James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi

Legislation for effective post‐disaster reconstruction

New Zealand is vulnerable to natural disasters. When disasters occur, the effects can be devastating on the built environment. As one aspect of a major programme of research in New Zealand, the authors address the recovery issue in terms of how legislation either facilitates or hinders reconstruction. The results of a survey to building control officers and other disaster practitioners in New Zealand on the application of the Building Act 2004 post‐disaster are presented in this paper. There are indications that the New Zealand Building Act 2004 will not be supportive or enabling in post‐disaster reconstruction environments, particularly in large‐scale disaster events. Key problems found were procedural constraints as a result of high consenting standards and logistic considerations. The desire is to create the best possible conditions that will encourage rapid rebuilding of lives and communities after large‐scale disasters in New Zealand and that can only be done within a supportive legislative environment.

Estimating transaction costs in the New Zealand construction procurement

Purpose – Within construction procurement, transaction cost economics offers a mechanism to understand “unseen” costs associated with the pre- and post-contract work. Pre-contract, these include costs related to information gathering and procurement. Post-contract they include activities of contract administration and enforcement. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the magnitude of transaction costs (TCs) for different procurement systems used in construction projects in New Zealand. Specifically estimating the relative values of TCs for Traditional and Design-Build delivery systems for the purpose of comparison. Design/methodology/approach – This study develops a conceptual model for the relationship between procurement systems and TC. The model was operationalized and developed into a questionnaire. A cross-sectional sample approach was deployed, involving pilot and survey questionnaires, and results verification through “real world” cases. Data were sought from construction professionals in manag...

Why do the design stage elemental cost plan and final tender sum differ in New Zealand

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons for disparity between design stage elemental cost plan and final tender sum (contract sum) in building procurement. A number of risk factors responsible for such variation were identified through case study projects from which data were extracted. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review determined the risk factors inherent in the preparation of design stage elemental cost plan. Interviews and thematic analysis identified the risk factors responsible for the disparity between design stage elemental cost plans and final tender sums. Analysis of documents obtained from the archives of study participants (consultant quantity surveyors) complemented responses from the interviews. Findings – The review revealed a number of inherent risks in the design stage elemental cost plan development. The interviews further indicated that risks have an impact on and are responsible for the deviations experienced. The assessment of these risk elements cou...

Home owners and developers relationships: exploring the cordiality factor

Purpose – The cordiality of the relationship between home owners and house developers is significant in the house building sector. This plays a key role in meeting needs, expectations and overall satisfaction. Home owners’ satisfactions are very often dependent on their encounters and experiences with the building organisations they deal with. The purpose of this paper is to explore home owners’ satisfaction to the quality of their new homes by investigating the relationships between them and their house developers when they take possession of their properties. Design/methodology/approach – Two distinct lines of investigation were conducted, with the first utilising mail questionnaires administered to new home owners. The second involved interviews with house building developers. Both investigations cover five main regions in New Zealand. However, this study reports the mail questionnaire survey. The data analysis is based on 216 new home owners, and the results presented using descriptive and correlation...

Developing and evaluating a framework for process improvement in an alliance project: a New Zealand case study

‘Lean thinking’ holds out the promise of dramatic improvements in construction production processes, especially in waste minimization. While there exist empirical studies of ‘leanness’ with regard to non-relational-type projects, there is a need to analyse its applicability in relational contexts, such as an alliance. The application of ‘lean’ to a project alliance in a viaduct replacement in New Zealand is investigated here. The primary objective is to define a framework to streamline improvements in processes and to verify the applicability of the defined framework to a real construction alliance project. Participant observations, project documentation and action research meetings were used to collect data on the waste identification and elimination processes. The findings indicate that the construction work in a project alliance can be improved considerably by eliminating or reducing waste. Moreover, the savings are substantial, as the processes investigated were cyclic and repetitive. This framework is equally suited to waste detection and improvements at the site level. Project organizations should detect needs and opportunities for process change and transform processes accordingly. The current lack of any waste elimination technique, which could provide a significant competitive advantage for industry participants, has been established. Organizational conditions exist in project alliances that help to disseminate and sustain the lean concept.

