College of Art and Built Environment

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    The effects of materials management on turnaround time of construction projects
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Keating, William Jeff
    Material management is important in promoting the survival of organisations particularly those in the construction industry. Organisations involved in the delivery of construction projects (especially on contracts basis) are often limited by clients with respect to the time for the delivery of such projects. The study asserted that, effective material management could serve as a recipe for meeting the time constraints often imposed by clients. From this background the study investigated the effects of material management practices on the turnaround time of construction projects in the Consar Construction Limited (CCL). The study adopted the quantitative approach in which the survey design was used as the framework for the conducting the study. Consequently, questionnaires (with close-ended questions) were used to solicit for responses from 41 employees of the CCL sampled using the Yumane Sample Size formulae. After a through analyses of the data collected, it was identified that, the most implemented material management practices were the assigning of roles and responsibilities, forecasting and budgeting, and an established policy for acquisition, grouping and disposal of material inventory. The study further found out that, the implementation of material management practices plays a crucial role in promoting the quality and reliability of construction inventory, promote emergency supply of inventory and reduces the access lead time to inventory acquisition. Notwithstanding the observed effect of material management, the CCL was challenged by the lack of training of material management employees and the bureaucratic processes in procuring inventory. The study recommends that, the implementation of regular training programmes for staff and the use electronic record systems would streamline the management of materials in the CCL.
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    Assessment of the challenges for project closure practices in Ghana: a case study of the shopping malls in Ghana
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Segbedzi, Walter
    The study sought to investigate the effectiveness of the project closure practices used in the Ghanaian construction industry. To achieve the aim, the study set out three objectives: to examine construction project closure practices in the Ghanaian construction industry; to evaluate challenges associated with project closure practices in the Ghanaian construction industry; and to establish strategies to mitigate the outlined challenges of project closure practices in the Ghanaian construction industry. The study employed the quantitative method of research. Questionnaires were developed and distributed among fifty-nine (59) respondents comprising of construction project professionals from the construction of four of shopping malls in Ghana namely the Accra Mall, the West Hills Mall, the Kumasi City Mall and the Takoradi Mall. Fourteen (14) belonged to the employee of owner/client, twenty (20) were employees of contractor while the remaining twenty-five (25) belonged to employee of consultant of construction projects. Data collected were analyzed by means of Relative Importance Index (RII) and the mean-score. The study revealed that the general practice of closing the project consisted of contractual and administrative closure practices. Majority of eighty percent (80%) practiced the contractual closure practices. Further, the study identified eleven (11) factors of challenges related to the construction project closure practices which “contractor related activities” was ranked as the highest challenge hampering the effectiveness of construction project closure practice. It was also revealed by the study that, effective communication and co-ordination should be exercised during construction by all stakeholders as that was ranked as the highest strategy to foster effective construction project closure practice. The study recommends that administrative closure practices should also be practiced frequently by the construction project managers just as they practice the contractual closure practice. Also, provision of “certificate of beneficial occupancy to the owner to use the facility” must be encouraged to be done for all construction project closures. Lastly, the study recommends the importance of a close out schedule, that, it is agreed to by all stakeholders so that everyone’s requirements can be met. There is the need to circulate this early (efficient communication) so each one can work towards this and ease the handing over process at the end.
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    The impact of leadership styles of project managers on information technology (it) project success. A case of national information technology agency
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Godson, Solomon_
    Information Technology projects continue to face challenges and this affects organizational goals negatively. Factors such as leadership, performance and user - friendliness may determine whether an IT project is successful or not. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the leadership styles of Project Managers and the impact it has on Information Technology project success. Information Technology project team members of National Information Technology Agency located in Accra were asked to rate their Project Manager’s leadership style and the successfulness of the project. Using simple random sampling with confidence level of ninety - five percent (95%) and eighty - five percent (85%) response rate, the study used the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire to rate the three leadership styles that is transactional, transformational and passive avoidant on an Information Technology project. The items on the questionnaire were rated on the scale of zero (0) to four (4) with zero (0) being not at all, one (1) is once in a while, two (2) is sometimes, three (3) is fairly often and four (4) is frequently, if not always. The outcome of the research identified the Information Technology project team members to perceive their Project Manager to exhibit fairly often both transformational and transactional leadership styles and once in a while exhibits passive avoidant leadership style towards a fairly often successful Information Technology project. Therefore it is recommended that Project Managers should adapt both transformational and transactional leadership styles towards a successful Information Technology Project.
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    Strategies for minimising material wastage in project construction in Ghana
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Binfoh, Solomon
    The concept of sustainable development stresses on the responsibility of the present generation to preserve or enhance the opportunities and capabilities of future generations through efficient resource usage. In the construction trade, the problem of material waste on building site is a major problem which threatens the sustainability of the industry. Within each passing day, significant volumes of waste are produced on project sites in Ghana and the world at large. The study aims at identify strategies for minimizing material wastage in construction project delivery in Ghana. Structured questionnaires were self-administered to project supervisors, site foremen, Quantity surveyors and other key professionals who are involved in the procurement and management of materials in the selected firms after extant literature was reviewed. To Identifying major sources of materials wastage in the construction sites, identifying the causes of materials wastage and identifying strategies in minimizing wastage of materials were the objectives set to realizing the aim of the study. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics. The ordinal data were further analysed using Mean Score Ranking criterion. There was a response rate of 90.80%, thus, 148 respondents participated in the survey. Moreover, material storage and handling, overproduction and waste resulting from cutting uneconomical shapes were identified by respondents as major causes of material wastage on construction site. Some of the strategies identified in waste minimization were clear communication of waste management policies, provision of required waste facilities and collaborating, support for top leadership and promoting collective accountability among the workers. The study recommends that frequent training should be organised for the workers in the industry to educate and equip them with the necessary capacity to understand and utilize the construction waste.
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    Stakeholder management practices in building projects: A case study of the octagon project.
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Acheampong, Sarah Afraso
    The effective stakeholder management process is critical in achieving stakeholder needs and satisfaction. Construction industries in developing countries have embraced stakeholder management as a soft project management skill and consequently developed suitable approaches for improved project delivery though developing countries. Studies have associated project failures to poor stakeholders’ performance, the absence of formal stakeholder management process, industry challenges and lack of proper documentation in developing countries such as Ghana. To overcome these challenges, this study, through an extensive review of literature identified some strategies to overcome these challenges and promote effective construction stakeholder management in the Ghanaian construction setting. The study employed a quantitative research design by means of preliminary literature review and subsequently a survey using the structured questionnaire approach. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Relative Importance Index (RII) method and the One-sample T-test. The study revealed that, in the Ghanaian construction industry, stakeholder management is not given any special attention and not much construction professionals are experienced with this aspect of management. The analysis further revealed twentyone (21) challenges faced in the Ghanaian construction industry with regards to stakeholder management Six (6) stakeholder management strategies were identified to minimize the challenges in effective stakeholder management. The issue of construction stakeholder management is of paramount importance to the construction industry. It is therefore necessary that efforts should be made to see to its full realization and enhance the timely realization of construction project objectives. It is strongly believed that the findings and recommendations from this study shall help improve effective stakeholder management in the Ghanaian construction industry.