Oluwaseun Dosumu

Bio: Oluwaseun Dosumu is an academic researcher from University of Johannesburg. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sustainable design & Procurement. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 23 publications receiving 69 citations. Previous affiliations of Oluwaseun Dosumu include National University of Rwanda & University of Lagos.

Causes of Errors in Construction Contract Documents in Southwestern, Nigeria

Abstract: The issue of continual poor project performance in the construction industry remains unresolved and there is need for improvement. In view of improving project performance, the study aims at investigating the frequent causes of errors in construction contract documents. The survey research design and mixed research methods were used for the study. The respondents for the study consist of 86 consulting and 98 contracting firms that have been engaged on building projects that is above one floor between 2012 and 2015. Fifty one (51) interviews were also conducted on contractors, project managers and consultants on the projects they were involved and can equally provide necessary information for the study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20) was used for the analysis of the study. The study found that the frequent causes of the errors in contract documents are frequent design changes by clients, lack of adequate time to prepare documents and design management experience among others. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the causes of errors in contract documents vary from one state to the other. It was also concluded that there is difference in the causes of errors in contract documents based on types of building, services rendered by construction organisations and states in South West, Nigeria. However, there is no significant difference in the causes of errors in contract documents based on procurement method except where there is incomplete documentation or contracting organisations have overlapping activities. The study recommends that the frequent errors identified should always be prevented from occurring if cost and time overrun are to be minimized. Also since most of the causes identified are related to consultants, it was recommended as suggested by interviewees that all designs must go through quality assurance process.Keywords: Building projects, Construction, Contract documents, Errors, project performance

An assessment of the causes, cost effects and solutions to design-errorinduced variations on selected building projects in Nigeria

Abstract: Design errors and variations are inherently part of many construction projects and require deliberate effort to combat. The literature reviewed indicates that empirical studies of the cost effect of design-error-induced variations are scarce. This study investigates the causes of variation on building projects, the frequent design errors that lead to variation, the effects of design error on variation cost, and solutions to design-error-induced variation in design documents. A mixed methods research (interviews and 30 case study building projects) was used to collect the necessary data for the study. Interviews were conducted with 25 construction professionals to obtain information on the causes of variation on building projects and solutions to design-error-induced variation on building construction projects. Thirty documents including valuation breakdowns and variation/change order documents were obtained by convenience sampling technique and used for the extraction of design errors leading to variations and their associated costs. The data was analysed with frequencies and percentages. The study found that poor working drawing and lack of coordination among design documents are the major causes of variation. Errors in design calculations and wrong descriptions in specifications are prominent design errors that led to variation. Design errors account for roughly 36% of the variation cost of building projects. Structural and architectural drawings contain the largest number of errors among design documents, but electrical and mechanical documents have the highest contribution to variation cost. The study concluded that variation costs could be minimized if government policies, aimed at ensuring proper contract documentation, were put in place, and construction professionals were limited to their core roles on construction projects. Rechecking of design documents prior to use, knowledge sharing, and use of computer programs were among the recommended solutions to design-error-induced variation in project documents. Keywords: Construction projects, cost of error, design documents, design error, variation cost, valuation documents

Analysis of Project Success Criteria in the Nigerian Construction Industry

Abstract: This paper examined the relative importance of the project success criteria in the Nigerian construction industry. It also determined the correlation among the project success criteria. Based on the literatures reviewed, the study proposed a framework for measuring project success in the construction industry. The respondents for the study were the government, private clients, consultants and contractors. Three hundred copies of questionnaires were distributed to capture data on the subject, but only 86 were returned and used for the study. The paper captured respondents that are resident in Lagos state, Nigeria and chosen by convenience from selected organizations used for the study. The data were analysed with SPSS 16 through the use of frequencies, mean scores, factor analysis and correlation. Factor analysis was employed because the mean scores showed that all the project success criteria were at least important. Nine principal components were finally merged into 4 through the factor analysis using the Varimax rotation with Keiser normalization. The study found out that all the project success criteria were important but their level of importance differs according to the factor analysis carried out. Therefore, it was concluded that there are four major components of construction project success in Nigeria- user-related factors, professionals’ factors, organisational factors and other minor factors. The minor factors were found to be related to both organizations and projects but were not highly rated by respondents for determining construction project success. The study also concludes that project success criteria goes beyond meeting cost, time and quality target, it includes users’ satisfaction, professionals’ fulfilment and achievement of organizational goals. The recommendation of the study was that for construction projects to be successful, attention must be paid to users’ related factors, professionals’ factors and organizations’ factors.

