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QS Journal Vol. 67 No. 1
Vol. 67 No. 1 (2021)In Nigeria, the menace of quackery has created several problems in professional practices particularly quantity surveying practice. Quackery entails a person pretending publicly or professionally to possess knowledge, skill, credentials or qualifications they do not have. Bamigboye and Dada identified and categorised the parties involved in quackery of quantity surveying services in Nigeria and revealed that the allied construction professionals (such as engineers, architects, builders and estate surveyors), accountants and contractors are the parties involved in the quackery of quantity surveying services. They recommended that licensed professionals and established professional governing bodies such as the Quantity Surveying Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) and Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) should proactively blow the whistle against unethical practices encountered within the profession, and this will guide against quackery and protect the reputation of the profession.
Arowoiya andAkinradewo examined the training of Quantity Surveyors in cost management of Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) services to uncover the areas of shortcomings. They discovered that four out of the fifteen knowledge areas investigated were not well captured in the curricula of a number of the public tertiary institutions sampled in Nigeria. Thus they counselled academic institutions and the professional body (NIQS) to take into serious consideration these insufficiently captured areas of M&E when reviewing the academic program of Quantity Surveying.
The dearth of trust between Quantity Surveyors (QSs) and other project stakeholders is inhibiting their ability to mitigate wastes and create value in construction processes. Also, the existence of harsh conditions between the contractor's QSs, the other key stakeholders and the client has encouraged the promotion of 'selfinterest' to the level of hampering effective cost management of construction projects through collaborative efforts. Therefore, Mobolaji studied how to achieve effective cost management of construction project through collaborative efforts of the Quantity Surveyors and other stakeholders in design and production processes. The study revealed some of the barriers and opportunities for the Quantity Surveyors, and other construction stakeholders going into collaborative practice, and also recommended a new integrated model that can be harnessed by Quantity Surveyors to overcome their relational challenges.
The implementation of risk management strategies permits effective management of anticipated outcome which can positively or negatively impact the decision maker. Leo-Olagbaye and Odeyinka assessed the risk management strategies adopted in the delivery of road projects in Osun State. They disclosed that project managers employ different risk management strategies in road projects and highlighted these strategies.Also, they identified the risk management strategy which project managers least preferred. They recommended that risk management vocational training and workshops be organised regularly because this will impart upcoming professionals with the knowledge that will assist in the management of risk in the study area.
Salla, Musa-Haddary, Kolo and Gandu appraised the mediating role of project environment on the Influence of construction firms' attributes on project success. Their results indicated fitness for an established model and also uncovered how the impact of the intrinsic attribute of firms on project success is mediated by the project environment. They recommended that the competitive intelligence and social networks of construction firms should be prioritized by front-end decision makers on public construction projects when carrying out due diligence on potential firms at tender.
Payment for goods, works and services have remained a combative issue in commercial contracts globally. To a great extent, this can be explained as a consequence of problems surrounding untimely payment and their resultant effect on cash flow. Olatunji, Ogunsemi, Odeyinka and Ogunlana surveyed the challenges linked to untimely payment to develop a framework that will facilitate effective payment and subsequently improve construction project performance. They appraised the effectiveness of the developed framework to resolve the untimely payment problem such as cost and time overruns, unnecessary claims, etc. The study admonished government participants to adopt this framework as it will enhance the delivery of public projects through the satisfaction of contractors.
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QS Journal Vol. 66 No. 1
Vol. 66 No. 1 (2020)The Nigerian construction industry like most developing countries, is governed by a competitive business environment driven by the lowest cost mentality. Therefore, any contractor who must remain in business within the industry must be determined and use optimal bid mark-ups low enough to win the job, at the same time high enough to provide the minimum expected profit. To help contractors decide on the optimum mark-up to insert in their bids in Nigeria, Danjuma, Ibrahim and Chindo examined and uncovered the factors affecting contractors' mark-up decisions in Nigeria through a comparative analysis of factors affecting contractors' mark-up decision based on selected project and organisational characteristics. Their study is relevant to construction industry players as it provides knowledge on how project and organisational characteristics affect factors affecting contractors' mark-up decision, therefore creating a better ground for improvements in tendering practices. This improvement in tendering practice in Nigeria has the potential to enhance the construction industry's performance.