Implementation of the LPS using an excel spreadsheet: a case study from the New Zealand construction industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation challenges of one of lean construction’s recent tools, the last planner system (LPS), by exploring issues in the New Zealand construction sector to identify potential areas for improvement. To achieve this aim, the study formulated two objectives: to present the challenges in LPS use and to explore solutions by using an Excel spreadsheet for facilitating LPS applications. Design/methodology/approach The study drew primarily upon a case study approach. A fieldwork study and document analysis of a New Zealand construction project were conducted with an extensive literature review undertaken on the LPS concept. Findings The findings revealed that although an automated spreadsheet could be a simple and inexpensive option for using the LPS, data collection, storage and transfer into the spreadsheet could significantly influence the reliability of the LPS outcomes. Most data utilisation challenges were found to occur around the three data sets included in the weekly work plan (WWP). The study presented several automation solutions which had been applied to overcome data utilisation challenges. Originality/value Among the first of its kind in the construction industry, this study, with its first-hand account of an organisation which uses the lean paradigm, provides an in-depth insight into LPS tool implementation. The study extends the current body of knowledge by unearthing the challenges of LPS integration into construction activities and presenting efforts undertaken in a construction case project to overcome relevant issues. This adds value by enhancing the reliability of the LPS and, consequently, the effectiveness of its implementation in practical terms.

Relationship between competitive strategy and construction organisation performance: The moderating role of organisational characteristics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible moderating role of organisational characteristics (organisational structure, management style and decision-making style) in the relationship between strategy and organisational performance among large construction organisations in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative research approach using a questionnaire survey to obtain data from 72 large construction organisations in South Africa. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the paper examines the relationship between the constructs discussed in the study. Findings The internal characteristics of the organisation form the vital basis for achieving optimal performance. The results obtained from the analysis revealed that decision-making style directly influences the measure of organisational effectiveness, while it could also be inferred that organisational characteristics partly moderate the relationship between competitive strategy and organisational performance. The findings indicate that internal characteristics is one of the means through which organisational strategic factors and contextual aspects are organised to achieve greater organisational performance levels. Originality/value The findings have theoretical implications for strategic management literature in construction as it extends the scope of research on strategic management from assessing a set of individual management practices to evaluating a complex mechanism that connects internal characteristics and competitive advantage. It is believed that this study will contribute positively to the role of organisational characteristics in the competitive strategy-performance relationships in large construction organisations in South Africa and to the ongoing discussion on emerging strategic management issues in construction.

Determining significant risks in the variability between design-stage elemental cost plan and final tender sum

AbstractSeveral researches have indicated that pre-tender estimating inaccuracies are significantly influenced by the level of risk information available to estimators. This study first identifies risk factors that influence variability between design-stage elemental cost plan and final tender sum (contract sum) in traditionally procured commercial building projects. It further evaluates the identified risk factors through risk measurement to determine the most significant ones during design development. Project data from New Zealand were obtained through online questionnaire and interview surveys to determine the construction consultants’ perspectives. Responses to the survey were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, risk mean analysis (RMA), degree of risk, coefficient of variation, and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. A ranking of mean scores of the survey responses enabled the most significant risk factors to be determined. Interviews were analyzed by using thematic and documentary methods t...

Risk impact assessments in project budget development: architects’ perspectives

ABSTRACT Knowledge of how risks combine to impact variability between design stage elemental cost plans and final tender sums, in traditionally procured commercial building projects, from the architects’ perspectives in NZ is yet to be investigated. This study therefore evaluates identified risk factors through risk measurement, in order to determine the most significant. Data for the study were collected through an online questionnaire survey of 82 practising architects in NZ. Responses to the survey were analysed using descriptive statistics, risk mean analysis, degree of risk and Spearmans correlation. A ranking of the mean and degree of risk values enabled the most significant risk factors during design development to be determined. The findings revealed the top 10 risk factors impacting the variability observed. Armed with this information, architects may be better able to provide information on the influence of design- and construction-related risks on building project performance and, consequently the clients cash flow position. Moreover, as risk elements are inherent in construction projects globally, these findings have ramifications for commercial projects by expanding existing knowledge on what is needed for reasonable budgetary performance and successful delivery of construction projects.

Mitigating Payment Problems in the Construction Industry through Analysis of Construction Payment Disputes

AbstractPayment is the lifeblood of construction businesses because performance in any construction activity is dependent on an uninterrupted funds flow. However, steady funds flow is rare, and businesses suffer with the worst cases resulting in litigations. The study of litigations, 40 construction payment dispute cases filed in the High Court in New Zealand, within the current study gives an indication of the nature of the payment problem in the construction industry. Disputes over payment arise between contractors and principals in most (80%) of the instances investigated, with progress and final payments being often disputed in construction projects. However, only in limited situations do contractors and subcontractors achieve success with their claims and are able to recover their payments fully. Through the analysis of payment disputes, the study suggests means by which payment problems could be mitigated. Placing charging orders, caveat registration over built properties, and issuance of bankruptcy...