Sadi Assaf

The effect of faulty design on building maintenance

Outlines the defects and faults during the design stage that affect building maintenance in Saudi Arabia and their relative degree of importance. Performed a survey of a randomly selected sample of 90 contractors, 30 architectural/engineering firms (A/Es), and 20 owners from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The survey included 35 defects and the respondents were asked to indicate their degree of importance. The defects were grouped into six groups. The level of importance of the defects and the groups were measured and ranked by their severity index for contractors, owners and A/Es. The following results were obtained: contractors, A/Es and owners generally agree on the ranking of the individual defects; contractors and A/Es agree on the ranking of the defect groups whereas contractors and owners, A/Es and owners do not agree; the construction drawings group of defects was ranked highly by all three parties whereas the architectural design group of defects received a low ranking.

The management of construction company overhead costs

Abstract This paper investigates the overhead cost practices of construction companies in Saudi Arabia. Although overhead costs are extremely important in construction estimation, they can be easily overlooked. Neglecting overhead has forced some contractors out of business, because these costs constitute a significant portion of the total construction cost. The practices of 61 large building construction contractors were investigated via questionnaire. The questionnaire has three parts covering the construction firms, overhead costs in general, and company overhead costs. Results show that average overhead cost is slightly higher than the ratio reported in the literature. The average percentage of company overhead costs to project direct cost is greater than 10%. Causes of increased company overhead costs include delayed payments, shortage of new projects, cost of inflation and governmental regulations. Factors affecting company overhead costs include the following: automobile and equipment costs, head office expenses, labor related costs and financing costs. The unstable construction market makes it difficult for contractors to decide on the optimum level of overhead costs that enables contractors to win and efficiently administer large projects.

Safety assessment in the built environment of Saudi Arabia

This paper assesses the safety procedures on a construction job site in Saudi Arabia. Safety on the construction site was assessed by conducting a survey of projects during construction. A standardized checklist was used to conduct the survey. This checklist included those items which are perceived to be important from the safety point of view. These are fire prevention, scaffold/mobile tower, cartridge operated tools, trenching and excavation, housekeeping, sandblasting, power tool machine and equipment, heavy equipment, gas/electric welding, construction formwork, health and welfare, transportation, cranes and lifting devices, compressed gas, air compressors, site safety administration, temporary electricity supplies, and special items. The sites for the study were selected randomly from the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The sites were differentiated into large and small projects based on the size, dollar volume and number of workmen employed on the job site. This was done to test whether the level of safety on a construction site was a function of the size of a project. The results of the study indicated that safety levels varied between the large and small projects. Small projects averaged low safety assessment scores in fire prevention, health and welfare and safety administration, while safety assessment scores in large project were consistently high in all different divisions. A Spearman Rho rank correlation of the different divisions was computed and a test of hypothesis was conducted. It was found that both large and small projects generally agree on the ranks of the divisions although they have different safety standards.

Factors affecting outsourcing decisions of maintenance services in Saudi Arabian universities

Purpose – The objectives of this paper are to identify the critical factors that influence the decision to outsource maintenance services in public Saudi Arabian universities, and to investigate the relative importance of each of the identified factors based on the expressed opinions of the in‐house maintenance managers in the concerned maintenance departments in these universities.Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a comprehensive review of the literature in the fields of maintenance management and outsourcing practices to achieve a thorough understanding of the issues involved, and identifying the crucial factors affecting the outsourcing decision of maintenance services. A questionnaire survey was developed to assess each factor influencing the decision to outsource maintenance services in the public Saudi Arabian universities. The survey included 38 factors grouped in six major groups. The respondents who have opted to outsource several of their maintenance services to specialty contr...

The effect of faulty construction on building maintenance

Saudi Arabia is a rich developing country with huge capital resources and is developing quickly in every area, including building construction. Public and private sectors have initiated large and complex construction projects on tight completion deadlines which in some cases have led to errors and defects occurring that will result in later high maintenance costs.

Design — Construction interface problems in Saudi Arabia

During the last decade the construction industry in Saudi Arabia employed 15% of the total labour force and used 19% of energy consumed in the country. Abdulmohsen Al‐Hammad and Sadi Assaf discuss the results of a survey which identified the interface problems in design and construction, and document the lessons to be learned from that boom period

A multi‐criterion decision‐making model for contractor prequalification selection

The factors used in this model are financial stability, experience, references, past performance, current work load, staff availability, manpower resources, company organization, office location, experience in geographic location of project, quality performance, failure to complete contracts, procurement experience, safety consciousness and claim attitude.

Factors affecting affordable housing cost in Saudi Arabia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the main factors that affect the construction cost of affordable housing in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of 14 consultants, 16 contractors and five real estate investors was performed. The survey included 34 different factors affecting the construction cost of affordable houses and their degree of importance. The severity of those factors was measured by the level of importance and ranked according to the severity index for consultants, contractors and real estate investors and a combination of all respondents. Findings - There is an agreement (correlation) by each group and the overall ranking by all participants. It was concluded that inadequate labor availability, material standards, design quality and design changes are the most severe factors with relatively high overall scoring. Originality/value - The paper provides a holistic approach that considers all factors affecting affordable housing in Saudi Arabia and the interplay between them. It will serve as a guide to the focus areas to be considered in policy development aiming at improving conditions in the construction industry for affordable housing programs.

Analysis of factors influencing the selection of college majors by newly admitted students

The selection of a college major is an important decision that must be made by all college students. This selection has a major impact on the individual, his/her family, and the country at large. There are many influencing factors that affect the selection of majors by students. These factors include interest in the major, peer pressure, family pressure, academic ability, the majors reputation, job availability, job salary, the majors prestige, employment in public or private sector, and others. This study was conducted on 412 new orientation students at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and on 35 students who selected a major in the College of Environmental Design. The study revealed that the most important factors on the whole were job availability, prospective salary, social status and prestige of the major, in that order. It also revealed that peer and family pressure has little influence on the students in selecting their majors. It also revealed that in the selected group of students in the College of Environmental Design, interest in the major was the most outstanding factor, with personal ability, job availability, salary and prestige of the profession coming later, in that order. Universities having low enrollment in certain programs could focus their advertising to prospective students on these factors to make such programs more appealing.

Factors affecting maintenance cost of hospital facilities in Saudi Arabia

Purpose – The objectives of this paper are to identify and assess the factors that affect the cost of maintenance of hospital facilities.Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a literature review on hospital maintenance cost to identify the factors affecting the cost of maintenance and interviewed a selected group of ten experienced facilities managers of both public and private hospitals. 33 factors were identified, and synthesized in seven groups. A questionnaire survey was developed to assess the factors. Responses were obtained on the developed questionnaire survey by interviewing the facilities managers of the full population of the 40 hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, 20 of which were public hospitals and the other 20 were private hospitals. The data received were analyzed to identify the level of importance for the factors. The factors were ranked according to their importance index values.Findings – The most important factors from the perspectives of public hospitals ...