Abstract
The study objective of this study is to explore the influence of procurement method on cost of rework in construction of building project, in the cause of the study four research objective were put forward by the researcher, four research questions were also formulated, the study adopted the agency theory as the anchor theory of the study, the researcher adopted a survey research design and descriptive statistics was adopted for the study, the method of data analysis was the simple percentage. At the completion of the study certain recommendations were made that will foster better practice in the procurement process of construction project rework.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1:1 Background of the study
There are a host of problems that can ultimately create rework for any construction project, and each individual working on the job can contribute to the increase of rework. Every sector, from human resources to engineering, has the potential to bog down a job and create additional tasks that need to be completed––often at the last possible moment (Duane Craig, 2018) In a continuously changing world that has become so competitive and complex that the expectations of the in the construction industry regarding deliverables, cost, time and quality have made companies shift to more robust and competitive operational strategies. According to Wikipedia, procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms, and acquiring goods, services, or works from external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process. This process is used to ensure the buyer receives goods, services, or works at the best possible price when aspects such as quality, quantity, time, and location are compared. The significance of procurement to the construction industry stems from two aspects (Idoro, 2012): firstly, it involves a series of interrelated and sequential processes and the effectiveness and efficiency of these processes have a considerable impact on the success or failure of a project; secondly, there are several procurement methods available for a developer to adopt when procuring a project. The construction industry is a project-based industry that relies on the triads of the client, the consultants and, the contractors to attain its aim (Usman et al, 2012; Gollenbeck, 2018; Roper and McLin, 2015; Bennett, 2013). Contemporary construction procurement business demands more from contractors beyond their earlier role as integrators in a design-bid-build procurement route (Gollenbeck, 20018), to a much more complex role in either: management oriented contracts; integrated contracts or; discretionary contracts (Mathonsi and Thwala, 2012; Babatunde, et al. 2010; Harris and McCaffer, 2015; Bennett, 2013). These complexities in accomplishing their construction procurement task necessitate project planning to be successful (Baily, et al. 2008). Planning defines the activities and Procurement in construction can encompass sourcing goods and services on every level throughout the scope of the project. Whether its recruiting the right contract workers, sourcing high-quality products at reasonable prices, or logically managing the transportation of materials between facilities and sites, successful procurement strategies depend on a good deal of expertise and industry knowledge. Nwachukwu (2012) also defines procurement as a term used to describe all activities undertaken by the client in seeking to bring about the construction of, or the refurbishment of a building. He further referred it to as method or system which seeks to weigh the pros and cons and the financial constraints which are likely to affect the project so as to select an affect the project so as to select an effective contractual arrangement. A procurement method determines the overall framework and structure of responsibilities for participants in contract process (Osanyinro et al 2017) While procurement method largely has to do with the processes involved in purchasing of construction contracts, reworks in the construction of building project is challenge in terms of cost and meeting up with the time of delivery as agreed by parties in the contract.
Rework is defined as the unnecessary effort of redoing an activity that was inaccurately done the first time (Love, 2012). In essence, rework and wastages have become recognized as non-value adding endemic symptoms that seriously affect the performance and productivity aspects of construction projects (Alwi, Hampson and Mohammed, 2012; Josephson, Larson and Li, 2022). Palaneeswaran (2016) stated that the construction industry is mainly project based and various complexities are inherent in the construction projects such as dealing with diverse interests of multiple stakeholders and resultant changes. Due to these characteristic complexities of construction, amendments may be deemed inevitable in some instances; however, uncontrolled occurrences of rework and wastages should actually be more effectively controlled. NAVIGANT Construction Forum (2012) defines rework as activities in the field that have to be done more than once in the field, or activities which remove work previously installed as part of the project regardless of source, where no change order has been issued and no change of scope has been identified by the owner. Construction cost according to Designing Building Oyewobi et al (2011) argued that despite the huge contributions noticed in the past in the construction industries, the industry has become a shadow of its former self through the contribution it makes to the GDP which was reported to be 1.72% in 2007 by the Federal Bureau of statistics which was below 3 to 8% reported by World Bank for developing nations while Ghana recorded 8.5% contribution of the industry to her GDP (Fugar and Agyakwah-baah, 2010). Oyewobi et al (2011) further stressed that the persistent reduction in the industry’s contribution was as a result of many factors the industry is being plagued with; from time and cost overrun to defects traceable to design and construction interfaces. According to his findings, these defects are either caused by design errors, contract documentation errors, and deviation in quality at construction phase or poor workmanship that has to be done again to offer client value for money. These defects could be regarded as rework. Rework is a significant factor that contributes negatively to the construction process and directly leads to client dissatisfaction, reduces profitability and in extreme conditions, leads to acrimonious relationship between participants which either be settled through a recourse to law court or arbitration (Love, 2012).
