Suchergebnisse

The logistic technologies for effective and efficient 'order processing operations' in the areas of tracking, shipping, replenishment, dispatching and holding of inventory are deficient in the Nigerian construction industry, when compared to manufacturing and retailing sectors. This is confirmed to have a significant effect on the performance of the construction sector. This article assessed how order processing technology utilised by manufacturing and retail industries could improve the order processing logistics operations of the construction industry. Lagos State and the F.C.T. Abuja, Nigeria, were the selected geographical study areas, from which five manufacturing companies, five retailing companies and five construction projects were purposively selected. Mixed methods research strategy was used. The research instruments included an observation guide (quantitative) and semi-structured interviews (qualitative). The collected quantitative data was analysed, using descriptive analytical tools: frequencies and percentiles. The qualitative data was analysed, using the thematic method. The result revealed that 80% and 100% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, observed, adopted barcoding technology for order processing purposes. Only 40% of the observed construction project adopted barcoding technology for order processing in the following: 2.4% for receiving process; 0.9% for put-away process; 0.9% for shipping process (stock control); 1.2% for dispatching process; 0.6% for replenishment process, and 1.2% for tracking inventory (stock tracking). In addition, 100% and 80% of the manufacturing and retailing industries, respectively, observed, adopted Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for order processing purposes. Only 40% of the observed construction projects adopted RFID technology for order processing. It was also revealed that utilisation of the order processing technology could have the following benefits: managerial control in the construction industry; shorter processing time; easy way of tracking materials on site, and increased speed of work in the construction industries. The research concludes that effective utilisation of order processing technology in the logistics system could lead to full efficiency gains in the order processing aspect of the construction industry. It is recommended that the Federal Government of Nigeria should mandate all major construction project stakeholders to attend workshops on the use of recent technologies in the management of construction operations.

Effective materials management on construction sites is handled carelessly by construction practitioners. This may result in several challenges such as materials waste generation, poor quality of work, project delays, and poor materials flow. Construction practitioners in Abuja, Nigeria, do not understand the consequences of these challenges to construction projects. This article investigates the effect of poor materials management on materials waste, quality of work, and project profitability in construction projects in Nigeria. A qualitative research approach was adopted in the study which included collective case study investigations. The population for the study was ongoing building project sites (ten case studies purposefully selected) in Abuja. The research instrument was direct-covert observation by the researchers to observe and record the construction processes, people's behaviour, actions and interactions relating to materials management. The construction processes observed included materials usage onsite, loading/offloading of materials from procurement, storages, as well as materials handling and movement on site. Recording sheets with checklists were pre-set with statements (Likert items) and responses to observe and document the effect of poor materials management. The statements were rated on an ordinal three-point Likert scale. The observed/collected data were analysed using descriptive methods to determine the modal values. The findings from the study revealed that poor materials management has a considerable effect on material waste generation on any construction project site; moderate effects on quality of building projects, and both considerable and moderate effects on profitability in the construction projects. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that effective management of materials in construction projects would reduce the amount of waste generation, increase the quality of construction work, and offer optimum profitability to construction contractors. It is, therefore, recommended that the construction industry in Nigeria should collaborate with government agencies to develop guidelines for preparing a waste management plan for the construction industry.