Ade-Ojo and Akinola assessed the problems associated with plant and equipment's hiring in Ondo State, Nigeria. They indicated the major problems associated with plant and equipment hiring for construction works, and concluded that inability of hiring firms to keep and maintain plant and equipment in a working condition contributed to the problem of project delivery in Nigeria. They recommended proper project planning and good assessment of plant and equipment to be hired by contracting organization in order to prevent time overrun.
In Nigeria, the Building and Engineering Standard Method of Measurement (BESMM 4) is currently the standard for measurement of construction works but, till date an assessment of how well IFCs data schema supports the measurement of construction works using the BESMM 4 provisions is not known. Therefore, the capabilities of IFC for supporting quantity take-off of Building works using BESMM 4 was investigated by Abdullahi, Ombugadu, Ibrahim, Ibrahim, and Chindo.
They concluded that software and BIM platform based on the current IFC4 Add 1 data schema are not adequate for quantity take-off of building works using BESMM 4 standard. The output of their study will avail schema developers and software vendors with the information requirement for schema extensions that capture the local requirement for cost estimating in the Nigerian construction industry.
Bills of quantities (BoQs) doubtlessly remain the most preferred cost management instrument in construction
procurements globally. However, BoQ errors has the potential to cause construction disputes. Ogbu and Ebiminor exposed the sources of BoQ errors and the relationship between BoQ errors and construction disputes. Based on their findings, they made recommendations on how best to address professional incompetence and mistakes in the preparation of BoQs. This paper offers insights into the relationship between errors in BoQs and construction disputes.
Jibril, Kolo and Chindo acknowledged that lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities of construction practitioners (CPs) as one of the factors leading to ineffectiveness in teamwork within the construction industry. They appraised the roles of a project manager (PM) in the management of construction project and established that on a project where a PM is appointed, none among the roles and responsibilities of PM identified is fully undertaken by the PM. They concluded that there is a conflict amongst construction practitioners on the role of a PM. They suggested that CPs should improve their knowledge on the specific role of PM in construction projects and the attendant responsibilities that comes with such role.
Almost all tertiary institutions' new construction projects in Nigeria have consultants. In spite of this, majority of these projects in the institutions underperform due to poor management as a result of flaws in the selection of consultants. The order of priority of the criteria for the selection of consultants for public tertiary institution construction projects in Edo and Delta States was ascertained by Ogbu and Imafidon. The output of their study will assist tertiary institutions on what to prioritise in the criteria used in selecting construction consultant for their projects. It will also expose consultants to the key qualifying criteria for successful bidding in the institutions. They recommended that the use of ICT and location of firm/proximity to the site should be among the criteria for the selection of construction consultants for tertiary institution projects.
Babatunde, Adeleye and Adekunle examined the barriers to the implementation of building information modelling (BIM) based detailed cost estimating in quantity surveying practice; and evaluated the measures to improve its adoption within Nigerian quantity surveying firms. They presented the relative importance of the identified barriers and measures to improve BIM adoption. Their findings will help to ameliorate the barriers hindering the adoption of BIM based detailed cost estimating among quantity surveyors; thereby improving the reliability of the detailed cost estimating. Furthermore, their findings will positively inform the decisions of construction stakeholders, particularly quantity surveyors to formulate strategies to adopt the full implementation of BIM in their practices.
