AN ASSESSMENT OF SITE LAYOUT PRACTICES OF SOME CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Site layout involves the identification, sizing and placing of the temporary facilities (TFs) at the required positions within the boundaries of the construction project site. The aim of this research is to assess the site layout practices of some construction firms in Abuja, Nigeria, with a view to improve productivity of workers in construction sites. Questionnaire was administered for the collection of data for the research. Purposive sampling technique was used to obtain the data. Relative importance index was used to determine the ranking for the various practices of site layout. Based on the research findings, 50% of the staff in the construction firms participated in designing site layout which implies that majority of the construction firms do site layout. 64.7% of the construction firms design site layout for residential buildings, 78.9% of the construction firms does site layout design for both small, medium and large projects, while 78.4% do site layout design for both short and long term project. Preparing site layout design before the commencement of site work ranked first with (RII) value of 0.785 which implies that the construction firms practiced site layout before the commencement of site work very well. While causes of occurrence of accident in construction site as a result of poor site layout practices ranked first with (RII) value of 0.575. The research recommends that site layout should be practice in other form of construction

Construction project site layout involves the identification, sizing, and placing of the temporary facilities (TFs) at the required positions within the boundaries of the construction project site. These temporary facilities may range from simple lay-down areas to warehouses, fabrication shops, maintenance shops, batch plant, and residence facilities. Required temporary facilities and their areas depend on many factors including project type, scale, design, location, and organization of construction work (Elbeltagi and Hegazy, 2004) Site management in general, involves many tasks such as site investigation before construction process starts, material delivery and procurement management, keeping better site records, keeping good site communication and high level of information flow, monitoring performance regularly, establishing a well co-ordination system among different parts, and performing a good site layout planning (Osman et al., 2003) Most construction sites that run into trouble do so for reasons related to managerial factors rather than because of technical problems (Elbeltagi et al., 2004) The role of site managers is to control and maintain work performance and then taking actions to rectify situations where performance is unsatisfactory. Safety and accessibility should be given more consideration in site planning and also the designing of path for movement of transport rather than to limit the consideration only to distance and cost (Andayesh and Sadeghpour, 2013) Among the important tasks of site management is the site layout planning. A detailed  planning of the site layout and location of temporary facilities can enable management  to make considerable improvement by minimizing travel time, waiting time, and increasing workers morale by showing better and safer work environment (Mawdesley and Al-jibouri, 2003 ). Construction site layout planning has been recognised as a critical step in construction planning. The basic function of the process is to find the most suitable arrangement for the positioning of temporary facilities. Temporary facilities have to be placed right from the beginning of project to completion (M and P. Saka, 2013). Site managers mostly abandon site layout design right from the inception of the construction project thinking that it will be done as the construction project progresses (Ebeltagi and Hegazy, 2004). It is important to realise that site planning is the condition that site personnel live with for the total duration of the constructing project (Osman et.al, 2003) Thus, careful pre-planning is imperative. According to the Construction Industry Institute of Geneva (2000) temporary facilities are important elements that can either enhance or adversely affect construction productivity (CII, 2000). Efficient layout planning of a construction site is fundamental to any successful project. This usually consists of identifying the temporary facilities needed to support construction operation determining their size and shape and positioning them in the unoccupied areas within the site boundaries (Osman et al., 2003). Examples of these temporary facilities include offices and tool trailers, parking lots, warehouse, batch plant, maintenance areas, fabrication yards or buildings, staging areas and lay down areas. The project manager or planner usually performs the task of preparing the site layout based on his/her own knowledge and expertise. Apparently, this could result in layout that differ significantly from one person to another. To put this task into more perspective, researchers have introduced different approach to systematically plan the layout of construction site (Osman et al.,2003). A good site layout design can avoid possible conflicts involving equipment and allows for smooth transportation during the entire project. It can also ensure that sufficient space is available so that all onsite equipment such as trucks, cranes and excavators can be safely operated. In current practice, the evaluation of good site layout design is done manually, relying heavily on the experience of the construction site planner (Tam and Tong, 2003). A good site layout would help site planner to reduce the cost of construction project and not even sacrifice safety involved in the site layout as well. In previous research, site facilities were considered within safety zone and forbidden in prohibited area (Lam and Ning, 2013). Site planning directly influences the construction progress and often impacts cost if there are any unforeseen conflicts (Su and Andoh, 2012 ). In present situation of construction project site management, the construction site managers or planners use the manual approach to mark up a single site layout drawing to include major temporary facilities that are needed on site throughout the duration of the construction project. Depend on knowledge of years of experience, common sense, which they have gathered and adoption of past site layout design in determining the positions of temporary facilities on construction project site (Elbeltagi and Hegazy, 2004).

1.2                                               Statement of Research Problem

Many large construction projects face accessibility problem due to poor site layout design. Most construction project sites encounter site layout design problems due to lack of knowledge in site layout design. Site layout design should be considered as a pre-requisite to the start of project construction (Ka-chi lam and Chun-kit lam, 2010) Neglecting site layout design causes a lot of problems in construction site. These problems include the following (Ka-chi lam and Chun-kit lam, 2010). Increase in construction project time, Decrease in productivity of workers, Increase in the cost of construction project (Cost overrun), Causes delay in construction delivery (Time overrun), Change in the scope of work.

1.3                                                        Justification of the Study

Site layout planning, in general, can be viewed as a complex problem that has many effects on construction project productivity, ranging from the site layout of small construction project to the site layout of large construction project. This problem has to be extensively addressed with respect to this research. A well planned site including all temporary facilities and utilities lead to increasing productivity and safety, reducing areas needed for temporary construction and maximizing utilization (Elbeltagi and Hegazy, 2004). In fact, the design of site layout plan is one of the preplanning tasks that has to be considered at the early stage of construction planning and accomplished in construction project. This task in construction project has an interactive relationship with the other planning tasks such as scheduling, selection of construction method, procurement and material planning, manpower and equipment planning, and financial planning. So, it becomes a task as important as other tasks that project managers have to accomplish through the entire life span of the construction project (Elbeltagi and Hegazy,2004)

1.4                                                                   Aim and Objectives

1.4.1 Aim

To assess the site layout practices of construction firms in Abuja, Nigeria with a view to improve the practices of site layout on construction projects.

1.4.2     Objectives

1. To articulate the concept of construction site layout practices of construction firms.
2. To ascertain the involvement of construction firms in site layout practices
3. To assess site layout practices of construction projects in Abuja
4. To determine the poor practices of site layout on construction firms in Abuja

1.5                                                 Scope and Delimitation

1.5.1 Scope

The scope of this research considers the management of some construction firms in Abuja metropolis.

1.5.2 Delimitation

This research is limited to the management of some construction firms that are based in Abuja metropolis.

not only residential building.