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cost
Quantity Surveyors are professionals who have been trained as construction cost consultants. They are the accountants in the construction industry. They can as well be referred as construction economists or cost engineers. They are in charge of planning and managing costs for construction projects from the start of a project to its completion.
The high construction cost in Nigeria is quite alarming. The south eastern states of Nigeria are worst hit which call for assessment. The aim of this work is to ascertain the effect of the utilization of the services of Quantity surveyors in project execution in South east Nigeria.
This was carried out by providing vital information on a general overview of the quantity surveyors roles to achieve the best quality and value within the client’s specifications.
Oral interview, literature review and investigative method of data collection were adopted. The result was presented using descriptive method of charts and tables.
Finding revealed that there are many qualified quantity surveyors at every work categories in the region; the skills of these professionals are not well utilized. The region cost of project execution is arbitrarily higher due to poor or no documentation, inaccurate quantities and corruption.
It is recommended therefore that the skill of Quantity surveyors should be sought by the government and the private sectors (developer & contractors) in the south east to increase profit, ensure risk reduction, capital flight and improve the dwindling contribution of the sector to the region’s economic growth.
Construction is a major sector throughout the world accounting for a sizeable proportion of most countries’ gross domestic product (gdp) and gross national product (gnp). The importance of the construction sector is not only related to its size but also to its role in economic growth. Construction industry contributes significantly in terms of scale and share in the development process for both developed and developing countries.
The cost of construction projects in nigeria ranks among the highest in the world. High cost of construction projects in nigeria is a cankerworm to nigeria economic growth, national development and wellbeing of the people. This high construction cost stigmatizes the country as a nation despite the large numbers of professionals she parades. There is need to minimized construction costs due to growing need of infrastructural development with limited available source of funding.
This paper investigates the causes and the implication of high cost of construction projects on nigeria economy and necessary mitigation measures. Well structured questionnaires, oral interview to support the literature view were distributed to a selected sample of construction stakeholders in the south eastern state to obtain the severity weight of each factor.
The investigation unveiled corruption that stifles economic growth and reduces economic efficiency and development despite the enormous resources in the country as the greatest factor responsible for high cost of construction projects in nigeria. Other factors are; inaccurate estimation, currency exchange, poor construction management and poor utilization of qualified professionals.
The paper revealed elements for attaining cost reduction as financial probity, accountability, proper economic planning and involvement of relevant qualified professionals among others.
Roads are among the vital assets of any nation. Apart from carrying people, vehicles and goods, roads also serve as conveyance for facilities like electricity.
Virtually all human activities require the provision of infrastructure. Both developed and developing nations are heavily dependent on infrastructure especially roads, railways, electricity, water supply and housing for their social and economic activities. Good roads make crucial contributions to economic development and growth and provide important social benefits.
Meanwhile the cost of providing this vital utility in Nigeria has given birth to sleeplessness and hard thinking; yet no solution has thus so far proffered.
Computer applications to every aspect of construction work are inevitable. Therefore as these technical aids become more available—both technically and economically—construction managers are increasingly able to access advanced computer tools capable of transforming their function and boost their performance. Competence at using these tools requires a dual commitment in training—from the individual and the organization individual operates.
Improving the computer skills of construction managers can provide construction industry with a competitive advantage to differentiate from others in an increasingly competitive international market. Yet, few published studies have quantified what existing level of competence construction managers have. Identification of construction managers’ existing computer application skills is a necessary first step to developing more directed training to better capture the benefits of computer applications.
This paper discusses the utilization of computer in enhancing construction managers’ functions within Nigerian construction industry.
Observation points at a shortfall in the ability of construction managers to capture potential benefits provided by advanced computer applications and provide directions for targeted industry training programs. As the industry becomes more complex, so also is the demand, graphical presentation and so on which requires accurate and speedy presentation to clients’ satisfaction.
The technical reasoning above are currently the object of this research, thus computer is an essential tools to construction managers
The purpose of this study is to assess the use and knowledge degree of risk identification in construction industry. Construction projects are classified in residential housing construction, institutional and commercial building construction, industrial construction, infrastructure and heavy construction. Questionnaire and observation were applied to conduct a survey among professionals in the construction industry. When we compared the results to literature, we verified that, according to the results, the risk identification techniques more frequently applied in construction in Nigeria are existing data, checklist, flowchart and brainstorming, which partially is according to what is found in the literature. Nonetheless, not all the techniques mentioned in literature are known by the professionals
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria Construction industry preview
In Nigeria, the construction industry was the dominant contributor to the nations GDP in the 1980s, accounting for about 70% of the GDP (Planning Committee on the National Construction Policy, 1989). This made the industry very strategic to Nigerias development efforts. Unfortunately, however, the industry has been bedevilled by a combination of low demand and consistent low productivity and poor performance over the years (Olomolaiye, 1987; Aniekwu, 1995; Okuwoga, 1998; Adeyemi et al.; 2005). This has reduced its contribution to the national economy to a mere 7% of the GDP in 2012 (Federal Statistics, 2013). Constraints in the construction sector include a shortage of skilled manual labour, the relatively high cost of hiring staff at managerial level, the shortage and cost of building materials like cement and the unstable political situation in the Niger Delta region and security threat in the North and South East.
The Nigerian construction market is dominated by foreign companies, which is similar to most African Countries. A large proportion of these major constructing firms in Nigeria are subsidiaries/affiliates of European, North American and Asian construction firms like Julius Berger PLC, Arab Contractors Nig. Ltd., RCC, and CCECC among others. The chunk of the projects is awarded to the foreign companies, while the indigenous companies struggle for the remnants. These too contribute poorly to the contribution of the sector to GDP.
No matter the size and type of a project, from building a shop to constructing a chemical plant, all stakeholders in the construction industry have a legal, moral and economic reason to reduce the occurrence of injury to personnel, poor construction, cost overrun and delay in delivery period.
This paper is aim at commenting on some of the issues that may need to be addressed in various contracting situations. This document is about:
i. Creating risk awareness on construction projects ii. Discussing methods of risk identification; iii. Given contract parties tips on how to avoid accepting risks they don’t understand; and iv. Dealing with unknown risks.This study quantitatively determined the improvement of communication among professionals in construction industry of Nigeria. In terms of proper coordination, effective project management and effective cost control, good communication has significant roles to play.
The construction professionals should understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the needs of clients in relation to cost, time and value which are links together by communication. For the professionals involved in the delivery of these services to the industry, the focus should be on client’s satisfaction and a positive experience for all concerned.
Establishing a communication link and managing and improving the process to ensure the success should be the primary aim of the professionals involved.
The technical reasoning above are currently the object of this research, thus communication is an essential tools.