Today's workforce is experiencing stress in epidemic proportions as illness and absenteeism cannot be overemphasized at all levels. Therefore, Adedokun, Rufus and Aje appraised the indications of stress among Quantity Surveyors with a view to enhance productivity while also improving stress management. They uncovered the most evident indications of stress and the major sub factors of these indications of stress. They further reported the significant sub factors of the indications of stress and made recommendations on how to curb factors that could trigger stress among employees. -
QS Journal Vol. 65 No. 2
Vol. 65 No. 2 (2019)Risk have always been a major threat to the successful delivery of construction joint venture (JV) projects. Researchers have employed risk factors that are known to affect JV project performance with the assumption that, these factors are independent of one another. However, the independencies of these factors have not been tested. And so, it is worthwh ile to evaluate the relationships amongst the risk factors affecting construction JV projects. Abdulrahman, Kolo, Ibrahim And Abdullahi uncovered a strong and positive relationship with a high level of significance between the different categories of risk factors.
This depicts the dependencies of these risk categories on one another and renders the categorisations unreliable.
The stakeholder management concept has become an important tool for steering project stakeholders towards successful project delivery. However, there are no adequate research studies in Nigeria that have examined the practice used in engaging project stakeholders in construction projects. Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Abdulmumin and Shehu thus studied the practice used in engaging project stakeholders in TETFUND construction projects. They compared the practice used by consulting project management firms in engaging project stakeholders to the guidelines stated in the literature. This study will assist project managers in handling the various stakeholders to achieve more successful project delivery.
Omoraka, Oke andAje assessed the training of Nigerian quantity surveyors in relation to the knowledge requirements of SCM, with a view to examine their capability to function as supply chain managers. They revealed the level of incorporation of the knowledge requirements of SCM into the quantity surveying curricula and thus concluded that Nigerian quantity surveyors have the potential to function as supply chain managers. Finally, they recommended a need for academic institutions, and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) to take into serious consideration certain areas when reviewing the academic programme of Quantity Surveying.
Project planning is an essential element in the management and execution of construction projects. The knowledge of the planning processes will influence its ultimate implementation. The professionals’ level of awareness of project planning processes in the Nigerian construction industry was exposed by Akinola and Bashir. They provided enlightenment on the knowledge areas with the least level of awareness and posited that trainings in this areas will enhance project performance.
Olatunji acknowledged that the use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure projects in Nigeria have increased significantly in recent years across the three levels of government. He carried out a comparative analysis between the result of his survey in Nigeria with previous studies carried out in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. This revealed some similarity in some of the key factors. His work will support relevant stakeholders in PPPs policy formulation and development; and enhance the collaboration and manner in which partners go about PPP projects.
Oke and Otasowie appraised the required mentoring practices in quantity surveying firms in Nigeria with a view to providing possible practices for effective professional transition and developing leaders within the built environment. The study affirms the problem of adopting mentoring concept in quantity surveying firms despite knowledge of the concept. This paper highlighted the required mentoring practices in Nigerian quantity surveying firms and postulated ways through which the practices can be implemented in the firms for better professional transition and development of leaders in the construction industry.
Majority of the construction sites in Nigeria experience a wide gap between safety expectation and safety realization. Williams, Hamid, Williams, Obagboye and Seghier blamed this on the passion to achieve cost minimization, quality and timely delivery of the project. They systematically reviewed past studies to unearthed and affirm the factors responsible for poor safety performance by construction stakeholders in Nigeria. They identified those responsible for the poor safety performance and illustrated various ways to promote safety in the construction sites.
Using inputs from both teaching and non-teaching staff of Federal University Kasher, Gombe State, Nigeria; Mohammed, Nuru and Zadawa showed the effect of moral stakeholders’ participation on satisfaction with delivery of projects in the university. The authors stated that there is need for both private and public clients to integrate the expectations of moral stakeholders into the planning, design, and delivery of their project. This is necessary to improve the usability of the project after completion. -
QS Journal Vol. 65 No. 1
Vol. 65 No. 1 (2019)The first paper by Bashir and Akinola assessed the factors influencing the use of advance payment on building projects in Lagos, Nigeria. The paper revealed time-related factors and economic factors asthemost significant factorsinfluencing the use of advance payment on building projects in Lagos, Nigeria. They suggested that moratorium be given prior to amortization whenever advance payment is adopted on building projects to ensure that the contractors judiciously utilize it.
