Abstract:
Material management can be defined as a process that coordinates planning, assessing
the requirement, sourcing, purchasing, transporting, storing and controlling of materials,
minimizing the wastage and optimizing the profitability by reducing cost of material.
In construction project operation, often there is a project cost variance in terms of the
material, equipment, manpower, subcontractor and overhead cost.
The aim of this research was to assess the construction material management system in
public building projects in the Hawassa town.
This Research has employed descriptive research method and the data for the study were
collected using structured questionnaires, interview and observation. The data was
analyzed by RII using descriptive statistics in the form of Percent, averages, pie chart,
histogram and tabular form.
The researcher concludes that the construction material management system of the
contractor personnel have lack of technical professionals, lack of waste control
management systems and lack of training system for laborers in construction site.
Even though the construction material management process were practiced, there were
ineffective communication, designer’s unfamiliarity with products, unclear specification,
purchasing non waste efficient materials, improper construction material delivery,
damage of materials, improper stocking and insufficient storage of materials, lack of
security, poor training system related to wastage and negligence practice of workers.
And the improper implementation of the construction material management process
affects the overall budget, accomplishment time, quality and productivity of the
construction project.
The researcher recommends that for effective construction material management the
contractor personnel should provide specific material department and establish a system
to provide appropriate training for workers under the contractor on how to handle the
construction materials and the mechanisms for minimization of wastage of materials
