Browsing by Author "Opoku-Amankwaah, Philip"

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    An Investigation into Scheduling Practices Deployed within the Ghanaian Construction Industry
    (NOVEMBER 2015 ) Opoku-Amankwaah, Philip
    Schedules are prepared for construction projects to serve as control measures to ensure that cost and time objectives are achieved. Various techniques and tools have been developed over time to aid in developing construction project schedules. The aim of the research was to determine the impact of schedules on construction projects in Ghana. The research sought to identify the various scheduling techniques and tools used in the Ghanaian construction industry as well as identifying the factors that hinder the implementation of project schedules. Extensive literature review was done to determine the various scheduling tools and techniques. The research style used was the survey style and the approach adopted was quantitative. Non-probability sampling techniques namely purposive and snow ball were used in collecting data from an undefined population. Data collection instrument used was structured questionnaire. Questionnaires were administered to sixty (60) construction professionals in the Kumasi metropolis. With a response rate of 83.33%, data was analysed using descriptive data analysis such as the measure of central tendency and relative importance index (RII). The research identified Gantt chats, line of balance, queue scheduling and network diagrams, MS project, Excel and Prima Vera as the various scheduling techniques and tools used in the Ghanaian construction industry. Unavailability of funds, undefined project scope and project specific factors (e.g. ground conditions) with RII values of 0.7, 0.7 and 0.6 among others were ascertained to be factors that hinder the implementation of project schedules. The research as well established delay in project duration, resequencing of work and poor cost planning as impacts the use of scheduling techniques will have on a construction project. The research recommends that funds are made available on regular basis to ensure that schedules produced for construction projects are implemented accordingly.