College of Art and Built Environment

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    Assessing the Capacity of Construction Consultants to adopt Building Information Modeling in Ghana
    (KNUST, 2016-11) Asiedu ,Elvis
    The inadequate flow of information within the building construction industry has had serious consequences on the performance of built-environment consultants in Ghana, and this often affects the output of every role player in the industry. Drawing from this the current study seeks to explore the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) among construction consultants in the Greater Accra region. In this exploratory study, 182 questionnaires were administered to construction consultants in the Greater Accra region. However, 100 of the questionnaires were returned given a response rate of 60%. The result of the study showed that notwithstanding the high level of knowledge and awareness of BIM among construction consultants, the level of adoption is still low (7.0%), and lags behind the level of adoption of the technology in the construction sectors in the developed world. The low level of adoption can principally be attributed to the limited capacity of the construction consultants’ ability to produce an IT environment that is adaptable to BIM, produce capable system integration, and the absence of capable human resource. The absence of government pressure and consultant’s limited experience in BIM usage are also the possible reasons for the low adoption of BIM by the construction consultants in the Greater Accra region. Irrespective of the adoption level, the consultants perceive BIM to accelerate collaboration within project teams, reduce data input and transfer errors, speed up analysis cycle times, improve customer relationship, enhance time management, reduces cost and improves profitability. Based on these findings, the study recommends government policy enforce BIM adoption, training of the human resource in BIM, provide financial and managerial support to BIM adoption.
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    Assessment of Quality of Construction Professional Project Services Received By Small Building Contractors in Ghana.
    (KNUST, 2016-11) Boateng, Abrafi Nelly
    The fundamental needs of every client in the construction industry has been quality. By way of that, construction projects that are able to be accomplished with distinguishing quality will certainly empower to pleasure their clients. Owing that the industry’s setting has wadded behind other sectors in enlightening the quality, it has also been a key provider to the economy of any country. Hence, professionals however faces the delinquent of high disintegration, variability, low efficiency, poor excellence and lack of standards and ethics. The aim of this study was to assess Quality of Construction professional project services received by small building contractors in Ghana. Questionnaires were directed to a sample of 44 D3K3 and D4K4 contractors and other professionals using random sampling approach. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 21) was used to analyze the data obtained and rating were used to assess the specific objectives of the study. Similarly, this study identified some elements of service quality which were ranked according to the responses obtained from respondents as professionals in these firms are consistently courteous to contactors. Modern looking equipment such as computers and other facilities to work with, professional quantity surveying firms understand the specific needs of contractors, working hours are convenient to contractors and sincere interest in solving contractors’ problems were also identified. Also, some quality awareness of construction professionals level according to respondents on the quality of service received by their clients includes contractors are committed to quality in the organization, contractors provides a leadership role in quality management initiatives and critical resources essential in implementing service quality initiatives are made always available. Finally, the study recommends that, beneficiaries of projects when completed should be educated on the benefit they would derive from it and hence they should abstain from low quality construction products and services and welcome projects that would come their way in their various communities.
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    Assessing the effectiveness of physical development planning and control mechanisms in Ghana: the experience of Wa Municipality
    (KNUST, 2015-06) Avogo Florence Abugtane
    In an attempt to achieve sustainable spatial planning, countries have adopted various regulations including building regulations, transfer of development rights and zoning to manage physical growth. However, enforcement of these controls appear to be largely ineffective especially in developing countries. This study analyses the processes involved in local plan formulation, the levels of adherence to physical controls and assesses the capacity of key planning and land institutions responsible for managing physical growth in the Wa Municipality. The study used the mixed methods of research design which used both qualitative and quantitative data and analysis. Questionnaires were used to solicit for data from 200 home builders while face to face interviews were conducted with key institutions using interview guide to gather data on land tenure system, institutional capacity and official physical development processes. Observation was also used to establish how physical development conforms to local plans by updating existing maps and consideration of setbacks between buildings as basis to determine adherence to building regulations. The home builders were mostly frustrated with the different stages involved in obtaining legal land documentations and acquiring building permit in the physical development process. Secondly, there was a flaw in the planning process involved in preparing local plans due to the fact that, all the public stakeholder consultations stages in preparing a local plan officially were ignored in the process used in Wa. The study also found non adherence to development controls because in the local plans of both neighbourhoods studied, there was a place for everything but in trying to correlate physical development to what was proposed, everything was not in its place. This is because all areas demarcated for open spaces were used for residential purposes. As a result it was established that development controls used were not effective because the objective of enforcing these mechanisms which is to ensure orderly and harmonious spatial development was not achieved. It is therefore recommended that monthly education should be organised on the various radio stations to intensify public education on the measures already adopted to reduce the lengthy and cumbersome process in permit applications. Furthermore, planners are expected to practise integrated planning of land uses to allow for home-based enterprises with caution. Additionally, the services of national service personnel could be used to address the issue of inadequate staff for site inspection and monitoring.
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    A Framework for On-Site Communication Planning for Construction Managers in Ghana.
    (KNUST, 2016-11) Akunyumu Stephen
    In modern day construction, some of the important elements contributing to the poor performance of the construction industry that have been identified are ineffective communication practices, the organizational fragmentation and the lack of integration between design and construction processes. In an industry such as construction, interaction is mainly characterised by unfamiliar groups of people who come together in a purpose driven environment within short periods before they are divided into several groups to perform their various roles towards the achievement of a construction project. Accordingly, failure in project communication can lead to the failure of the project as whole. Communication does not only aim to keep members of the project team updated in terms of progress, but to as well enhance the ownership of project decisions. This study aimed at developing a framework for on site communication to aid the planning of communication during the construction phase. The study adopted the quantitative method of research; in congruence with similar construction communication studies conducted. The primary data collection tool used for the study was the questionnaire. Data were collected from construction managers of D1 and D2 firms operating in the Kumasi and Accra Metropolises in Ghana yielding a response rate of 86 percent. Statistical tools used in data analysis included the mean score; quadrant analysis, factor analysis and descriptive statistics. The key findings of the study led to the development of a framework aimed at enabling construction managers to plan communication during the construction stage. The developed framework serves as an aid to construction practitioners to plan communication and help in allocating responsibility for information management. It also serves as a reference point through the provision of sources for which information can be assessed. Theoretically, further study has been recommended to validate the proposed framework on real life projects.
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    Risk Management Practices of Construction Projects in the Mining Sector
    (KNUST, 2019-11) Steve Amoako
    In Ghana the importance of mining in the economy cannot be underestimated. Mining, especially gold mining, started several centuries before the arrival of the white man and during the colonial period the country was named “Gold Coast” to reflect such an importance. The aim of this thesis is to explore risk management practices of construction projects in the mining sector with three objectives being: To establish the critical risk factors associated with construction projects in the mining sector; To ascertain the risk mitigating factors attendant with construction projects in the mining sector; and to explore risk management practices of construction projects in the mining sector. Quantitative research method was adopted in which survey questionnaires were administered to respondents to gather primary data. Descriptive and Inferential analysis was conducted. Descriptive tools included standard deviation, mean scores, percentages and frequencies. One-Sample T-test and Relative Important Index was the inferential analytical techniques that were adopted. The findings of the research indicated that: Unavailability and accuracy of preliminary geo-scientific information; Instability of foreign currency exchange rate; High Inflation rate; Unstable and unpredictable fiscal regime; and fraud were critical risk factors associated with construction projects in the mining sector. It was recommended that construction project risk management stakeholders in mining industry ensures regular review and updating of risk management systems. Moreover, mining companies should take creative and innovative approaches to access new talents through training and education programs and retain existing skilled workers.