The 21st century construction industry is focusing more on making buildings smarter and more intelligent. Although to a very large extent, the construction industry in the developed countries have adopted the principles of Intelligent Building System (IBS), many developing countries are still lagging for different reasons. Therefore, to improve the adoption of Intelligent Building Systems in the developing countries, Oke and Omole conducted a study which identified the greatest drivers that should be majored on to create a more conducive environment for IBS to thrive.
Morakinyo and Awodele investigated the level of awareness of surveying professions among career counsellors in Senior Secondary School in Lagos State, Nigeria. They discovered that 77.4% were ignorant of the relevance of Quantity Surveying towards the realisation of the built environment (BE), while 69.8% do not have Quantity Surveying listed on their career advisory register. The study linked its results to the exclusion of relevant stakeholders from the creation of awareness on BE careers and posited that these be corrected in future orientation programmes.
The impact of marketing is significant on the success of an organization. But, the impact of marketing is affected by inherent risks which is a challenge for construction professionals to properly handle. Therefore, to enhance the service delivery of these professionals, Ojo and Ebunoluwa assessed the degree of risks inherent in marketing their services. Their results shed light on the risks that occur most frequently, risks with the greatest impact and high marketing risk factors. These risk factors should be taken into proper consideration to successfully inhibit their effects on the services of construction professionals.
Saka aligned with the assertion that the debt crises of the early 1980s led to the adoption of outward looking economic model and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as an integral part of the new development policy by developing countries. On this assertion, Saka employed the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), Forecast Error Variance Decomposition (FEVD) and the Impulse Response Functions (IRFs) to examine the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows on the output of Nigerian Construction Sector (CNS). The results indicated that FDI inflow had a significant impact on the growth of CNS and GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
Saka thus advocated for deeper economic and social reforms to enhance increased FDI inflows.
Globally, there is no controversy on the economic benefits and contributions of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to the productivity of the building industry. Despite these, the pace at which BIM is being adopted is slower than expectation, especially in the developing countries like Nigeria. In view of this, the factors affecting the adoption of BIM by professionals in the Nigerian construction industry was appraised by Ahmad, Waziri and Zadawa. They extended the popular Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) developed by Davis (1989) to produce a BIM acceptance mode l. They uncovered the indicators of Perceived Usefulness and variables that positively affects Perceived Ease of Use.
Arijeloye, Aghimien, Akinradewo and Abdul-Kareem explored the cost variability between the preliminary cost
estimate and the final cost of educational building projects. They examined the factors causing the difference between these two variables in tertiary institutional building projects in Ondo State, Nigeria. The cost deviation between final and preliminary estimates averaged 9%. To bring down this percentage, there should be strict adherence to the principle of cost control and limit the extent of possible changes or variation to the original contract documents at the execution phase of the educational construction projects. Furthermore, the design team should be given adequate time to prepare drawings and specifications at the planning phase. In addition, there should be prior site investigation before the preparation of contract documents.
The concepts of the project owners’ motivation and owner commitment have been adjudged as novel ways of
surmounting the complex process of delivering sustainable building projects. Olanipekun acknowledged that the practical application of these concepts is not yet possible due to lack of specific approaches for their implementation. Therefore, in a bid to illuminate these approaches, Olanipekun carried out a global overview of sustainable buildings in the established member countries of the World Green Building Council (WGBC). Th is study expoused the approaches for implementing the project owners’ motivation and commitment in practice and put forward certain suggestions that are capable of promoting sustainable building practices.
Time and cost overruns have marred the performance of design and management (D&M) contract, which is one of the variances of the management-oriented procurement system that is gaining prominence in Nigeria. To attain building project cost effectiveness in D&M contract, Datti, Inuwa, Gambo, and Mangvwat researched and brought to limelight the most important preconditions for estimating building project cost in D&M contracts in Bauchi town, Nigeria. In addition, a strong positive relationship was observed between the preconditions and project cost effectiveness. The implication of this is that, applying the wrong preconditions will reduce the likelihood of achieving value for money. This work postulated what should be done in relation to preconditions to achieve better cost management and better project execution.
