industry employs about four

percent (4%) of the country’s labour force and contributed about

twelve percent (12%) of the country’s Gross Domestic Product

(GDP).

Despite the noted contributions the industry has maintained

unimpressive track of performance evidenced by numerous failed

and abandoned construction projects scattering every nook and

cranny of the country. The socio-cultural, economic, and political

environment in which the industry operates has directly or

indirectly affected growth.

On of the areas of construction operation, which has

attracted little attention, is the management of construction

materials. The construction project evaluation with focus on the

material management processes and procedures has become

necessary since it will equally subsume other areas of

construction cost management. Modern material’s management

tools and techniques as applied to construction projects, analysis

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the elemental cost of projects based on material inputs and

possible cost variations based on price fluctuations but not at the

expense of quality/value maximization. According to Sloan (1990)

of a total utility of 100% associated with a construction project,

the client places the following importance upon the three critical

functional aspects:

i Quality – 45%

ii Cost – 35%

iii Time – 20%On the other hand Onyeador (1997) posits that the success

or failure of construction projects could be measured in terms of

cost of completion vs budget, time take to complete the project

vs planned duration and the extent to which the completed

project conforms with the design specifications (quality).

However, Onyeador (1992) is of the view that construction

project undertakings are difficult to mange. This according to him

may be due to the complex nature of activities involved: always

having design systems separated from actual construction, and

the multi-disciplinary nature of the team. Also the competitive

tendering often adopted in practice introduces some socio

economic and political dimensions to the management system.

Apart from the client/sponsor, other project participants include

the contractors, consultants, (Architects, Quantity surveyors,

Engineers) and other stakeholders (material suppliers,

government regulatory agencies and host community).

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These project participants agree to implement the project

according to the time, cost and quality specifications, which the

client has directly or indirectly caused to be made in respect of

the design for the project.

Where these initial project specifications otherwise referred

to as success. Criteria or parameters are met, the project is

deemed to have been a success, otherwise a verdict of failure is

returned on the project Kerzner (1995).

However what may be the single most critical factor to the

client is quality PMBOK (2001). In this era of economic

depression and rapid rising material cost, concerns for optimum

utilization of available resources tend to dominate all decisions

relating to construction project undertakings. It is only with

highly skilled project management team that uncertainties in the

planning and execution processes can be kept to a minimum on

order attain significantly the quality objectives of the construction

project within optimal time and cost. Infact Mezue (1992) placed

cost material input at an average of 655 of the total construction

project delivery sum.

Consequently, construction materials, has become one of

the most important elements of cost management in the

construction industry toady. There is therefore particular need for

increased attention in the area of material management to ensure

cost effectiveness in construction project management. Thomas

and Kramer (1987).

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This research work therefore, attempts to evaluate the

materials management strategies in the Nigeria construction

industry as a way of improving the state of project management

practices as applied in the construction industry in Nigeria.1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

In recent time, the Nigerian society has faced the challenge

of increasing need for construction projects. Despite that

concerted efforts have been made in response to this by the

system; the scenario has been that of more disappointment

(widespread project failure and abandonment). More often than

not these projects are characterized by cost overruns, shoe pace

of project execution and time lags, substandard level of

workmanship and quality. In extreme cases total abandonment

are experienced. Equally, the planning and management of

construction materials usage are often based on the contractors;

experience and intuition than on rational analysis of the works to

be performed based on application of known scientific tolls and

technique. The failure of any construction project through poor

materials management carried two repercussions to the

economy. These are the waste of resource used in its execution

and the denial of the opportunity for other projects that depend

on the former from coming on stream. All these put together

have made most construction project efforts to seem like

promotion of economic waste and social misdeeds.xii

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The objective of this study are as follows:

1. To assess the nature and magnitude of relationship existing

between the level of materials requirement planning as applied in

the Nigeria construction industry and the extent of success

recorded in project implementation.

2. To analyze the impact of materials procurement systems on

successful materials management in construction projects.

3. To analyze the contributions of poor materials handling

technique on successful materials management in constructions

sites.

4. To establish the contribution of poor materials storage methods

on unsuccessful materials management in construction sites.

5. To evaluate the extent to which material waste has led to

unsuccessful project delivery in the Nigerian construction

industry.1.4 HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses were tested in the course of this study

and formed the basis for the conclusions and recommendations

made in the study

H01: There is no significant relationship between material requirement

planning and successful project implementation.

H02: There is no significant relationship between procurement and

effective materials management in construction projects.

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H03: There is no significant relationship between poor material

handling technique and successful materials management in

construction project delivery in Nigeria.

H04: There is no significant relationship between inappropriate

materials storage and successful materials management in

construction projects.

H05: Increased material waste has no significant relationship with

unsuccessful construction project delivery in Nigeria1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This work will be of immense importance to all

operators in the construction industry. The performance of the

industry will improve, as efforts will be redirected to effective

application of scientific techniques for

construction materials management.

In addition, it will enable efficient allocation of resources by

encouraging the integration of network scheduling techniques into

the conventional material planning and scheduling processes.

This, therefore, will improve the planning skill of the participants

in the industry. Also it will expand the reserve of materials for

future researchers in the areas of project management,

construction management as well as other allied fields.xiv

1.6 THE NEED FOR THE STUDY

The would over, economic resources have not only remained

limited but also rather scarce. In the face of this objective, the

Nigerian construction industry needs to be efficient in resource

utilization in its project management processes in order to meet

up the international competitive standard of high quality at

optimum cost. This study has the following as its significance:

i. Creating awareness of the problems affecting material

management in the Nigerian construction industry.

ii. Minimizing the deviation of project value from the initial estimate

through optimal utilization of available resource.

iii Reducing/eliminating failures and/or abandonment of construction

project by avoiding cost escalations, time slippages and

substandard quality. Achievement of optimal total utility will

therefore be enhanced.1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY

The study is limited to the construction projects (building and civil

engineering works). It concentrates on the contractors,

consultants (Architects, Builders, Quantity Surveyors, Engineers,

Project Managers) and clients operations in the industry in Port

Harcourt. Attention is particularly paid to only materials

management strategies in the construction industry during

project execution phase since construction project management is

of a broader perspective.