Perceived Effects of Prevalent Errors in Contract Documents on Construction Projects

Abstract: One of the highly rated causes of poor performance is errors in contract documents. The objectives of this study are to investigate the prevalent errors in contract documents and their effects on construction projects. Questionnaire survey and 51 case study projects (mixed method) were adopted for the study. The study also involved the use of Delphi technique to extract the possible errors that may be contained in contract documents; it did not however constitute the empirical data for the study. The sample of the study consists of 985 consulting and 275 contracting firms that engaged in the construction of building projects that were completed between 2013 and 2016 and were above the ground floor. The two-stage stratified random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The data for the study were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics (based on Shapiro-Wilk’s test). The results of the study indicate that errors in contract documents were moderately prevalent. However, overmeasurement in bill of quantities was prevalent in private, institutional and management procured projects. Traditionally procured projects contain 68% of the errors in contract documents among the procurement methods. Drawings contain the highest number of errors, followed by bill of quantities and specifications. The severe effects of errors in contract documents were structural collapse, deterioration of buildings and contractors’ claims among others. The result of the study implies that, management procurement method is the route to error minimization in developing countries, but it may need to be backed by law and guarded against overmeasurement.

Introduction To Statistical Thermodynamics

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ISM-based relationship among critical factors that affect the choice of prefabricated concrete buildings in China

Abstract: It is well known that building prefabrication has numerous prominent advantages, including shortening construction time, promoting efficiency, reducing air pollution, and so on. As a result, the Ch...

Machine learning-aided engineering services' cost overruns prediction in high-rise residential building projects: Application of random forest regression

Abstract: Current approaches to automating cost estimation mainly focus on construction costs. Yet, the two main services provided by design firms, namely ‘designing the project’, and ‘supervision of construction operations’ labelled as engineering services, despite their comparatively low cost, can significantly affect the total cost of construction projects as they can engender reworks, changes and disputes on project participants during the subsequent stages of the project. Continuous evaluation of engineering services' cost overruns (ESCO) is quintessentially important in order to prevent consequential problems later on in the project's development and use. Consequently, this research proposes a robust random forest (RF) regression model to predict ESCOs considering both project-related and organizational-related variables. A database consisting of 95 high-rise residential building projects designed during the past eight years in Iran, along with 12 related variables, were collected to develop and validate the model. The results were also compared with those of support vector regression (SVR) and multiple linear regression (MLR), which indicated that with an R2 value of 0.8680 and mean-absolute-error (MAE) of 3.88, the RF regression model performs better than those baseline models, namely SVR and MLR. This research presents two main contributions to the existing body of knowledge. From the practical point of view, it provides an efficient tool for design firms enabling them to screen and prioritize their projects from the cost overrun standpoint and to devise a contingency plan for them. From the theoretical point of view, it revealed that to mitigate ESCOs, three key factors should be given thorough consideration, namely: ‘the level of computer-aided design technologies adoption’; ‘level of communication among the project team’; and scope definition adequacy’ – cumulatively, these three factors contribute to 52.35% of ESCO variations.

Multi-storey residential buildings and occupant’s behaviour during fire evacuation in the UK: Factors relevant to the development of evacuation strategies

Abstract: Purpose - The paper aims to investigate human behaviour during fire evacuations in multistorey residential buildings through a focus on the challenges and obstacles that occupants face. Any variations in response behaviours that are relevant to the evacuation strategies/plans in the UK context of occupancy typical of multi-storey buildings in large cities. Design/methodology/approach - A literature review was conducted to identify the factors occupants face and also the decision-making of occupants regarding methods of egress. A mixed research method was adopted using interviews and a questionnaire survey. The findings from the interviews and survey are benchmarked against the information gathered from the literature review. Findings - The paper identifies various challenges that occupants face when evacuating a multi-storey residential building. In terms of the decision-making process, the research results evidence that occupants could be given more information on the evacuation procedures within their specific building. The paper also finds that occupants remain reluctant to use a lift during evacuation in fire event, irrespective of any signage clearly stating that is appropriate to do so in the context of modern lift technology. Originality/Value - This paper contributes to the body of knowledge available on the evacuation of multi-storey buildings located in large cities within the UK, outlining potential areas for future research, focused on providing an insight of the behavioural decisions made by the occupants make when evacuating a building in the event of a fire.