Assessment Of Management System Performance Of Road Maintenance Projects: The Case Of Ethiopian Road Authority, Jimma District

Abstract

Project performance is a critical issue for the construction industry. Project deliverables such as timely completion and client satisfaction are often used as yardsticks to determine success. More often than not, the success of a construction project hinges on the ability of the construction project manager to effectively perform his job functions with the intended efficacy. Construction projects in ERA, Jimma District suffer from many problems and complex issues in performance some of which includes cost, time and safety. As such this research evaluates the management system performance factors affecting the road maintenance projects in order to assist owners, consultants and contractors to overcome performance problem of their maintenance projects, secondly to determine the time related factors affects performance of road maintenance projects, thirdly to determine cost related factors affecting the performance of road maintenance projects. The study includes desk study, physical observation, questionnaire survey, and interview. The data gathered was analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics method. Based on the study, the finding of study revealed that: the critical management factors that most frequently contributing to performance of road maintenance projects problem in ERA, JD are: Unavailability of Sufficient resources to implement the project, Lack of managerial capacity to translate project in the real world, Difficulty in managing flow of resources and inefficient handling, Irregular and not careful progress (time, scope, and cost) monitoring and review throughout the project, Lack of continuous performance measurement and assessment, Improper Project site planning functions, The most common time related factors affecting performance of road maintenance projects in the organization are: Low speed of decision making by top managements, Late procurement process of materials, Late arrival of ordered resources and materials, Lack of using realistic time schedules and work break down structures, Lack of updating the schedule as per the progress, Problems in sequencing of works according to the schedule. And also the most common cost related factors affecting performance of road maintenance projects in the organization are: Escalation of material prices, Foreign exchange rate, Lack of controlling expenses of resources and materials, Cash flow and financial difficulties, Cost of rework, and Profit and overhead rate of project, Generally, for efficient management system of road maintenance projects, an integrated process is needed to ensure the projects to be finished on time, within the budget, and within the scope of contract specifications. Finally it is hoped that, the outcomes the thesis would help to guide the future attempts to improve management system of road maintenance projects in ERA, Jimma District