Cost and schedule control on engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) projects in Ghana (A case study of Kpone thermal power project)
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Date
2021-07-06
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Abstract
Many EPC projects in Ghana and across the globe have experienced delays resulting in
unreasonable cost and schedule overruns. While there exist several factors connected to
this phenomenon, the control of project costs and schedule continues to be important
factors. The need to reduce the risk of projects‟ poor performance is very crucial in the
emerging countries as most of the socio-economic programmes have an element of a
construction project. This research aimed at identifying the factors inhibiting the
practitioner‟s ability to effectively control their project and the corresponding mitigation
measures for cost and schedule control on EPC projects in Ghana using Kpone Thermal
Power Project (KTPP) as case study. The methodology adopted for this research was
quantitative research using the questionnaire survey. From the study, the top five factors
inhibiting cost control are comparable to the one‟s affecting schedule control also. By
means of the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the test run showed a moderate
positive correlation of the factors identified for both cost and schedule control. The top
four factors inhibiting cost control are Risk and uncertainty associated with projects,
inaccurate evaluation of projects time/duration, Inflation of prices and Fluctuation of
currency/exchange rate. Similarly, there ones inhibiting schedule control are financing
and payment for completed works, inaccurate evaluation of projects time/duration,
Complexity of works and Risk and uncertainty associated with projects. These inhibiting
factors can be mitigated by implementing these measures identified in the study. The six
top mitigating measures are: To ensure adequate project finance is available before start
of the project, Employ Value Management techniques, Proper project planning and
scheduling, Plan realistically and built up from first principle, Refuse to accept
unrealistic project time scale by client and Perform a preconstruction planning of project
tasks and resources needs. The least three desired mitigation measure from the study in
the descending order are Proper emphasis on past experience, Clear information and
communication channels and frequent coordination between the parties. It is
recommended that future research is extended to investigating more than one EPC
project in order make a cross comparative analysis and conclusion
Description
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Project Management.
Keywords
Project management, Cost Control, Schedule Control, Inhibiting factors, Mitigation measures