The impact of Architectural Design Management on building construction projects in Ghana: a project management perspective

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Date
November, 2019
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Abstract
The role of the construction industry as the alpha and the omega of contemporary globalization trends and socio-economic development was dated far back to the beginning of civilization. Conversely, the construction industry is believed globally to be engrossed with issues of corruption; delayed planning; overrun budgets; and subjecting workers to irresponsible and life-threatening risks. This study therefore assessed the architectural design management practices and its impact on the building construction industry of Ghana and recommended strategic comprehensive and project management models and systems that ensure real time coordination among stakeholders, optimal project outcomes and competitive edge. With purposive sampling approach, semi-structured interviews and questionnaire administration, the research considered seven project team members from the 15No. construction firms selected. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software and Excel Spreadsheet were used to analyze the survey data. The relative importance index (RII) of the impact of architectural design changes on building projects were calculated and ranked. It was revealed that the major types of architecture design changes in Ghana’s building construction industry are generally user-required changes, design errors that needs to be corrected. Least observed types of changes in the industry is design omission, regulatory code and value reengineering. Architectural design management practice identified in the industry are the scheduling and dissemination of architectural drawings to appropriate team members, monitoring and ensuring compliances to project drawings specification and design, and the evaluation of compliance performance measures. Critical factors that inhibit the efficient management of design changes as identified in the study include poor planning technics, miss interpretation of design information flow and poor-quality design. Major negative impact observed are project time and cost overrun, constructional errors, reworks and material wastage, work load and stress on project team members. Positive impacts include being able to rectify design errors timely to avoid an unwanted cost. Client requirement management is the main improvement measure being implemented. It is recommended for construction firms in Ghana to adopt an integrated architectural design management model as proposed in this research.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Construction Technology and Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award degree of Master of Science in Project Management.
Keywords
Effects, Architectural Design Management, Building Construction Projects, Project Management Perspective, Ghana
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