Assessment of Building Construction Efficiency; Case Study in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Construction is generally implemented in the form of one-off projects, which makes it difficult to co-ordinate the process for successful completion. Due to the organization problems created by rigid professional divisions of labour and the one-time nature of construction projects, such disturbances are quite likely, which causes idling in the process and inefficiency of construction in general. Moreover, efficiency of the building construction projects also affected by waste in; time, costs, materials, energy, skills and labor. In recent years, the weight of building construction industry in the national economy of Ethiopia has been increasing. But, still there is inefficiency problems that occurs due to waste that results in the use of equipment, materials, labor or capital in larger quantities than those considered as necessary in the construction of a building and hence, there is a need for strengthening of institutional capacity, adaptation of new technologies and modern project management principles in order to maximize efficiency of the building construction industry. Hence, the main objective of this study is to identify and evaluate the factors affecting the efficiency of building construction projects in Addis Ababa City. The study period was starting from July, 2015 up to January, 2016. A descriptive and explanatory study was carried out based on literature review. Questionnaire was distributed to the clients, consultants and contractors who are engaged in building construction projects within the city and 84% of questionnaire were received from respondents. Seventy nine (79) factors were identified, categorized into 4 groups, evaluated and ranked from contractors, contractors and client’s perceptions. The most important factors contributing to project efficiency were imperfect planning of construction, ordering of materials that do not fulfill project requirements defined on design documents, financial difficulties faced by the contractor, workers’ mistakes, fluctuation of prices of materials, poor planning and scheduling of the project by the contractor, damage of materials due to deficient stockpiling and handling of materials and payment delay from the client. Time overrun, cost overrun, poor quality completed project, dispute between parties, and environmental impact were identified as the top five most common and recurrent effects of inefficiency on building construction projects. The practices concerning with the main factors such as time, cost, material, and skill and labour checklists were analyzed in order to formulate strategies to improve efficiency of construction projects in the city of Addis Ababa. Remedial measures such as; Proper site management and frequent supervision, Proper planning and scheduling, Improved job-site efficiency through more effective interfacing of people, processes, materials, equipment, and information, Effective performance measurement to drive efficiency and support innovation, Using updated technology have been identified as top five effective strategies for successful construction performance. Moreover, it is recommended for construction organizations to have a clear mission and vision to formulate, implement and evaluate their efficiency. The client should facilitate timely payment to contractors. Consultants should provide quality project design where design changes will be minimal. Contractors should have a cost engineer in their projects to control the cash flow of projects. Construction organizations should have different incentive systems in order to improve overall efficiency.