COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
The project schedule is the tool that communicates what work needs to be performed, which resources of the organization will perform the work and the timeframes in which that work needs to be performed. The project schedule should reflect all of the work associated with delivering the project on time.
Project schedules are invariably dynamic and uncertain. Various controllable and uncontrollable factors can adversely affect the project schedule and cause delays. As a result, the identification and analysis of delays become essential Finke 1999. They are however, onerous tasks. Contractors are prone to view most delays as the responsibility of the owner while owners frequently attempt to tag delays as contractor caused, third party caused, or concurrent Zack 2001. Consequently, delays may lead to some form of dispute resolution alternatives, from negotiation to litigation, which may be expensive and a crapshoot. Responding to such challenge, the industry has created and employed many schedule analysis techniques. The level of acceptability of each technique depends on its credibility and the court or board ruling the corresponding delay claims. However, resource-related issues such as constraints, availability, or in broader term resource allocation can cause delays yet their effects are typically neglected in those techniques. It should be noted that although a number of studies have focused on scheduling with resource allocation e.g., Wiest 1967; Davis 1974; Willis 1985; Fondahl 1991; Bowers 1995; Hegazy 1999; Kim and de la Garza 2003, 2005; Chua and Shen 2005, none of them addressed resource allocation in “after-the-fact” schedule delay analysis.
Resource management techniques also include planning, organizing, directing and controlling activities in addition to motivating team members, which is usually the most expensive resources on the project, (Harvey, 2002). There are two basic planning and control technique utilized in project management. These are Programme Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM). These techniques involve the combination of interrelated activities that must be executed in a certain order for its completion. These interrelated activities involve planning; scheduling and controlling (Clifford and Erik, 2003). These techniques are used in construction industry
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The resource management techniques on project schedule in construction industry can be considered as a dynamic engineering which is constantly facing uncertainties. These uncertainties and the many stakeholders in these kinds of projects, make the management of resouce difficult which consequently causes cost overruns and project delay. Therefore, project delivery and cost overruns are considered one of the most critical issues during the execution of construction projects (Chan, et al., 2004; Doloi, 2011).
As mentioned by Van Der Westhuizen and Fitzgerald (2005), the presence of cost overruns can be a reason for project delays or possible project failures. However this idea has been refuted by many authors who considered that project success depends on many other factors that should be assessed to conclude the success or failure of a project (Chan, et al., 2004). Moreover, there have been many studies that suggest that the success of a project depends on the presence of certain critical factors which can also change depending on the objective to be met (Iyer and Jha, 2005). In other words, some authors ascertained that there are some critical success factors that help to improve resource management techniques performance and prevent cost overruns.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main aim of the study is to examine various resource management techniques on cost control techniques used in construction projects and the effect they have on project scheduling and delivery. Specific objectives of the study are:
- To identify resource management technique on project schedule in construction projects delivery.
- To examine problems encountered by resource management team and contractors in managing construction project cost.
- To determine the effect of cost control techniques and project schedule on the duration of construction projects.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In-order to guide the study and achieve the above stated research objectives; the following research questions were formulated:
- What resource management technique is used on project schedule in construction projects delivery?
- What are the problems faced by resource management team and contractors in controlling cost in the construction project process?
- What effect does cost controlling techniques and project scheduling have on the duration of construction projects?
- RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
- Ho: Cost control and project schedule problems do not lead to project delivery failures.
Hi: Cost control and project schedule problems lead to project delivery failures.
- Ho: Resource management techniques affect to construction delivery timing and cost
Hi: Resource management techniques do not affect to construction
Delivery timing and cost
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be of importance to Human resource management professionals and the general public because it would not only clarify but also create awareness of the extent to which inadequacies in cost control techniques can adversely affect project performance. The study will also help contractors, clients, consultants and all parties involved in construction projects about ways of improving their current method of cost management technique and control.
The study will also be of great benefit for other student researchers’ who may want to venture into the same subject matter. Having gotten results-both empirically and theoretically, the study will serve as a foundation for future research studies.