Improving the construction industry of South Africa:: A strategy (original) (raw)
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Improving the construction industry of South Africa
Habitat International, 1996
The construction industry of South Africa will be expected to play a key role in the socio-economic development of the country under the new national political dispensation. The industry has an illustrious past and a good regulatory and procedural infrastructure. But the tasks it will face will be different from its past workload in terms of volume, variety and location.
2014
The paper investigates the challenges influencing the performance, development and growth of the South African construction industry. The paper examines whether there is a key challenge perceived by construction industry stakeholders as affecting the development and growth of the sector. The rationale for the examination stems from the varied and largely unexamined assumptions available in the literature as to what the key challenge is. The research adopts a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews of 120 construction industry stakeholders based in Cape Town. The respondents were selected using the convenience and snowball sampling technique. The results of the study show that from a ranking perspective, the key challenges perceived by stakeholders as affecting the performance, development and growth of the construction industry in South Africa include the increasing costs of building materials, access to mortgage/credits, high interest rates and the high rate of failu...
2023
The construction industry plays a pivotal role in the development of the country but does this does not mean the construction industry is immune to challenges. This paper examines the challenges facing the performance of South African construction industry. Furthermore, this paper seeks to disclose the most fundamental challenge that affect the progress, performance and growth of the construction industry. There are a few challenges that influence the performance of the South African construction industry. The study focused on assessing the challenges based available literature and on user perspective in order to improve the performance of the construction industry. A survey will be undertaken based on previous literature among construction professionals. The research will enhance the body of knowledge about a way forward in producing an effective performance within the construction industry.
2018
The performance of the South African construction industry is a major cause of concern in the country. This study investigates the factors influencing the performance of the construction industry. Primary data was obtained through the questionnaire survey which was distributed to professionals in the construction industry. Quantitative method was adopted whereby a total of 50 survey questionnaires were distributed, however only 35 questionnaires were returned which gave a response rate of 70%. To analyse Statistical Packages of Social Sciences was used for the study. The value for the internal consistency and reliability of the research instrument was 0.866. The study revealed significant factors affecting the performance of the construction industry as; Instability/escalation of construction material prices, project cost overruns, backlogs of payment to contractors, material and equipment and inefficient funding of construction projects. The study contributes to the body of knowled...
Acta Structilia : Journal for the Physical and Development Sciences, 2006
International research indicates that construction clients and built environment consultants such as project managers, designers, and quantity surveyors influence and can contribute to construction health and safety (H&S). This article focuses on the influence and contribution of project managers only. Although they are not required to undertake any specific interventions in terms of the South African Construction Regulations (SACR) promulgated in July 2003, project managers by virtue of their unique contributions in the form of managing design delivery, the integration of design and construction, and their monitoring of construction, need to ensure that many of the requirements of the SACR are met. A perception-based survey conducted among member practices of the Association of Construction Project Managers (ACPM) determined the following: the traditional project parameters in the form of time, cost, and, quality are still perceived to be substantially more important than H&S; the manifestations of the impact of the SACR are wide spread, namely in the form of increased consideration for / reference to H&S by project managers and general contractors, increased H&S awareness, and impact of H&S on various project parameters.
Impact of the South African construction regulations as perceived by project managers
2006
International research indicates that construction clients and built environment consultants such as project managers, designers, and quantity surveyors influence and can contribute to construction health and safety (H&S). This article focuses on the influence and contribution of project managers only. Although they are not required to undertake any specific interventions in terms of the South African Construction Regulations (SACR) promulgated in July 2003, project managers by virtue of their unique contributions in the form of managing design delivery, the integration of design and construction, and their monitoring of construction, need to ensure that many of the requirements of the SACR are met. A perception-based survey conducted among member practices of the Association of Construction Project Managers (ACPM) determined the following: the traditional project parameters in the form of time, cost, and, quality are still perceived to be substantially more important than H&S; the manifestations of the impact of the SACR are wide spread, namely in the form of increased consideration for / reference to H&S by project managers and general contractors, increased H&S awareness, and impact of H&S on various project parameters.
Performance of Construction Projects in South Africa: Perceptions of Consultants and Contractors
Over the years, performance of construction projects has become an issue of concern not only to contractors and professionals but other stakeholders including clients, project sponsors and end-users. This is due to complexity of construction process, innovation in the use of raw materials and machinery, new construction management techniques and more importantly, variation in requirement from clients. Thus, this research evaluates factors affecting performance of construction projects from the perspective of consultants and contractors, in order to enhance the quest of construction industry of contributing positively to the economy and overall growth of the nation. Using quantitative approach, data were collected through close-ended questionnaires administered on a group of learned and experienced consultants and contractors who are based within the study area. From the analysed data, there is a significant difference in the perceptions of consultants and contractors regarding factors affecting performance of construction projects. To consultants, general time factors and conformance to specification are the most important performance indicator for project success while from contractors' view, cost factors including delay in payment from owner to contractor is a major critical success factor. The two groups unilaterally agreed that bringing about the best planning and scheduling technique before and during construction would assist in improving performance of construction projects in the country.
Acta Structilia, 2013
In recent times, project performance improvement, especially in developing countries, has captured the interest of a number of construction management researchers, as indicated in notable journals and conferences in the domain. The quest for excellence, waste elimination, and value creation underpins such research endeavours that encompass the interest of clients, consultants, and contractors so that cost overruns, low productivity, and poor quality can be reduced in the industry. The driving force behind this discourse is the need to examine management strategies that could engender performance improvement in infrastructure construction from the South African perspective. The survey was conducted among general contractor (GC) members of the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (SAFCEC), consulting engineer members of Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), and selected public sector clients. Using inferential statistics such as Cronbach's alpha, t test and Cohen's d effect size measures for data analysis led to a range of findings. Such findings show that inadequate coordination between project partners may indeed result in high levels of defects, rework, and non-conformances in construction; poor interface between multidisciplinary designers could lead to delays in projects, and inefficient and unstable logistics management may, in fact, lead to haphazard processing of orders, storage of materials, and poor inventory management. In essence, it can be argued that being quality focused, managing construction logistics optimally and making sure that consultants who are working on a project are collaborating effectively offers significant scope for performance improvement in the construction of infrastructure projects in South Africa.