Issaka Ndekugri

Factors affecting clients' project dispute resolution satisfaction in Hong Kong

The use of project dispute resolution satisfaction (DRS) as a project success measurement responds to the increasing concern over the spread of the dispute epidemic within the construction industry in Hong Kong. The DRS of a project is considered as favourable where disputes are resolved within the site level. With the use of 48 project data sets and the technique of multivariate discriminant analysis, a discriminant model function was derived to classify projects into favourable DRS and adverse DRS. The multivariate discriminant analysis model function identified eight discriminating variables, among which the degree of design changes offered the highest separation power. The reliability of the discrminating variables was reinforced by a separate relative importance index study. Through the use of principal component factor analysis, these variables were grouped into three factors generically described as substantive influence, facilitation and indirect influence.

Identification and evaluation of factors influencing variations on building projects

Abstract This paper identifies and quantitatively examines factors influencing the magnitude and frequency of variations on building projects. The evaluation was based on the analysis of 46 completed building projects in the UK. The identified factors were classified into four main categories: client characteristics, project characteristics, project organization and environmental factors. The findings of the study suggest that there is a relationship between these factors and the magnitude and frequency of variations. Adequate attention given to these significant factors at pre- and post-tender stages of the project should reduce the effect of variations.

A review of changes in the UK construction industry

The external, social, economic and political environments determine the opportunities for work and thereby potential profit. Clients’ needs and attitudes, like the external environment itself, are never static and therefore organizations need to adapt and respond to these fluctuations. Situated between the external and internal environment of an organization and operating at the boundary of the organization is the marketing function. There are many changes occurring in the UK construction industry: a levelling of the trade cycle; methods of placing contracts; increased emphasis on quality, experience and innovations; and increasing competition among firms; clients’ buying behaviour due to changes in the clients’ organization; and developments in technology. Evaluates the role of marketing in seeking to regulate the construction organizations’ relationships with changes within the industry and the external environment.

Management information flow in construction companies

The construction industry has been increasingly recognizing the need for more effective exchange of information between project participants. Not only have the manual systems failed to satisfy this need but the computer packages which have sprung up have also not allowed adequately for such communication. Integration of project information can optimize the operations of the industry as they exist currently. An even more promising but less immediate benefit of such integration is that it will form the necessary foundation for tools that advanced technology has the potential to produce. Such tools include simulation systems, knowledge-based systems and robotics which are very much in their infancy. A necessary step towards achieving the desired integration is to map out the characteristics of the flow of the information. This article analyses the flow of information among the management functions of the construction contractor.

A review of the role of information technology in construction claims management

Compared to other management functions of construction organisations, claims management has benefited much less from information technology. The problems with claims management are most profound in the areas of claims justification, quantification and acute with respect to retrieval of supporting information and adequacy of information. Several computer systems designed for other functions are used in the process. Spreadsheets, databases and project management packages are used frequently, while expert systems have been proposed to ease justification. Newer technologies such as electronic document management systems and imaging systems are yet to find widespread use in industry. The latter systems are the ones for the future. Used in conjunction with other systems on an integrated platform, they offer the way forward in producing a dedicated system for claims management.

Disputing the existence of a dispute as a strategy for avoiding construction adjudication

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to provide a critical analysis of court decisions on what amounts to a dispute that may be referred to adjudication under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.Design/methodologyapproach – Legal research methods were followed. The first stage entailed a review of relevant literature. Reports of court decisions were then studied to identify cases involving litigation on what amounts to a dispute. A total of 26 cases, going back to 1965, were identified. Each case was then analysed to extract the applicable legal principles, particular attention being paid to clarity and consistency with not only other cases but also the policy underlying the relevant legislation.Findings – Until only recently, first instance judges adopted the one or the other of two opposing approaches to the question, thereby causing considerable litigation. The Court of Appeal has twice approved a flexible approach based on the principle that a dispute arises only after a par...

Role of simulation in construction management

Key applications are identified by the authors which include decision support systems for managing real life construction firms and projects as well as tools and devices for teaching theoretical concepts in construction management, training and team building.

The engineer under FIDIC's conditions of contract for construction

FIDIC has over the years produced standard forms of contracts for the international procurement of projects. A source of continuing criticism of its Red Book concerns the duality in the traditional role of the engineer as the employers agent and as an independent third party holding the balance fairly between the employer and the contractor. In response to this and other criticisms FIDIC produced a replacement for it in 1999. The role of the engineer under the new Red Book is critically examined in the light of relevant case law, expert commentaries and feedback from two multidisciplinary workshops with international participation. The examination identified three major changes: (1) a duty to act impartially has been replaced by a duty to make fair determination of certain matters; (2) it is open to parties to allow greater control of the engineer by the employer by stating in the appropriate part of the contract powers the engineer must not exercise without the employers approval; (3) there is provision for a Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB) to which disputes may be referred. Although the duality has not been eliminated completely, the contract is structured flexibly enough to support those who wish to contract on the basis of the engineer acting solely as the agent of the employer.

The project insurance option in infrastructure procurement

Purpose – Project insurance is designed to get over the perceived deficiencies of the conventional insurance practice. It involves the entire project supply chain being insured under a single policy taken out by the project owner. The purpose of this article is to report the outcomes of a study aimed at developing understanding of project insurance practice and how it compares with the conventional system.Design/methodology/approach – The study consisted of a questionnaire survey across four sectors of the construction industry.Findings – Direct experience of project insurance is still very patchy. They also raise doubt whether project insurance offers significant benefits to the supply chain members with direct responsibility for designing or executing projects. The main advantages of project insurance over the traditional fragmented insurance products reported by respondents were: avoidance of litigation to determine which member of the project supply chain should ultimately be liable when loss or damag...

Indigenous Landholding Institutions as an Impediment to Economic Use of Land: Case Studies of Tamale and Bolgatanga in Ghana

In Ghana, traditionally, the allodial (paramount) interest in land is vested in communities represented by chiefs/kings and/or families/clans referred to as indigenous landholding institutions. The system of landownership has been perceived as communal landholding, which does not permit individual ownership of land rights. It has been argued that such communal ownership does not incentivise individuals to invest in land-based economic activities. Thus, the traditional landownership system is viewed as an obstruction to economic growth. This chapter reports on a study carried out to test the assertion that traditional land tenure does not permit individual ownership. It is based on case studies of the two localities of Tamale and Bolgatanga in Ghana. The study shows that the landownership system is dual with both communal and individual ownership. Therefore it does not appear to constitute an impediment to economic growth as claimed in the literature.