1.2 Statement of Problem
The recent economic downturn in Nigeria has necessitated the adoption of more prudent methods of delivering construction projects, thus, procuring entities of the government are faced with the challenge of effectively procuring projects within the meager budget of the government (Osanyiro et al 2017) Studies have shown that most clients and clients representatives haven using a specific procurement system by default without making a deliberate choice or proper consideration of the method that best suits their needs and that of the project, others base it largely on their familiarity with a particular procurement method (Okunlola 2012)
Projects are immense, with scores of workers involved, specification books as thick as bricks, and aspects of the job that can take months to complete (Duane Craig, 2018) he further expresses that there are a host of problems that can ultimately create rework for any construction project, and each individual working on the job can contribute to the increase of rework in his opinion, every sector, from human resources to engineering, has the potential to bog down a job and create additional tasks that need to be completed––often at the last possible moment. Indeed, maintaining a streamlined and efficient workflow is one of the primary goals of any construction firm. However, whether due to a lack of skilled labor, miscommunication, or poor project management, countless jobs are extended beyond their scheduled deadline due to a significant amount of rework required to fulfill contractually obligated specifications. Although it is vastly acknowledged that superfluous outlays due to modification of work can have an opposing consequence on the project performance, limited experimental study has been done to examine the swaying factors.
Procurement methods in the construction of building project run different style of construction management program which is a potential factor in the cause of rework, prevention of rework and remedies in the instances where a work needs to be redone and the cost required for the rework. Rework according to Huang et al (2014) continues to affect both cost and schedule performance throughout the construction industry, further estimated the direct cost of rework to be 5% of the total construction cost which is a huge cost impact on the project construction. Not only is rework expensive and time consuming, there's simply no way to accurately estimate how much extra work you'll end up performing on a given project. Instead of trying to (Duane craig, 2018) The Nigeria construction industry is under pressure from a combination of factors such as rework, skills shortages, delays in payments, lack of standardization and variable quality. Moreover, a study conducted to investigate clients’ perceptions relative to contractors’ performances among members of Nigeria society of Engineers (NSE) in 2011 revealed that rework, poor productivity and poor quality are predominant problems in the industry. There are many causes which may lead to rework in construction projects, some causes are direct and result in work activities to be done more than once. Other causes are indirect and may lead to rework indirectly.
The research aims to examine the various procurement methods in the construction of building projects and how these methods influence the cost of rework.
1.3 Aim and Objectives
1.3.1 Aim
The aim of the study is to examine the influence of the various procurement methods on the cost of rework in the construction of building project and to determine the best procurement method to apply depending on the project type and the total cost building.
1.3.2 Objectives
- To identify the various procurement method in the construction of building project
- To examine the various factors that influence reworks in the construction of building project
- To examine the influence of the various procurement methods on reworks in construction of building project
- To determine the best procurement method in terms of cost of rework in construction of building project.
1.4 Research Question
- What method of procurement is best preferred by the firm
- What are the factors that causes reworks in construction of building project
- To what extent does rework occur when applying each of the procurement method(s)
- Suggest the best procurement method to be applied in the construction of building project.
1.5 Justification for the study
According to Duane Craig (2018), for many construction industries, there's simply no way to avoid rework. Projects are immense, with scores of workers involved, specification books as thick as bricks, and aspects of the job that can take months to complete. Oyewobi et al (2011) had in a paper induced that, these defects are either caused by design errors, contract documentation errors, and deviation in quality at construction phase or poor workmanship that has to be done again to offer client value for money. Maintaining a streamlined and efficient workflow is one of the primary goals of any construction firm. However, whether due to a lack of skilled labor, miscommunication, or poor project management, countless jobs are extended beyond their scheduled deadline due to a significant amount of rework required to fulfill contractually obligated specifications (Duane et al, 2018). Rework is a significant factor that contributes negatively to the construction process and directly leads to client dissatisfaction, reduces profitability and in extreme conditions, leads to acrimonious relationship between participants which either be settled through a recourse to law court or arbitration (Love, 2002). While a lot has been expressed about procurement methods and the factors that cause reworks, there is a need to examine the influence of these various procurement methods and how it affects the management of building projects which is a major factor that causes reworks.
1.6. Scope of study
- The study will focus specifically on the cost implication of rework.
- Study will target stakeholders in building construction industry.
- Location of study will be Ekiti, Ondo and Osun State, Nigeria
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to the Nigeria society of engineer, as the finding of the study will help them formulate policy and rules that will curtail the expenses emanating from the cost of rework in building constructions in the study area. The study will also be of importance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to further studies. Finally, the study will be of great importance to students, teachers, academia's and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter and also contribute to knowledge.
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The focused of the study was on influence of procurement method on cost of rework in construction of building project in south west Nigeria, the study was limited to just three selected state in the south west region, due to the limited access to the needed finance the scope of the research instrument was limited to a sample population. Another constrain to the scope of the study was lack of availability of research material, as there are limited research on the subject matter.
1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Procurement
Procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms, and acquiring goods, services, or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process
Rework
Rework in the construction industry as the “unnecessary effort of redoing a process or activity that was incorrectly implemented the first time
Construction
Construction is the process of constructing a building or infrastructure. Construction differs from manufacturing in that manufacturing typically involves mass production of similar items without a designated purchaser, while construction typically takes place on location for a known client.
Building
A building, or edifice, is a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory.
1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows
Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study
