Vol. 66 No. 1 (2020): QS Journal Vol. 66 No. 1
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.
